B&FT Editorial: Investigations should identify those who 'stole' 400 tricycles from NDA

President Nana Akufo- Addo acted promptly when he dismissed the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Northern Development Authority (NDA), Dr. Alhaji Abdel-Majeed Haroun, following the alleged stealing of 400 tricycles from the NDA yard in October 2019.

This will send a strong signal to appointee’s government that power goes with responsibility, and the days of official cover-ups for misconduct will no longer be tolerated.

Interestingly, Dr. Alhaji Abdel-Majeed Haroun tried to implicate the Northern Region Minister, Salifu Sa-eed, for instructing the removal of said tricycles - which Sa-eed has vehemently denied. The swift action ny President Akufo-Addo paves the way for a full-scale investigation to establish the truth for Ghanaians.

We recall with regret how a Guinea-fowl project under SADA was hijacked - officials claiming the birds flew across the border into Burkina Faso: and this was one of the principal reasons the previous administration lost favour with the Ghanaian electorate.

Now that a new political administration is at the helm of affairs, having rode in on the back of anti-corruption as a mantra, it is quite surprising that around 400 tricycles can suddenly 'disappear' only to be identified by the public in and around environs of the Northern Region capital, Tamale.

Reports indicate that a youth group in the area linked to the ruling NPP's 'Kandahar Boys' forcibly took the tricycles away without the authority's concern. Though police in the Northern Region say they are yet to make an arrest, this Paper is confident that the truth will eventually emerge as investigations are now underway.

The Northern Region is one of the most deprived areas of the country, and there is no doubting the impact those tricycles would have had on the livelihoods of the people for whom they were procured in the first place.

The Northern Development Authority (NDA) was established by the Northern Development Authority Act 2017, Act 963, to "provide a framework for the accelerated economic and social development of the Northern Development Zone"; and it is sad that the motorcycles worth GHC2million should vanish from their yard without any evidence of purchase.

This form of 'insider' pilfering cannot be entertained, especially as the president promised to protect the public purse on assumption of office. We are happy that he acted swiftly, much to the admiration of many; but we are also eagerly awaiting results from the investigations to establish the full truth and see the culprits punished.