Pieces of information gathered by the Chronicle indicate that the District Chief Executive (DCE) for Yilo Krobo, ex-Sub Lt. Christian Tettey a.k.a. Black Slate, will face the wrath of some members of the assembly at its next general meeting, following series of corruption allegations leveled against him.
From the President's Special Initiative (P.S.I.) on cassava through the disbursement of the Poverty Alleviation Fund to an old market rehabilitation project, the DCE has been accused of displaying "a one man show" in running the affairs of the assembly and also taking decisions contrary to those of the assembly as well as the Local Government Law that established the district assemblies.
However, the DCE when contacted, denied all and described those allegations as "petty and smear campaigns" aimed at destroying him. Chronicle probing elicited that the cost of renovating an old market, which started at ?60million, has, as at now, reached ? 418 m.
Some members this reporter talked to revealed that at the assembly's general sitting before last, it was resolved that works on the old market be suspended until bills of quantities and drawings (BoQ/D) were produced before the assembly for scrutiny.
The decision to suspend the project arose when the Executive Committee headed by the DCE, at the said meeting, requested for another ?200m from the assembly Even though the BoQ/D have not been presented to the assembly, works were steadily going on at the old market when the Chronicle visited the place.
The DCE, when asked questions on this issue, confirmed the assembly's request for the BoQ/D at the last but one meeting but denied knowledge that the decision to suspend the project until the BoQ/D were submitted for scrutiny.
This also contradicts the minutes of the assembly's meeting during which that decision was arrived, which was sighted by the reporter.
Indeed the assembly decided that not until the BoQ/D were presented to the general house for discussions, all works on the old market should stop.
The Chronicle learnt that at a time the committee charged by law to supervise the administration of the Poverty Alleviation Fund (PAF) has not been formed, some people had got their applications approved and had, as at December 2, collected their money from the bank.
The non-existence of PAF committee, chaired by the presiding member, old members was confirmed by the DCE when interviewed but said those who were collecting the fund got their applications approved by the previous committee.
According to him all the members of the previous committee have been retained and that the assembly had yet to communicate to them.
This was later found not to be correct, for Chronicle gathered that the current presiding member who is required by law to chair the PAF committee was formerly neither a member nor the presiding member of the assembly.
On the PSI on cassava, members who spoke to the Chronicle complained about the way the DCE was single-handedly executing the project.
Not even the district finance officer (DFO) when contacted could tell this reporter how much the assembly had so far received and spent on the PSI. "I cannot give you any information about it, if you want anything, go to the DCE" said the DFO.
This was not different when the district coordinating officer, who is supposed to be the spending officer of the assembly, was contacted. The coordinator could not tell the size of the land that has been acquired for the project.
The DCE when contacted said fifty hectres of land had been acquired. He said the assembly had so far received ?50m and that the money came in two trenches of ?20m and ?30m.
When asked how much the assembly had spent so far on the project, he could not give the exact figure. He promised to phone the reporter and provide the exact amount later but nothing was heard from him at the time of going to press.
According to him, "a bulldozer was hired at ?3.5m for a day's work of eight hours, in clearing the land and that fuel cost was part of the ?3.5m". We have ?17.5m and the 20 plus million cedis but you wait until I give you the exact figure we have spent on clearing alone," he continued.
This also did not form part of the amount spent in ploughing the land, he concluded.
