Sagnarigu MCE sacks Journalists from covering protest by PWDs

The Sagnarigu Municipal Chief Executive, Iddrisu Mariam, on Thursday escalated her fight with the media to a higher perilous level as she barred and prevented journalists from covering a tense meeting between her outfit and disgruntled local members of the Ghana Federation of Disability Organizations GFD) who were protesting the delay in payment of their share of the Common Fund.

Members of Persons Living with Disabilities (PWDs) in the municipality after several failed efforts to access their mandatory 2% of the Common Fund harbored suspicion that the assembly had diverted or manipulated their share of the fund for other purposes.

They then invited journalists to accompany them to the office of Municipal Chief Executive where they intended to stage an open protest against the assembly authorities to demand the immediate disbursement of the fund, which has been released by central government to all MMDAs across the country months ago.

The group had alleged to journalists, before departing with them to the assembly premises, that their colleagues in other districts have received their share of the fund except the Sagnarigu municipality.

However, upon arrival, the rookie MCE, hurriedly rushed out to meet the angry members of the PWDs and persuaded them into a meeting which she prevented the journalists from covering.

While the meeting was in session without the media, reporters waiting to be briefed about the outcome of the meeting decided to film and take pictures of the assembly building, the MCE again sent out men to stop and sack the journalists away from the premises. “I didn’t invite the media. They should stop taking the videos or else if they publish anything here I will sue them”, she ordered the public Relations Officer of the Assembly to inform he reporters.

32yr old Mariam developed a troubling relationship with the press last year after she survived an impeachment intent by the Sagnarigu Assembly members. She accused Regional Correspondents of media houses in Accra of targeting her regime with negative publicity.

She has been a controversial figure since her appointment, clashing with party members in her constituency over road contracts and jobs. We’ll Hit Streets or Take Her to Chief Palace – Federation Chairman. Speaking to Kasapa News after the dramatic meeting, the Sagnarigu municipal chairman of the Federation, Ibrahim Yussif, said the MCE has agreed and promised to release the fund by next week.

According to him, the MCE told them during the meeting that a new guideline introduced by the Common Fund Administrator for the disbursement of the disability fund caused the delay but has been rectified following the meeting.

Yussif however, added members of the Federation will embark on street protests or/and drag the MCE before the chief of Sagnarigu to compel her to release the fund if by next week she takes an opposite posture.

He also condemned the MCE for preventing the journalists from sitting in meeting and said the action raised more eyebrows about the whole situation and apologized for the episode.

“It looks like the thing is keeping long too much especially when you look at the students, they applied it before school open (sic) but look at the time, so we doing sacrifices and borrowing money for the students to return to schools”, the municipal Federation chairman told Kasapa News.

“She said today up to Monday she would release it, so we’re just waiting if she didn’t(sic) release we will just come out and demonstrate or send her to the chief palace”.