Former Member of Parliament for the Kumbumgu Constituency, Ras Mubarak has alleged that government has hired some persons to track Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa.
He, thus, has asked Ghanaians to blame President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and the National Security Ministry should any harm befall the MP.
According to the former MP, he has picked up intelligence that some persons have been tracking his party member and has since informed Mr Ablakwa to take his security seriously.
“I spoke to him about it and told him to take a safety precaution . . . ,” he told Neat FM in an interview.
“The first duty of every President is the protection of his citizens . . . that is why I said that if a sitting Member of Parliament is harmed, the President and National Security must be held responsible,” he added.
Mr Ablakwa of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has been critical of the government by releasing several exposés highlighting infractions within the government.
His exposés have recently been focused on the National Cathedral construction which has divided public opinion on its prioritisation and budgeting.
But according to Ras Muburak, some people have been following the North Tongu MP around and that raises questions about the safety and security of Mr Ablakwa.
“People are tailing him. They’re tracking his [Ablakwa’s] movement and we don’t have to wait till something happens. We’ve had instances in this country where a Journalist was harmed and killed,” he told NEAT FM’s morning show, ‘Ghana Montie’, in an interview.
The Secretary to the Board of the National Cathedral of Ghana, Rev. Victor Kusi Boateng, also known as Kwabena Adu Gyami, has been criticized the Minority Caucus of Parliament for his legal activities against North Tongu Member of Parliament, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa.
In a statement issued by the Minority Leader, Cassiel Ato Forson, on Wednesday, the minority caucus said that the legal actions against Ablakwa over his latest exposé on the National Cathedral of Ghana are just attempts to derail his oversight duties as an MP.
It added that Rev Kusi Boateng’s claim that the MP’s exposé exposes him to identity theft does not hold because he, himself, has different identities.
“The instant preposterous and cowardly legal action against our respected colleague, Hon. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa by President Akufo-Addo’s appointee to the Board of Trustees of the scandal-ridden National Cathedral of Ghana who now claims to be called Kwabena Adu Gyamfi even though all public records including incorporation documents show that he was duly appointed as Rev. Victor Kusi Boateng is nothing but a desperate effort to stifle parliamentary scrutiny and pervert the course of justice.
“In any case, the claim by the applicant that the continuous publication of his personal information violates his privacy raises legitimate, legal and logical questions about which of his dual identities with his different names, different dates of birth, different TINS, different mothers and different national IDs actually refer to him,” parts of the statement read.
The statement by the Minority Caucus comes after Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa was cited for contempt of court by Rev Kusi Boateng for his handling of a restraining order document issued by a court in Accra.
The MP was captured in a viral video throwing out a restraining order document from the secretary to the Board of Trustees of the National Cathedral of Ghana, Rev Victor Kusi Boateng, who is also known as Kwabena Adu Gyamfi.
Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa was forced to kick out the document after the bailiff tried to force the document into his car on the compound of Metro TV after the Good Morning Ghana show.
The motion for contempt, which was filed by Rev Kusi Boateng, indicated that the reasons Ablakwa gave for rejecting the document were not tangible.
According to the court document, which was sighted by GhanaWeb, the MP said that he could not be served the document because he was on his way to Parliament but the House was on recess as at the time the order was being served.
About restraining order against Ablakwa
The secretary to the board of Trustees of the National Cathedral of Ghana, Rev Victor Kusi Boateng, who is also known as Kwabena Adu Gyamfi, has secured an order of interim injunction against the Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa.
The order restrains Okudzeto Ablakwa from publicly sharing any document belonging to Kwabena Adu Gyamfi for the next 10 days.
The MP who disclosed this in a tweet shared on Friday, February 3, 2023, said that he was served the order after his appearance on Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana programme on the same day.
“One Kwabena Adu Gyamfi also claiming to have an alias as Victor Kusi Boateng has secured a 10-day restraining order seeking to stop me from further publications on the Conflict of Interest & Double Identity Scandal,” parts of the MP’s tweet read.
The MP shared a picture of the order he was served which read: “IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the 1″ Respondent, SAMUEL OKUDZETO ABLAKWA is restrained from making further public disclosures of private documents, correspondence, communication and property belonging to the Applicant (Adu Gyamfi).”
“IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that this interim order will lapse after Ten (10) days,” it added.
Background
The latest corruption exposé on the National Cathedral by the Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, suggested impropriety on the part of the secretary to the Board of Trustees of the National Cathedral of Ghana, Rev. Victor Kusi Boateng.
On January 16, 2023, the MP made some allegations against Rev. Kusi Boateng, who is the secretary to the Board of Trustees of the National Cathedral of Ghana.
In an earlier revelation about the National Cathedral, Okudzeto Ablakwa said a whopping GH¢2.6 million was dished out to a company named JNS Talent Centre Limited.
