The Chief Executive Officer of the Ga East Municipal Assembly, Ms Deborah Ampofo has been criticized over her failure to investigate corruption allegation presented to her and instead attempting to cover it up
An open letter sent written and sign by Joyce Obenewaa intercepted by the New Crusading Guide said it was unethical on her part to peddle falsehoods without, first, investigating the claims levelled against the corrupt officials at the Ga East Municipal Assembly”.
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Attention: Mrs. Deborah Ampofo — Municipal Chief Executive
Ga East Municipal Assembly
Abokobi
Greater Accra Region
Re: Local Government Petitioned to Investigate Corruption and Criminal Acts at Ga East
Municipal Assembly
My attention has been drawn to your rejoinder in The New Crusading Guide newspaper regarding the abovementioned publication. Your piece, which was poorly constituted, came across as a hopeless excursion to play victim; that is to mend the image of a corrupt Assembly managed by a ‘legion of the ‘deplorables.’
As a political appointee, it is unethical to peddle falsehoods without, first, investigating the claims levelled against corrupt officials at the Assembly. Now, permit me to address the untruths in your rejoinder:
Madam Chief Executive, do you still deny the claim that Mr. Prempeh, a driver at the Assembly who carries himself as a senior official, and Mr. Amoo visit sites to stop work and to collect money from homeowners? Please do not respond to this publication with the excuse that these individuals are missionaries who go to sites, without official authorization, to preach goodwill.No, they are not.
The “Stop Work Produce Permit,” you referred to in your letter to The New Crusading Guide newspaper was not printed on my wall as alleged. The order, “Remove Now by GEMA” was printed on the wall of the opposite house. Please consult Chris, the engineer at Municipal Works for detailed information. The owner of the house erased the order. My brother informed the Municipal Engineer at the Department of Works, Mr. Peter Bah-Lano and Chris twice. Of course, they took no action.
Madam Chief Executive, I am puzzled by your understanding of the word “encroach[ment]. The extended wall you referred to in your reply to my publication is within the demarcated boundaries of my property. Now my question: On what basis in law, am I obliged to “maintain an existing fence line” when the new wall is within the demarcated line(s) on my site plan?
Instead of scolding me for obeying the law, another falsehood, I urge you to turn your attention to the corrupt officials who issued the building permits that allowed my neighbour(s) to build on the road.
For the records, my communication with Mr. Kwabena Asiedu-Bediako on the precinct of the Assembly regarding the “rationale for the disapproval of the construction of the fence wall” was extensive. I stand by my claims.
Your suggestion that applicants who are not satisfied with “decision[s] and service[s] rendered by the Assembly . . . [report] to the Municipal Engineer” underscores your lack of familiarity with the decay at the Assembly. Your uninformed advice is reminiscent of telling an aggrieved “cockerel” to seek justice in a kangaroo court presided over by a battalion of hungry foxes and vixens whose primary motivation for coming to work is to fleece their victims.
Madam Chief Executive, by cherry-picking on my publication, you are partly responsible for the dysfunctions and gross deficits at the Assembly. Your assertion that the Assembly has “no records [on me] Joyce Obenewaa” is false. Please review Mrs. Elizabeth Obeng’s application. In my first publication, which, I assume you did not read or fully comprehend, Mrs. Elizabeth Obeng and I are sisters and “co-owners” of the property.
Your inference that I did not report “infractions by [y]our officers,” again, is false. My brother reported Mr. Prempeh and Mr. Amoo to Mr. Peter Bah-Lano. Furthermore, the infraction was cited in my publication. As the Chief Executive Officer, what steps did you take to investigate my allegation? Your determination to defend/dismiss allegations of corruption lends credence to my assertion that the Assembly is corrupt, and by extension your office. To appreciate the extent of corruption at the Assembly, I urge you to set up a complaint hotline managed by an independent agency. The Assembly is not a citadel populated by saints.
On a disapproving note, my assessment of your effectiveness as the Municipal Chief Executive Officer is below average. The interest of the Assembly would be better served with your dismissal by the President and with the appointment of a new Municipal Chief Executive who possesses the requisite competence, energy, experience, and training to reform the Assembly. I hope the President, His Excellency, Nana Akufo Addo Dankwa reads my publication and withdraws your appointment immediately. You are not the managerial archetype nor the pearl the Assembly needs to change its current trajectory.
Thank you.
Sincerely yours,
Joyce Obenewaa
