Adansi Asokwa DCE likes travelling to United States more than his work - Residents

As the President takes introspection of performances of Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) to guide him in the nomination of people with rich proficiency and commitment to duty as in his second term, I have in possession findings of a research conducted by a team which decided to look at some selected Districts in Ghana with the spotlight on Ashanti Region, the stronghold of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP).

In sharp focus, is an exclusive research report with extensive highlights on Adansi Asokwa District Assembly. The district was carved out of the Adansi North District in 2018 by Legislative Instrument (L. I) 2331. Adansi Asokwa District is predominantly an agrarian economy with most of the people engaged in peasant farming activities because of the arable nature of their land. It must also be noted that the land is highly rich in gold deposit and has a dense forest with timber.

In the first term of the President, Hon. Andrew Adu Boahen was appointed as the first District Chief Executive (DCE) in 2018. The expectation of him was to lead government efforts to achieve its policy goals in the manifesto and decentralisation.

Unfortunately, the research revealed that the Adansi Asokwa DCE has not had a stable mind to plan the development of the district as he has to shuttle between the district and the United States of America. It is revealing that Hon. Boahen was appointed at a time he had just relocated to the United States of America as a Green Cardholder.

The research findings have uncovered that the Hon DCE has not been able to build a good rapport with Chiefs, opinion leaders and grassroots members of the NPP. Rather his preoccupation has been on how to fund his frequent travels to the United States of America as required by American Green Card holders. The following are some of the findings of the research which I have chanced upon:

1. The DCE is accused of frequent travels to the United States of America. This, the people think, affects his work. Our investigations found that Hon. Andrew Adu Boahen has been to the US at least every six months since he assumed office to satisfy the requirements of an American Green Cardholder. According to some respondents our team spoke to:

"Our DCE does not take the work seriously and has been travelling to the United States of America every 6 months or less. This he does to ensure that he continues to hold the Green Card of America. We are of the firm belief that this green card does not allow our DCE to stay in Ghana, focus and plan for our development".

2. Also, the DCE is accused of a lack of creativity and innovation in his leadership. He has not been able to connect well with the Chiefs in the district and has failed to mobilise the youth for development. One cannot tell a new thing he has brought on board since assuming office as DCE of Adansi Asokwa in 2018.

3. The people in the District think that he has performed abysmally and has not been up to the task. For example, they state that even work on the building for the district administration is not progressing as expected. Some officers do not even have office space to carry out their work.

4. Hon. Adu Boahen embarks on his US travels without the permission of the Honourable Chief of Staff and the Honourable Minister responsible for Local Government and Rural Development.

5. Galamsey in rivers Gyimi, Anunu and others have exacerbated since he took over. He has shown no commitment to fighting galamsey which has become a national security issue.

6. The DCE according to party members has shown little interest in the party activities and is very selective in supporting party members when they need assistance.

In conclusion, our engagement with the people of Adansi Asokwa clearly explains why a promising district in the Ashanti Region has not seen a turnaround since the district was created in 2018 and handed to Hon. Andrew Adu Boahen. The majority of the people, therefore, do not expect His Excellency the President to reappoint him, according to the research.