Although the former government placed an embargo on employment within the public sector in 1999, some officials at the Information management Systems (IMS) of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly, managed to put the names of about 5,000 people on its payroll that very year.
Investigations conducted by the Evening News revealed that some of the names on the payroll of the Assembly are "ghost" names. Others who got into it at the time have been paying percentages to the officers involved from the salaries they receive from the deal. According to the Newspaper the main architects of the deal are twin brothers, Ransford and Rexford Koufie of the Personnel and Computer Departments respectively and Mr. Atiogbe in charge of Research.
Three other officials mentioned in the deal are Madam Georgina Mensah, in charge of preparation of the Assembly's pay role, David Asare Duah and Edmund Ahiadeke, both of the IMS office of the assembly. According to the Evening News, the activities of these officials allegedly led by the former Director of Finance at the Assembly, Mr. Elleblu, has resulted in the siphoning of billions of cedis from the Assembly's Revenue Chest into the pockets of the officials and their operatives, some who are still in the employment of the assembly.
Some staff at the assembly who pledged anonymity called for serious investigations by the relevant agencies to bring sanity into the Assembly's financial operations. They also appealed to the Minister of Local Government, Mr. Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu, to move swiftly to save the Assembly from collapse since it can not meet its targeted revenue with such corrupt practices by key officials at both the AMA and its sub metro offices
In another development, the Assembly has seized over 50 fake health certificates from food vendors and restaurant operators in Accra.
Syndicates suspected to be operating in the metropolis issued the certificates to the food vendors. The food vendors from whom those certificates were ceased have been directed to either come for genuine forms to undergo tests by the AMA health department at Adjabeng or face prosecution for not possessing genuine health certificate.
The Acting Director of Metropolitan Public Health Department Mr Emmanuel Akrofi Bruce who made this known to the GNA in Accra said since his office is charged to protect the health of the people, he would ensure that selling cooked food and drinks without health certificate is discouraged.
Mr Bruce said he does not doubt the integrity of any doctor who conducts medical test on any food vendor, but the report must be treated as confidential and forwarded to him as required by law. He warned of the dangers of selling or eating unwholesome food and advised food vendors, especially the purified water companies who have not registered with the AMA or the Ghana Standards Board (GSB) to do so to avoid arrest and prosecution.
