Woman fined and bonded for not taking part in communal labour

Techiman (B/A), June 20, GNA - A Techiman Circuit Court in the Brong Ahafo Region, on Friday fined a middle-aged woman GH¢50 with one surety or serve six months in prison for refusing to take part in communal labour in her town. Yaa Afra, who pleaded guilty, was also bonded to be of good behaviour, failure of which would also attract a two-month jail term.

Prosecuting, Mr George K. Asamoah, a special prosecutor of the Techiman Municipal Assembly, told the court presided by Justice Godwin Kwasi-Kuma, a high court judge sitting as an additional circuit court judge, that on March 19, this year, the community leaders at Mampehia in the Techiman Municipality organised communal labour for the construction of a GH¢300 Day-Care Centre. He said females were asked to fetch water, whilst the males were to mould blocks with support from the Government Accountability Improved Trust (GAIT). Mr Asamoah said Afra refused to take part in the activity and when she was invited by the Unit Committee of the Assembly, she declined to go and ordered out from her house, the elder who was later sent to her, amidst insults and threats to his life.

Mr Asamoah said, Afra was again summoned before the Nsuta Area Council but again she refused and told the messenger that she could be sent to the Supreme Court. He said the behaviour of Afra and her subsequent refusal to participate in the communal labour, infuriated the inhabitants who also refused to carry on with the project as planned. After pronouncing the judgement, Justice Kwasi-Kuma urged the inhabitants to go back to work and also admonished Afra to change her behaviour.

In a related development, Nana Takyi Gyan, Chief of Mampehia appealed to the people to work hard to complete the school project saying: "The government's community rural development programmes will be worthless if you refuse to change your negative attitude towards communal labour." Mr Rockson Duako, Unit Committee Secretary of the Assembly, told newsmen that the project was being financed by government and when completed would accommodate more than 100 children.