Premix allegations unsubstantiated - Landing Beach Committees

The Association of the Central Region Landing Beach Committees (LBC) has described as “blatant, baseless and unsubstantiated", allegations labelled against them by the Central Region Branch of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

Last month, the NDC branch in a press release signed by Mr. Kwesi Dawood, its Communication Officer, accused Premix Committees in the Region of diversion of premix fuel and lack of accountability, which it said, was creating chaos, quarrels and open fights.

That statement, consequently, appealed to President John Mahama to dissolve all premix committees in the Region, and empower Mr. Aquinas Tawiah Quansah, the Regional Minister to reconstitute them.

But in a rebuttal press statement, signed by Mr. Erskine Amoah, the Regional Secretary of the LBC, and copied to the Ghana News Agency, at the weekend, urged the President and the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development to disregard the allegations and appeal.

The statement rather alleged that the call for the dissolution and reconstitution of the committees would “only pave way for that group to get hold of the sweat of the fishermen for their selfish interest”.

It claimed that there were a number of party executives who had over the years attempted to get hold of the profits from the sale of the premix but the committees had fiercely resisted, saying that, “We are even ready to name some of them should the need arise”.

It explained that it was not possible for them to divert the fuel since all tankers loaded with the premix were electronically installed with sophisticated tracking devices at the Tema Oil Refinery with which security agencies closely monitored the vehicles until they arrived at their scheduled destinations.

It stated that at the beginning of last year, an Audit Unit from the National Premix Secretariat audited all LBCs in the region, while in late last year and early this year, Kwame Asante and Associates, a charted accountants and Management Consultant firm, also followed up with audit checks.

The statement emphasized that rendering accounts of stewardship to the fishing communities was a pivotal responsibility of all LBCs before profits were used for any project, and prior to the rendering of accounts, all Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives were duly informed.

It said the word “ chaos” used by the NDC branch to describe what happened at the dispensing pumps during distribution of the fuel was misleading and inappropriate, explaining that during such a time, all canoe owners, fishermen and residents queued to be served “ therefore, naturally, there will be noise”.

It stated that profits from the sale of the premix had been for the provision of classroom blocks, roads and their management, clinics, publics toilets, electrification projects, scholarships and others, aimed at improving the general life in the fishing communities.

The pre-occupation of the premix committees, according to the statement, was to organize and unify fishermen for common political discourse to bring information to the doorstep of the fishermen.

The ultimate aim was to get a landslide victory for the NDC in the 2016 elections, it said.

“We are therefore calling on his Excellency the President and the sector Minister to treat his (Mr. Kwesi Dawood's) release with the strongest contempt it deserves… we hope these unfounded baseless accusations will be taken as null and void and thrown away,” the statement said.