The Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) has explained that, the new Mayor, Mr Osei Assibey Antwi’s maiden sessional address was not intended at playing a blame game with respect to the mounting debts confronting the assembly.
Rather, it said the address was misinterpreted and misconstrued by many people including a publication by the Ghanaian Observer newspaper.
In a rejoinder to the newspaper publication that stated that the “KMA was on warpath,” the KMA said from the context of the maiden address, the mayor intended to indicate that more Judgement Debts were given in favour of debtors within the last three months of 2016 and that “it was not an attempt to play the blame game on any particular past administration.”
Below is a copy of the KMA’s explanation
The information in the publication [Ghanaian Observer newspaper] misinformed the public and also tainted the credibility of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) as an institution.
The Mayor during the delivery of his maiden Sessional Address to the General Assembly, held at the True Vine Hotel on Thursday 11 May, 2017, did not say anything as contained in the reportage.
The publication quoted Hon. Osei Assibey Antwi to have said that the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly has been milked dried by his predecessors. The paper also alleged that in the last three months to the elections in 2016, a whopping 44 million Ghana Cedis was withdrawn from the Assembly’s account for questionable projects.
The Assembly would therefore like to state categorically that, the above information carried the paper was not mentioned anywhere in the Metropolitan Chief Executive’s Sessional Address.
Hon. Osei Assibey Antwi rather informed the General Assembly that he had in his possession, “a summary report of KMA’s Financial Liabilities as at 3Ist December, 2016 which stands at One Hundred and Nineteen Million, Two Hundred and Thirteen Thousand, Three hundred and Thirty-three Ghana Cedis, Twenty -two Pesewas (GHC119, 213,333.22) accumulated over several years.”
The details were as follows; “Common Fund Contractors and Suppliers Gh¢321,550.59, IGF Suppliers Gh¢3,599,7I7.05, IGF Contractors Gh¢855,564.42, Waste Management Service Providers Gh¢63,833.626.73 and Judgement Debt Creditors Gh¢50,602,874.43”.
With regard to the Judgement Debts, he said, it was worrying to note that, within a space of three (3) months i.e. October to December 2016, our judgement debt stock has risen from Gh¢6,427,287.75 to Gh¢ 50,602,874.43. These figures are likely to increase as other judgements are given in favour of the plaintiffs in the pending cases”.
He also remarked that ”just recently Meskworld company limited, through their solicitors Lithur Brew and company served notice on KMA to sue if the Assembly fails to pay the sum of Three Million, One Hundred and Seventy one Thousand, Eight Hundred and Sixty-Six Ghana cedis, four pesewas (Gh¢3,171,866.04) owed since 2008”.
This statement has been misinterpreted and misconstrued by many people including the Ghanaian Observer newspaper. From that context the statement was made, it was to indicate that more Judgement Debts were given in favour of our debtors within that period but it was not an attempt to play the blame game on any particular past administration.
The Assembly would also like to use this platform to appeal to the general public that its doors are open for those who need further clarification on the sessional address presented by the Metropolitan Chief Executive, instead of distorting the content of the well-meaning address.
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