Further investigations into the alleged payment led to the discovery of one Kwabena Adu Gyamfi as a director of JNS Talent Centre.
Having confirmed the identities of two out of three directors of the centre, Ablakwa dug deeper in a bid to discover the identity of the third director, Kwabena Adu Gyamfi.
According to his findings, citing a number of statutory documents, Kwabena Adu Gyamfi was the same as Reverend Kusi Boateng, who has allegedly been operating under the pseudonym Kwabena Adu Gyamfi.
MP for North Tongu, Sam Okudzeto Ablakwa, has made more revelations about Government’s payments to Sir David Adjaye.
He says Government paid additional US$5.8million to lead consultant of the National Cathedral of Ghana project, Sir David Adjaye, in 2021.
The amount according to North Tongu Member of Parliament, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, was extra payment for what he called design variations to the existing architectural design Adjaye had originally done.
Adjaye Associates & Design Team were directly paid an amount of GH¢113.040.54.67 million according to records presented to Parliament in 2022 by the secretariat of the National Cathedral.
On the specific works that led to the over US$5.8 million payment, Ablakwa wrote in a Facebook post dated February 7, 2023:
“Newly secured cathedral documents reveal that just for a minor design variation of including a 300+ seater restaurant and expansion of an already paid for Bible museum, government paid David Adjaye an additional outrageous and extortionate US$5.8million (specifically US$5,817,769.65; amounting to a staggering GHS33,539,442.03 in 2021).”
It is not known whether this figure was contained in the original expenditure document presented to Parliament or it is from a different source.
Minister of Finance Ken Ofori-Atta told Parliament in Decembebr 2022 that a total amount of GHC339 million had been spent on the project from public funds – specifically the Contingency Fund.
Read Ablakwa’s full post on the alleged payment:
How David Adjaye billed Ghana a colossal US$5.8million (GHS33.5million in 2021) for a Minor Cathedral Design Variation
The heartbreaking images of Ghana’s pensioners and vulnerable senior citizens picketing at the Finance Ministry when they should be enjoying a well-deserved restful and happy retirement with their grandchildren is undoubtedly the result of reckless mismanagement and cruel dissipation of the nation’s resources by this Akufo-Addo/Bawumia/Ofori-Atta inept government.
Newly secured cathedral documents reveal that just for a minor design variation of including a 300+ seater restaurant and expansion of an already paid for Bible museum, government paid David Adjaye an additional outrageous and extortionate US$5.8million (specifically US$5,817,769.65; amounting to a staggering GHS33,539,442.03 in 2021).
This latest information confirms that so far, the Ghanaian taxpayer has coughed up an exorbitant US$25,444,192.42 (GHS152.6million) solely for Adjaye’s cathedral architectural designs.
Put in context, this GHS152.6million is more than the entire 2023 compensation (salaries and wages) budgetary allocation for the Ministries of Food and Agriculture; Trade and Industry; Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts; Energy; Information; Roads and Highways; Works and Housing; Communications and Digitalisation; Youth and Sports; Railways Development, and a host of others.
GHS152.6million can also complete more than 80% of the abandoned Saglemi affordable housing units. It could equally have completed the targeted 200 E-Block community senior high schools project.
Ghana’s current economic tribulations are undoubtedly self-inflicted—definitely created by this heartless NPP administration.
Our prayers and solidarity are with all pensioners—government ought to listen and immediately exempt them from its dreadful DDEP!
Like most Ghanaians, I can’t wait for Parliament’s parliamentary probe into this scandal-plagued “National” Cathedral project.
Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has been hnoured by the Ghana Medical Association (GMA).
He was awarded a medal of honour and a citation “for his contributions to the advancement of the health sector in the Volta Region.”
In a series of tweets shared on Sunday, February 5, 2023, the MP said that he is humbled and inspired by the gesture.
He expressed his gratitude to the GMA and his special public health advisor, Dr. Momodou Cham, who he said played a key role in his intervention in the health sector in the Volta Region.
“Sincerely, it is really humbling and deeply inspiring to know that the professionals and practitioners at the heart of health delivery have returned a positive verdict on my health interventions.
Last night I received a medal of honour and a citation from the prestigious Ghana Medical Association (Volta/Oti Division) for what they described as my “outstanding contributions to the advancement of the health sector.”
“This isn’t an individual accomplishment but a collective recognition; there wouldn’t be this award without my special public health advisor, Dr. Momodou Cham, our dynamic volunteers, our numerous donors both home and abroad, patients and healthcare workers who boldly tell us their needs, the many doctors and nurses who accept our outreach invitations, community leaders, party activists and strategic partners,” parts of the tweet read.
The tweets included a video of the MP receiving the award amid resounding applause and a standing ovation.
Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has intimated that he is not against the work of God.
He insists the work he is doing by way of pushing for accountability and transparency in the construction of the National Cathedral is not an agenda against the church.
The Ranking Member on Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, in a Citi TV interview (December 2022), emphasised the importance of religion (Christianity) on his past and present.
Ablakwa has over the last few months published instances of corporate governance and alleged financial infractions on the part of government and trustees in the building of the Cathedral.
The dogged nature of his advocacy has led people in some quarters to question his real motives, but he insists: “This is not an agenda against the church, I am not seeking to bring down a religion that I will be nobody without.
“I have said time without number that where would I be without Christianity? Belief in the saving power, the salvation grace of Jesus, the Christ,” he stressed.
He recounted how former Speaker of Parliament, Prof Oquaye, had mentored him through his Sunday school days as well as his role in religious groupings during his Senior High School days.
“I am not a pagan, I am not anti-Christ or whatever they say,” he added.
The Member of Parliament has since January 2023 disclosed statutory documentation purporting to prove that Rev. Victor Kusi Boateng, is operating under the pseudonym Kwabena Adu Gyamfi for criminal purposes.
The MP has so far released a number of passports, drivers’ license, Tax Identification Number data and details of company registration that Kusi Boateng (Adu Gyamfi) has used in the past and some he continues to use.
In the latest installment of his posts, Ablakwa said a statement by the NIA on the Ghana Card status of Kwabena Adu Gyamfi confirmed that in their records, Victor Kusi Boateng did not exist, a claim he made last week.
He has justified his publications of Kusi Boateng’s documents with the view that the clergyman was using two names because he was engaging in criminal activities with one of the identities (i.e. Kwabena Adu Gyamfi.)
Ablakwa has stood by an accusation that the pastor’s company (JNS Talent Center) was paid an unmerited sum from the National Cathedral kitty, even though the secretariat has explained that the GHC2.6 million paid to Rev Kusi Boateng was a loan repayment.
According to Ablakwa, the Board of Trustees never discussed acquiring a loan facility, and at the time the loan was acquired, the Cathedral had about $6 million in its bank accounts.
Some people on social media, particularly pro-government voices, are demanding the arrest of Member of Parliament for North Tongu for acts deemed disrespectful to the judicial arm of government.
According to them, the manner in which Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa treated court documents served on him by a bailiff in the morning of February 3, 2023 was an affront to the authority of the court.
Ablakwa was sighted in a viral video purportedly rejecting service of a restraining order document from the secretary to the board of Trustees of the National Cathedral of Ghana, Rev Victor Kusi Boateng, who is also known as Kwabena Adu Gyamfi.
Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa gets down from his car and kicks the document after the bailiff tried to force it into his car on the premises of Metro TV after the Good Morning Ghana show – he was a guest on the programme.
Below are some of the demands for his arrest and the need for him to be cited for contempt:
Court issues restraining order on Ablakwa concerning the Prophet’s private matters. Apparently he had been dodging till they caught up with him at Metro tv. This is unfortunate ???? pic.twitter.com/u5SIdT7bTM— Besiaba AbaMansa (@BesiabaAM25) February 4, 2023
Okudzato ablakwa,Member of Parliament for North Tongu,kicking,and stamping an order of interim injunction secured by Kwabena Adu Gyamfi…. How can Ablakwa be so disrespectful to the court,very useless MP#ShamelessAblakwapic.twitter.com/AaIMyvF5jq— Nana Ansah Obofour (@NanaAnsahObofou) February 3, 2023
Court issues restraining order on Ablakwa concerning the Prophet’s private matters.Apparently he had been dodging till they caught up with him.
Man have been dodging All this while till he was caught up today,If you know everything you’ve been saying is the truth then why dodge? pic.twitter.com/oqX6aBhpoI
GHANA MATTERS: This is SAMUEL OKUDZETO ABLAKWA, a Member of Ghana’s Parliament kicking the court papers served on him like a football. He has no respect for the court. Seems maturity is distantly many oceans away from his mindset. Unruly and indisciplined. Just Boyish. pic.twitter.com/S7tKck6Fjf— Augustine Agbenaza (@august4551) February 3, 2023
Ablakwa wants the rule of law to work yet he is trying to destroy the injunction. What’s a parliamentarian? Kai.— Sarfo Collins (@Sarfoc19) February 3, 2023
Brief of what transpired
A man initially approached the lawmaker as he was just about to sit in his car after the show, the two were captured having a conversation after which a document was presented to him.
The lawmaker did not take the document but went ahead to seat on his car, just as he opened his car, the bailiff tried to force the document into the lawmaker’s car but he immediately threw it out, kicked the document away from his car and drove off.
