Section of Navrongo residents call for DCE's removal

A section of the people of Navrongo have called for the immediate removal of the Kassena-Nankana District Chief Executive, Mr George D. Kolira from office citing lack of foresight and insensitivity to the plight of the people as reasons.

They threatened they would not compromise on their stance and vowed to disassociate themselves from the New Patriotic Party (NPP) if their demands were not met.

The agitations came at an open forum during a rally organised by the Navrongo Central MP, Mr John Achuliwor to formally thank the people for electing him as their representative and to explain government policies and programmes to them.

Mr William Appwah, a trader, who called for the removal of the DCE, said the DCE had demonstrated gross incompetence on several occasions and has refused to attend to people, who called on him.

The DCE, who was also at the meeting, realising that there was anger mounting against him attempted leaving the rally grounds but shouts of: "Where is he? Where is he?" brought him back to formally take an excuse from the MP before leaving.

Mr Appwah said about two months ago an National Deomcratic Congress (NDC)- backed Association of Millers in Navrongo, decided to increase the milling prices for cereals from 300 cedis per bowl to 1,000 cedis.

He said women traders, who mostly patronised the mills, approached the DCE to negotiate on their behalf to bring the price down. He added that after the DCE had severally postponed meetings with the women, they pleaded with him to speed up the negotiations because they could not mill at those prices and their children were starving.

He said the DCE gave the women a cheeky answer by telling them to go into the rice fields at the Tono Dam to transplant rice for farmers and in return get money to feed their children.

The people further contended that the DCE had awarded six of nine contracts from the European Union (EU) micro projects to NDC supporters and none to NPP sympathisers.

These actions they said had raised doubts in the minds of the people as to whether the DCE sympathises with the party and whether he was not the wrong choice.

Mr Achuliwor told the people about the on-going registration of the unemployed and under-employed persons and said the exercise might not give jobs to all the people immediately.

The data gathered would guide the government to draw up effective policies regarding employment in the country and urged the people to register.