Banka Hene in Hot Waters

..... for allegedly pilfering US150, 000 into his private account while people of Banka live in abject poverty

The chief of Banka, Osabarima Twiampomah the third, has been accused by his elders ,sub chiefs and the people of the area of allegedly stealing an amount US$150,000, one hundred and Fifty Thousand Dollars, donated by Gulf Coast Resources for infrastructural development into his private account .

A receipt intercepted by the New Crusading Guide indicates that Osabarima Twiampomah the third, the substantive chief of Banka received a Stanbic Bank cheque Number 534403 in the sum of US$150,000 from Gulf Coast Resources limited for and on behalf of the chiefs, elders and people of Banka on the 14 of June 2011.

The money, according to sources at Gulf Coast Resources, the donors, formed part of the company’s corporate social responsibility for the development of clean water systems for the people of Banka, building of school blocks, and rehabilitation of the road linking the community, which is currently in deplorable state. Part of the money was also meant for the establishment of a community centre.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with the NEW Crusading, Nana Kwame Yeboah Okoe, ex regent of Banka and Mr. Isaac Obeng, a royal in the town said, after the Banka Hene (Osabarima Twiampomah) had received the cheque; he signed a document acknowledging receipt of the money (US$150,000). However, “he did not make the money available to the people. When he was confronted, he denied ever receiving the money and challenged us (the elders of the town) to tender in evidence to incriminate him if we had one

However checks made by this paper with the management of Gulf Coast Resources indicates that an amount of US$150,000 has been paid to Osabarima Twiampomah the third as part payment of a sum of US $500,000 earmarked by the company for the development of the town.

Nana Yeboah Okoe and Mr. Isaac Obeng on March 12 2012 filed a petition to the Inspector General of Police, (IGP), Paul Tawia Quaye to use his good office to investigate the issue and arrest and prosecute the Banka Hene for stealing this huge money which belongs to the poor people of Banka

According to them, numerous complainants made to the various district and regional offices of the Police Service regarding the issue have yielded no result hence the decision to petition the IGP.

“It is important that we collect this huge money from the Bankahene to develop the town for the poor people of Banka. They don’t have any portable or good drinking water, the road linking the town from Juaso and Obogu are in deplorable state, cocoa farms of farmers are being cut down for galamsey activities without compensation and government is needed to come to our aid and help us collect this money from the Banka Hene” they stated.

When he was contacted via telephone on Wednesday 2nd May 2012, Osabarima Twiampomah the third, Banka neither denied nor confirmed receiving the money. He stated that “please I am currently at the Police CID headquarters writing my statement. When I Finish, I will call my lawyer and we will come and react to all these allegations. The case is now with the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) and so I wouldn’t want to comment on it. Let me call my lawyer and we will come and explain things to you. They are doing all these things just to tarnish my image, but they will never succeed, he said

Lawyer Kwame Gyan, Lawyer for Osabarima Twiampomah called this reporter on the 7th of May 2012 to react to the issue on Telephone, he confirmed that his clients indeed signed the receipt for the money. And that the US $150,000 was received by his Client, Banka Hene. He however noted that part of the money(US$150,000 was meant for legal fees and processing of legal documents covering the mining operations . when Lawyer Kwame Gyan was Informed that Osabarima Twiampomah , his client signed and received the money for and on behalf of the people of Banka and not for legal fees or processing of legal documents as depicted by the content of the receipt, he agreed, However, he said the Chief was lured to sign the letter because the management of the company said they wouldn’t divulge the receipt to the people of Banka but subsequently betrayed him.

Nana Yeboah Okoe however disagreed with him. in his view , the Banka Hene knew what he was doing when he collected the money .” initially he denied ever receiving the money when he was confronted .Now he is saying that part of the money is meant for legal processing when he was caught red handed. He is a liar. We are pleading with all the anti corruption bodies in Ghana, that’s the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice, (CHRAJ) to the Police Service, BNI to investigate the issue and help us retrieve the money for the people of Banka for the development of the town. Banka is situated in the Asante Akyem District of the Ashanti Region with Juaso as the District capital.