Have You Ever Heard Of A Fried Rice Factory? -Ntow:

General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Ohene Ntow, will soon be hauled before court by the government if he fails to pay an accrued amount of GH¢ 96,000 for allegedly occupying a government bungalow from 2001 to 2009 illegally.

The Deputy Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, Dr. Hannah Bissiw, who disclosed this during PEACEFM News@Midday, also revealed that the NPP General Secretary would be charged a commercial rate of one thousand Ghana Cedis per month for turning the bungalow into “a small scale shitor and fried rice factory".

Nana Ohene-Ntow is accused of illegally staying in the bungalow long after he ceased to be a public officer. The Ministry is also claiming that the NPP General Secretary’s wife turned parts of the bungalow into a commercial “shitor” and fried rice factory.

Dr. Bissiw said the Ministry had to surcharge Nana Ohene Ntow after he failed to respond to a letter which requested him to provide documentation that gave him the legal right to stay in the bungalow.

“When the time elapsed, we sent another letter asking him to pay for the rent from 2001 when he occupied the place to 2009 when he left the bungalow… unless he gives us letters to prove otherwise we consider that he lived there illegally so we consider it as squatting and he is going to be surcharged for the number of years that he lived there,” she added.

But the NPP Chief Scribe, speaking on the same platform, accused the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing of trying to debase him by playing to the gallery.

“If the Ministry felt it could retrieve its money through radio stations, why did they choose to send a letter to me in the first place…it’s certainly unjustified…I’ll respond to the Ministry accordingly,’ he added.

Clearly unamused by the turn of events, Nana Ohene Ntow, who admitted staying in a government bungalow, however, stressed that he was allocated the bungalow when he was appointed by then President Kufuor as Government’s Spokesperson on Finance.

“I didn’t steal or break into the bungalow…my appointment letter clearly indicated the kind of house I was supposed to live in…a fully furnished residence including living room furniture…but with this house, there was nothing in the room…basically it’s a single bedroom with two other miniature rooms, it wasn’t gated and had no fence wall, but I accepted it because I was willing to serve the country…to be frank, the house did not befit my status,’ he said.

According to the NPP General Secretary, at the time he occupied the bungalow there was an accumulated electricity bill which he had to settle before light was reconnected to the house. He castigated the Ministry for alleging that his wife used parts of the bungalow to produce “shitor” and fried rice in commercial quantities.

“Look I have a list of NDC functionaries in the first NDC era under Ex-President Rawlings who occupied government bungalows illegally…some used their bungalows in baking bread, others in producing soaps…at the appropriate time I’ll make it public…Do you know how a factory looks like? Have you heard of a fried rice factory in your entire life before?” he sneered.