TMA contract to Tema NDC chairman sparks controversy

Some assembly members of the Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA) have accused their Presiding Member (PM) for not doing enough to block revenue leakage at the assembly’s car park, which has been contracted to the Tema East Constituency National Democratic Congress (NDC) chairman.

Mr Romeo Elikplim Akahoho, who is also the assemblyman for the Adjei Kojo Electoral Area, according to the assembly members, is aware of a majority resolution the members passed last November to discontinue the contract the assembly had with Cool Brothers, a company for Mr Mustapha Darko, Tema East NDC chairman.

The contract of Mr Darko’s company expired early 2013 and the car park, which used to be an additional source of Internally Generated Fund (IGF) to the assembly before it was given out on contract, was discontinued by the assembly’s resolution so that the assembly could employ its own toll collector.

While they are fighting for the assembly to take over the running of the car park, the assembly members said a few of the members and their Metropolitan Chief Executive (MCE) at an emergency meeting on Thursday, August 28, 2014 proposed that the toll be increased from GH¢1 to GH¢2.

The aggrieved assembly members said they would have supported the move if the toll increment was going into the revenue coffers of the assembly, but since the chunk of the money collected from the over a hundred cars that use the park daily goes into a private man’s pocket, they would not support the increment.

They said some assembly members are pushing an agenda to pass the increment illegally, but assured that they would protest against its passage, defending that the majority of them are against the increment.

Revenue in-flows to the TMA, they complained, has not been favourable for most part of this year; consequently, they said, they are going to push for their PM and MCE, Mr Isaac Ashai Odamtten, to call a general assembly meeting to tell the house why both have refused to effect the resolution the house passed on the contract discontinuation of Mr Darko’s company.

When contacted, Mr Romeo Akahoho admitted that the car park toll is collected by Mr Darko’s company “and indeed, we passed a resolution to cancel and discontinue his contract last November so that the TMA collected its own toll at the car park, but the one to effect the move is administrative, led by the MCE.”

Mr Mustapha Darko’s company’s contract, Mr Akahoho informed, expired before the resolution was passed by the assembly, and maintained that the contract has since not been renewed to the best of his knowledge.

On the increment of the toll from GH¢1 to GH¢2 too, he admitted that such a proposal was raised at an emergency meeting “but the house can only approve it by a majority vote. Nobody can push their way to force anybody to approve it.”