Let me begin my write up by drawing inspiration from a speech delivered by late Rev. Martin Luther King Jnr., in 1967 at the First Annual Conference on New Politics, in Washington DC, USA, “…..so let us stand in this conference, knowing that on some positions, Politics ask the question, is it safe? Expedients ask the question is it politic? Vanity ask the question, is it popular? But Conscience ask the question is it right? On some positions (2x), it is necessary for the moral individual to take a stand that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but he must do it because it is right!….”
On Thursday, 6th October, 2016, Bogoso based Trinity 96.7 FM in the Western Region of Ghana re-hosted the District Budget Officer for Prestea Huni-Valley District, Mr. Ernest Tagoe to clarify important issues concerning certain allocations in Composite Annual Action Plan and Annual District Budget of the Prestea Huni Valley District.
On the programmed named “Asetena pa”, hosted by renowned Ohemma Naomi Afriyie Nyannor, the budget officer was specifically respond to documents presented to the FM Station by one Francis Eshun, a citizen of Prestea and a regular contributor to “Filla Show” on the FM station.
Among the issues to be addressed include: Allocation of GH ₵ 26,880.00 for Vaccination of Monkeys and Cats in Prestea Huni Valley District. Allocation of GH ₵ 54,716.00 to buying of Newspapers, Journals, Stationary and Value Books for 2016.
The District is located at about 33 Kilometers east of Tarkwa, a mining District and covers an about 1376 sqkm. According to the 2010 Population and Housing Census, the total population of the PresteaHuni-Valley District was 159,304.
ALLOCATION OF GH ₵ 26,880.00 FOR VACCINATION OF MONKEYS AND CATS IN PRESTEA HUNI VALLEY DISTRICT.
Except of the page 3, of the 2016 Composite Annual Action Plan Under the GSGDA II 2014-2017 of Prestea Huni Valley District Assembly are as follows:
Objective 3: Promote livestock and poultry development for food security and job creation
In response, Mr. Ernest Tagoe stated “ I think at the time, we were doing the budget, may be someone had monkeys”. He further stated that “if you have a monkey, it is not a bad thing” and that if the money “had came, we(i.e District Assembly) would have vaccinated all these monkeys”.
The big question is, what actually prompted the inclusion of monkey’s vaccination, when in fact, there is no monkey sanctuary in the District? How many monkeys was the District Assembly seeking to vaccinate?
According to page 20 of the 2014 District Budget, it was stated that a magistrate bungalow was to be contructed in Prestea, but it turned out that, a ‘renovation of an old bungalow belonging to Golden Star Resources Prestea/Bogoso Ltd.
In response, Mr. Tagoe stated that, the District Assembly changed the project from “construction” to “renovation” because they could not get land in Prestea to embark on the Project.
The presenter, Naomi Afriyie Nyannor requested for actual amount used for the renovation, but Mr. Tagoe could not produce it.
The indication here, which looks shocking, that a whole District Assembly can use “land unavailability” as the cause of its inability to embark on a project that it has presented in its annual budget to the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development for approval. It is my wish that the matter is investigated to accertain the truth of this excuse raised by the budget officer.
ALLOCATION OF GH ₵ 54,716.00 TO BUYING OF NEWSPAPERS, JOURNALS, STATIONARY AND VALUE BOOKS FOR 2016.
In a District whose rural population of 62.9% exceeds the regional average of 57.6%, can spend GH ₵ 54,716.00 in 2016 on purchasing of Newspapers and Stationary. It is important to note that monies allocated to Newspapers et al is more than the total monies allocated to our seven Urban/ Area councils (GH ₵ 15,000) (page 2, 2016 District Budget). This again is mind-boggling!
In response, the Budget Officer, Mr. Tagoe stated that its not a big deal because the “Newspapers and Value Books are expensive”.
Mr. Tagoe alluded to the facts that GH ₵ 40,000.00 (Forty thousand Ghana Cedis) has in fact been approved to our DCE, Robert Wisdom Cudjoe, to enable him attend public functions such as Funeral Invitations, Church Invitations et al.
All these has become necessary because in Prestea Huni Valley District bedeviled with poor roads, especially in Prestea, while health facilities such as the only District Hospital, Prestea Government Hospital is in a deplorable state.
Others include lack of potable water in Prestea, and other major towns in the District. Furthermore, sanitation issues with respect to our various refuse damps and gutters in the community needs to be attended to, but are left because of reasons such as lack funds.
It is in this interest that complete investigation should be conducted to find out why a district, which receives (projected income) is facing so much problems that could have been attended to based on money coming from various agencies for the development of the District.
I will therefore call for further invigations into how funds provided to the Prestea Huni Valley District to ensure that the tax payers money does not enter into wrong pockets.
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