Rev Kusi Boateng secures restraining order against Ablakwa
The secretary to the board of Trustees of the National Cathedral of Ghana, Rev Victor Kusi Boateng, who is also known as Kwabena Adu Gyamfi, has secured an order of interim injunction against the Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa.
The order restrains Okudzeto Ablakwa from publicly sharing any document belonging to Kwabena Adu Gyamfi for the next 10 days.
The MP who disclosed this in a tweet shared on Friday, February 3, 2023, said that he was served the order after his appearance on Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana programme on the same day.
“One Kwabena Adu Gyamfi also claiming to have an alias as Victor Kusi Boateng has secured a 10-day restraining order seeking to stop me from further publications on the Conflict of Interest & Double Identity Scandal,” parts of the MP’s tweet read.
The MP shared a picture of the order he was served which read: “IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the 1″ Respondent, SAMUEL OKUDZETO ABLAKWA is restrained from making further public disclosures of private documents, correspondence, communication and property belonging to the Applicant (Adu Gyamfi).”
“IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that this interim order will lapse after Ten (10) days,” it added.
Background
The latest corruption exposé on the National Cathedral by the Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, suggested impropriety on the part of the secretary to the Board of Trustees of the National Cathedral of Ghana, Rev. Victor Kusi Boateng.
On January 16, 2023, the MP made some allegations against Rev. Kusi Boateng, who is the secretary to the Board of Trustees of the National Cathedral of Ghana.
In an earlier revelation about the National Cathedral, Okudzeto Ablakwa said a whopping GH¢2.6 million was dished out to a company named JNS Talent Centre Limited.
Further investigations into the alleged payment led to the discovery of one Kwabena Adu Gyamfi as a director of JNS Talent Centre.
Having confirmed the identities of two out of three directors of the centre, Ablakwa dug deeper in a bid to discover the identity of the third director, Kwabena Adu Gyamfi.
According to his findings, citing a number of statutory documents, Kwabena Adu Gyamfi was the same as Reverend Kusi Boateng, who has allegedly been operating under the pseudonym Kwabena Adu Gyamfi.
A video depicting how Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, the member of parliament for North Tongu, dismissed a restraining order document from the secretary to the board of Trustees of the National Cathedral of Ghana, Rev. Victor Kusi Boateng, also known as Kwabena Adu Gyamfi, has surfaced online.
Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa was forced to kick out the document after the bailiff tried to force the document into his car on the compound of Metro TV after the Good Morning Ghana show.
A man initially approached the lawmaker as he was just about to sit in his car after the show, the two were captured having a conversation after which a document was presented to him.
The lawmaker did not take the document but went ahead to seat on his car, just as he opened his car, the bailiff tried to force the document into the lawmaker’s car but he immediately threw it out, kicked the document away from his car and drove off.
Rev Kusi Boateng secures restraining order against Ablakwa
The secretary to the board of Trustees of the National Cathedral of Ghana, Rev Victor Kusi Boateng, who is also known as Kwabena Adu Gyamfi, has secured an order of interim injunction against the Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa.
The order restrains Okudzeto Ablakwa from publicly sharing any document belonging to Kwabena Adu Gyamfi for the next 10 days.
The MP who disclosed this in a tweet shared on Friday, February 3, 2023, said that he was served the order after his appearance on Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana programme on the same day.
“One Kwabena Adu Gyamfi also claiming to have an alias as Victor Kusi Boateng has secured a 10-day restraining order seeking to stop me from further publications on the Conflict of Interest & Double Identity Scandal,” parts of the MP’s tweet read.
The MP shared a picture of the order he was served which read: “IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the 1″ Respondent, SAMUEL OKUDZETO ABLAKWA is restrained from making further public disclosures of private documents, correspondence, communication and property belonging to the Applicant (Adu Gyamfi).”
“IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that this interim order will lapse after Ten (10) days,” it added.
Background
The latest corruption exposé on the National Cathedral by the Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, suggested impropriety on the part of the secretary to the Board of Trustees of the National Cathedral of Ghana, Rev. Victor Kusi Boateng.
On January 16, 2023, the MP made some allegations against Rev. Kusi Boateng, who is the secretary to the Board of Trustees of the National Cathedral of Ghana.
In an earlier revelation about the National Cathedral, Okudzeto Ablakwa said a whopping GH¢2.6 million was dished out to a company named JNS Talent Centre Limited.
Further investigations into the alleged payment led to the discovery of one Kwabena Adu Gyamfi as a director of JNS Talent Centre.
Having confirmed the identities of two out of three directors of the centre, Ablakwa dug deeper in a bid to discover the identity of the third director, Kwabena Adu Gyamfi.
According to his findings, citing a number of statutory documents, Kwabena Adu Gyamfi was the same as Reverend Kusi Boateng, who has allegedly been operating under the pseudonym K
Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Member of Parliament for North Tongu has disputed the National Cathedral Secretariat’s explanation that they took a loan from secretary to the Board of Trustees, Reverend Kusi Boateng.
