The National Democratic Congress’(NDC) parliamentary candidate for Abuakwa North in the 2016 polls, Victor Smith, has rubbished accusations by the constituency executives who are blaming him for spending cash meant for campaign activities in the constituency in the last elections.
“I don’t owe it to the constituency executives to render any account,” Smith told host Fiifi Banson on Anopa Kasapa on Kasapa 102.5 FM Tuesday.
The aggrieved executives have made a case for the poor show of the party in the 2016 elections.
Reacting to such claims, Smith said there was a ploy by the executives to waste the campaign resources in the last elections, hence he stopping all the leakages and diversion of the campaign resources, explains the reasons for his hatred by the executives.
“Why should they benefit from the monies? The money is not for them, if they want to complain, they should complain to the regional or national office.
According to him, the current crop of executives should be looked at since they have failed to work in the constituency to ensure victory for the NDC.
He said the mentality of the constituency executives is that the NDC can never annex that seat, as a result of that every resources that come through they have purposed to share it among themselves and squander it.
“They don’t make a special effort to go down there and whip up support for the party. they don’t do the work; I do all the work. Two months to elections , When I arrived from UK, we spent a lot. We visited the nooks and cranny of the constituency to distribute items and stuff for locals…we were given them Wellington boots, cutlasses and all that I paid for it with my own money.
Now when the items arrived and I took a decision that we have given enough, because five days to the time these items will not be put to good use, and I informed the executives that it will be used subsequently to create jobs for the community for people to acquire skills in hairdressing and dressmaking, and as they acquire the skills,they also produce things that we can sell to get some revenue to build the party within the constituency and that is the position where we are at the moment.
“My campaign headquarters since 2011-2012 I have tried to refurbish my father’s house there with my own resources over a long period. Do they know the source of my funds? that is why I wanted to find out from the gentleman, they should tell me how much money came from headquarters for use in the campaign and I’ll account for that kind of money.
I don’t see them working hard enough. I had to recruit and bring in other people who were non-NDC, but these people believed that I meant well for the constituency, they came to support me, some even came from NPP.
“They had the problem with how I run things because it was a problem for them that I don’t allow them to squander the monies.
Sometimes they are bold to tell you that master we don’t benefit from the cash, but this is campaign money. So I insisted and we spent a lot of money long before the election day.
So what do you want me to do, that when money come from the party from Accra, region or whatever for campaign I should just hand the monies to them and use it they way they want? I won’t do that. I will use it where I found appropriate.”
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