The GH¢2.6 million loaned amount has been contested by the MP who insists it was an irregular payment for no work done.
Ablakwa revealed on the January 27, 2023 edition of the Good Morning Ghana programme that it turns out that JNS Talent Center, a company Kusi Member is connected to, had received monies from COVID-19 funds, out of which they allegedly loaned a portion to the cathedral.
“This claim that he did us a favour and he gave the Cathedral Secretariat a loan …even though the Cathedral bank statement I have secured, at the time they said they were in distress and needed GH¢2.6 million desperately, they had GHC6 million sitting in their account.
“The bank statement of the National Cathedral at ADB, they had six million sitting in that account, so that story doesn’t add up,” he stressed.
He continued: “We now know that they (Kusi Boateng and JNS Talent Center) did their country no favour. It was our own money GH¢3.5 million COVID cash which he received for supplying tissue paper.”
He also tasked the Auditor-General to review their current report on COVID funds and capture the said transaction because there were doubts as to whether the tissue paper supplies were even honoured.
The National Cathedral Secretariat’s claim that they borrowed money from the Board of Trustees secretary, Reverend Kusi Boateng, has been contested by Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, MP for North Tongu.
The GH¢2.6 million loaned amount has been contested by the MP who insists it was an irregular payment for no work done.
Ablakwa revealed on the January 27, 2023 edition of the Good Morning Ghana programme that it turns out that JNS Talent Center, a company Kusi Member is connected to, had received monies from COVID-19 funds, out of which they allegedly loaned a portion to the cathedral.
“This claim that he did us a favour and he gave the Cathedral Secretariat a loan …even though the Cathedral bank statement I have secured, at the time they said they were in distress and needed GH¢2.6 million desperately, they had GHC6 million sitting in their account.
“The bank statement of the National Cathedral at ADB, they had six million sitting in that account, so that story doesn’t add up,” he stressed.
He continued: “We now know that they (Kusi Boateng and JNS Talent Center) did their country no favour. It was our own money GH¢3.5 million COVID cash which he received for supplying tissue paper.”
He also tasked the Auditor-General to review their current report on COVID funds and capture the said transaction because there were doubts as to whether the tissue paper supplies were even honoured.
The Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has expressed dissatisfaction with answers regarding the GH¢2.6 million scandal involving the Secretary of the Board of Trustees of the National Cathedral, Rev. Victor Kusi Boateng.
Mr. Ablakwa in his exposé alleged that JNS Talent Centre Ltd owned by Rev. Victor Kusi Boateng was paid some GH¢2.6 million to help build the National Cathedral, under the pseudonym name Kwabena Adu Gyamfi.
According to him, documents in his possession reveal that Kwabena Adu Gyamfi is the same as Rev. Victor Kusi Boateng who still serves on the National Cathedral Board as an Executive Council Member/Director.
However, the Secretariat in a statement explained that the GH₵2.6 million was a refund to JNS talent and not an amount illegally paid to the company.
The lawmaker petitioned the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) to investigate Rev. Victor Kusi Boateng.
But in a response to the allegations, Rev. Victor Kusi Boateng in a statement said Mr. Ablakwa’s claims are a “twisted narration of events”, threatening to take the MP on.
“I wish to assure the general public that the statements made by Mr Ablakwa are a twisted narration of events to pursue a malicious political agenda. There has never been any criminal intent nor any crime committed in my dealings with the Government of Ghana or the National Cathedral.
“I look forward to the (CHRAJ) enquiry during which I will present my side of the matter to the Commission. I will subsequently also address the matters fully in public without first seeking to prejudice the public mind as he has done. Additionally, when all is done, I will seek redress against Mr Ablakwa for his deliberate defamatory statements against me,” the founder of Power Chapel Worldwide noted.
Speaking on Face to Face on Citi TV with Umaru Sanda Amadu, the legislator called the bluff of the Secretary of the Board of Trustees of the National Cathedral, charging him to bring bear his facts and stop the empty threats.
“No he’s the same person, I have tracked his travels, he’s the same person. I have videos of Kwabena Adu Gyamfi.”
“That dubious GH¢2.6 million payment, we will get to the bottom of it. Last Sunday he said when you are going up, demons will disturb you. I don’t know which up he’s talking about, whether it’s a mysterious ladder, fraudulent ladder, or corruption ladder, I don’t know which one he’s talking about because it’s a simple matter,” the MP said on Face to Face on Citi TV.
He doubted if due diligence was done before the state issued a diplomatic passport to Rev. Victor Kusi Boateng.
The lawmaker said the Foreign Affairs Minister Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey will be summoned by Parliament to answer questions in that regard.
“What due diligence was done before granting him a diplomatic passport? How is it that you appoint somebody, give him an appointment letter as Rev.Kusi Boateng? And then when you are issuing him a diplomatic passport to enhance his work, it’s in another name, are you complicit? The Foreign Affairs Minister [Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey] will be summoned to Parliament to answer questions,” Mr. Ablakwa said.
Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, the representative for North Tongu, has described how he discovered the alleged dual identity of Rev. Victor Kusi Boateng, secretary to the board of trustees of the National Cathedral.
According to him, he was intrigued when he saw Rev. Victor Kusi Boateng being the same as Kwabena Adu Gyamfi after securing a copy of the National Cathedral Secretariat’s Incorporation documents.
He explained that he started digging into the double identity of Rev. Victor Kusi Boateng when he sighted in the incorporation documents that he was one of the contractors for the project, with registration name Kwabena Adu Gyamfi.
Kwabena Adu Gyamfi, as alleged by Mr. Ablakwa during his investigative piece unearthed that JNS Talent, which was paid GH₵2.6 million belongs to the appointed Secretary of the National Cathedral Board of Trustees, Victor Kusi Boateng.
JNS Talent Centre Ltd which allegedly runs a crèche in Dawhenya was paid some GH¢2.6 million to help build the cathedral.
Speaking on Face to Face on Citi TV with Umaru Sanda Amadu, the vociferous legislator explained, “I obtained a copy of the National Cathedral Secretariat Incorporations documents, I realised that JNS Talent Centre Ltd paid GH¢2.6 million as contractor mobilisation. We know of only one contractor, but I realised that JNS Talent was one of the contractors. You go through the entire documentation and there’s no contract, no agreements, no supporting documents at all for this payment, you get suspicious.”
“I discovered that JNS has three directors, Yohannes Eshun, Sheila Eshun and one Kwabena Adu Gyamfi. What services are they rendering under the National Cathedral project? I discovered that it was a skill and talent development, what are they doing here on this project? They are not contractors, engineers, or architects, very strange. I went deeper and realised that the only thing they have done is to set up a crèche at Dawhyena with few innocent souls,” he narrated.
He noted that he called the wife of Rev. Victor Kusi Boateng, Sheila Eshun who admitted the company received the money but the husband who had travelled has more details on the payment.
“The document I intercepted, there was a number, so I called his wife, and she told me his husband who has the facts has travelled and will return back in two weeks, but the call never came. I sent my team to the church to verify if I was being told the truth. And there he was preaching, they had service with Johannes Eshun. The claim that he was out of the country was a lie,” he stated.
According to him, there was no footprint of Kwabena Adu Gyamfi who was cited as the third director.
The North Tongu legislator further said that the Secretary of the National Cathedral Board of Trustees’ expired driver’s license also bears the name Rev. Victor Kusi Boateng which was used to incorporate him into the Secretariat Board of Trustees.
“The third director was elusive, there was no digital footprint, no evidence, so I was like who is this guy [Kwabena Adu Gyamfi], he was so elusive. I said let me dig deeper as to how he was able to register his company and all that. What idea did this guy use? Lo and behold, I saw Rev. Kusi Boateng’s passport picture that was used for registration, and the name is Kwabena Adu Gyamfi. And I said what’s going on here? I thought it was a second conflict of interest, for money being paid to a junior pastor for no work done.”
Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has alleged that embattled secretary of the Board of Trustees of the National Cathedral uses different signatures on documents available to him.
This is in addition to earlier allegations that the Rev. Victor Kusi Boateng uses two distinct names (the other being Kwabena Adu Gyamfi) both with different dates of birth on official documents.
Ablakwa has also provided evidence that shows that Kusi Boateng has used two different names in respect of his mother in filling forms and also has two different Tax Identification Numbers (TIN).
Commenting on the issue of signatures during an interview on Accra-based Radio Gold (Januray 18), Ablakwa dismissed the reverend’s claim that his ‘revelations’ were part of a malicious agenda.
What Ablakwa said:
“Who has the audacity to talk about malicious agenda, and he even forgets that that is not the signature he uses when he is writing under Victor Kusi Boateng, he forgets.
“There are so many things I haven’t put out yet. I have six signatures for him. I am waiting for him at CHRAJ (Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice),” he added before showing evidence to the host of two different signatures in respect of Kusi Boateng and Adu Gyamfi.
“He even forgot… I have six signatures for him, he was confused. He forgets, he forgets all of that. He should deal with me and stop these empty threats about future court suits. He has forgotten the signatures he uses when he is Victor Kusi Boateng,” Ablakwa stressed.
Ablakwa goes after Rev. Kusi Boateng and JNS Talent Center
Ablakwa dragged Reverend Kusi Boateng to CHRAJ early last week after publishing, on social media, a series of allegations against the clergyman in respect of payments by the National Cathedral to JNS Talent Center, a company closely associated with Kusi Boateng.
Among other allegations, the MP alleged irregular payments of some GHC2.6 million from the National Cathedral accounts to JNS, where Rev. Kusi Boateng is listed as a director with his other ‘official name ‘Kwabena Adu Gyamfi.’
The Cathedral has formally rejected the allegations of irregular payment explaining that the accused only extended a loan to the board and was later paid a full refund without interest.
SARA
There are six different signatures between Kusi Boateng and Adu Gyamfi – Ablakwa alleges
Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has alleged that the embattled secretary of the Board of Trustees of the National Cathedral uses different signatures on documents available to him.
This is in addition to earlier allegations that Rev. Victor Kusi Boateng uses two distinct names (the other being Kwabena Adu Gyamfi), both with different dates of birth on official documents.
Ablakwa has also provided evidence that shows that Kusi Boateng has used two different names, in respect of his mother, in filling out forms and also has two different Tax Identification Numbers (TIN).
Commenting on the issue of signatures during an interview on Accra-based Radio Gold (Januray 18), Ablakwa dismissed the reverend’s claim that his ‘revelations’ were part of a malicious agenda.
What Ablakwa said:
“Who has the audacity to talk about malicious agenda, and he even forgets that that is not the signature he uses when he is writing under Victor Kusi Boateng, he forgets.
“There are so many things I haven’t put out yet. I have six signatures for him. I am waiting for him at CHRAJ (Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice),” he added before showing evidence to the host of two different signatures in respect of Kusi Boateng and Adu Gyamfi.
“He even forgot… I have six signatures for him; he was confused. He forgets, he forgets all of that. He should deal with me and stop these empty threats about future court suits. He has forgotten the signatures he uses when he is Victor Kusi Boateng,” Ablakwa stressed.
Ablakwa goes after Rev. Kusi Boateng and JNS Talent Center
Ablakwa dragged Reverend Kusi Boateng to CHRAJ early last week after publishing on social media, a series of allegations against the clergyman in respect of payments by the National Cathedral to JNS Talent Center, a company closely associated with Kusi Boateng.
Among other allegations, the MP alleged irregular payments of some GHC2.6 million from the National Cathedral accounts to JNS, where Rev. Kusi Boateng is listed as a director with his other ‘official name, ‘Kwabena Adu Gyamfi.’
The Cathedral has formally rejected the allegations of irregular payment, explaining that the accused only extended a loan to the board and was later paid a full refund without interest.
Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has responded to a threat to sue him for deliberate defamation.
The threat was contained in a January 16 press statement issued by Rev. Victor Kusi Boateng, secretary to the Board of Trustees of the National Cathedral, who has been at the center of a series of allegations made by the MP.
Speaking on Accra-based Radio Gold (January 18, 2023), the MP dared the clergyman to deal with him and stop issuing threats if he really believes he is innocent of the allegations he (Ablakwa) has made so far.
“How does he think parliamentary oversight works? We are doing our work and nobody will intimidate us,” the MP submitted adding that he expected the man of God to deny using two official names, different dates of births, two tax numbers, professions, addresses and that he “is not having dual personality.”
Ablakwa said he expected the statement to state categorically that he was lying about his allegations and not for the reverend to hide behind an enquiry by the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ).
“…deal with the specific issues. Than this business of trying to hide under CHRAJ, that after CHRAJ I will deal with the MP, what are you waiting for? Deal with me now.
“He should deal with me now, I didn’t know he is such a coward, what is he waiting for, deal with me now! Damn coward. He rather is issuing threats because he knows he will not be arrested,” Ablakwa stressed.
Among other allegations, Ablakwa has published ‘irregular’ payments from the National Cathedral accounts to a company closely associated with the clergyman. He also alleges that Rev. Kusi Boateng uses Kwabena Adu Gyamfi on some other official documents.
The Trustees of the Cathedral has formally rejected the allegations of irregular payment explaining that the accused only extended a loan to the board and was later paid a full refund without interest.
The National Cathedral project is estimated to cost at least a billion dollars when completed, according to North Tongu Member of Parliament Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa.
Ablakwa has since last year waged a dogged campaign for accountability on the construction of the facility which is currently officially estimated to cost US$350 million.
He is concerned particularly by the amount of public funds dedicated to the project despite earlier government communication that it will be funded by the Christian community.
“My analysis is that this project is more than a billion dollars, it is more than a billion dollars by the time we are done paying for the recklessness of president Akufo-Addo,” he said in an interview on Accra-based Radio Gold (January 18).
Meanwhile, Ablakwa has praised Bishop Dag Heward-Mills for his candour in addressing issues related to the project in his leaked resignation letter of August 2022 as a member of the Board of Trustees of the National Cathedral.
The lawmaker added that even if there was a national consensus on the need to build the facility, “will the wisest thing to do be not to look for a greenfield, an unencumbered land?” he asked lamenting how public and private structures were demolished to make way for the project.
The Member of Parliament for the North Tongu constituency in the Volta Region, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has downplayed the possibility of President Nana Akufo-Addo completing the National Cathedral project before his tenure ends in 2024.
President Nana Akufo-Addo has on various occasions stated his willingness to complete the project despite the economic crisis and criticisms.
In a meeting with the Clergy at the Jubilee House on Monday, January 9, President Akufo-Addo said no matter what happens he will remain resolute and ensure that the National Cathedral gets to a very advanced stage before the end of his tenure.
But speaking on the Eyewitness News on Thursday, Okudzeto Ablakwa said the lack of progress on the project in the past ten months is an indication that it cannot be completed before the president’s tenure ends.
“Is this the time to do this, we are rushing to do this in four years, we are making history and it is the wrong history. The Washington national cathedral was built within 82 years. The Milan cathedral was more than 500 years. The Italians took their time, in periods of drought and economic hardship they took their time.
“This month is 10 months since the contractors left the site so when I hear the president screaming that we will build it, it is laughable, anybody familiar with this project knows that it is not possible.”
Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has celebrated members of the clergy who he says are demanding accountability on the part of government with respect to the National Cathedral project.
In a January 10, 2023 post on his verified social media pages, the lawmaker wrote: I salute all Christian Leaders & Christian Organisations who have epitomized their teachings to us by publicly & courageously demanding accountability on President Akufo-Addo’s scandalous Cathedral project.
“I am also eternally grateful to all the Men of God who call & say special prayers with me, and the many others I am yet to meet including Christians of diverse denominations who pray for us and boldly encourage the pursuit of truth and transparency.
“Please keep inspiring us, for God and Country. Truth Stands.”
His post was accompanied by screenshots of website articles with respect to clergymen who are demanding accountability from government over the project.
Among the clergymen are Prophet Oduro, Rev. Owusu Bempah as well as concerns by the Christian Council and the Catholic Bishops’ Conference.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo recently donated GHC100,000 as part of his commitment to see to the completion of the project by the 2024 deadline.
So far, about GHC340 million of public funds has been pumped into the project with Parliament recently rejecting GHC80 million budgeted for the project in 2023.
According to Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, a member of parliament for North Tongu, there is justification to assume that American rapper Meek Mill’s apology to Ghanaians is genuine.
In a Facebook post sighted by GhanaWeb, the MP has called on Ghanaians to forgive the rapper, who has been under heavy criticism for sharing snippets of a music video with shots from Ghana’s presidency.
“It does appear Meek Mill’s multiple apologies to Ghanaians are quite sincere & should be accepted by all,” he wrote.
The rapper, following widespread criticism coupled with allegations of him desecrating the Jubilee House, issued an apology to Ghanaians, saying he never meant to disrespect the country or the presidency.
“To the people of Ghana no video I drop is ever meant to disrespect the people of Ghana …. The fastest way to make connection is thru music and I wanted to do that with displaying art … im in my 30’s from America and didn’t know much about the lifestyle here,” his first apology shared in a series of tweets on Monday, January 9, 2023 said.
“My apologies to the people if any disrespect! We still gonna push to make the connection between black people in America and Africa … what I’m trying to do is more than a video and you should see coming soon! My apologies to the the office also!” it read.
“I don’t think they knew it was video footage when we asked to shoot its a small camera and one kid … in America we didn’t know this existed and was excited to show because they don’t show Ghana on our media much! So I’ll take responsibility for my mistake! Not intentional,” he added.
Despite asking that the rapper be forgiven for his gaffe, Mr. Ablakwa, who has asked for a probe into the incident and appropriate sanctions to be applied to culpable individuals, said the admission by Meek Mill has further justified his call.
“My only serious reservation, however, is his claim that he engaged in all that deplorable desecration & major security breach on the blind side of officials.
“Is the President safe? Is Ghana safe?” he questioned.
“This has, without a scintilla of doubt, further justified earlier demands for urgent investigations & severe sanctions,” the opposition MP added.
Meek Mill shared the video on his Instagram page after he visited the presidency following his recent trip to Ghana.
In the video shared by the rapper on his Instagram page, Meek Mill is captured in different places at the presidency from the frontage, through the main corridors, in the main conference hall—at a point positioned behind the presidential lectern—and later in a sitting area rapping.
His critics have cited security and moral concerns about the rapper’s actions.
Meanwhile, Meek Mill has since deleted the video, which has gone viral on social media.
Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, a representative for North Tongu, has questioned the government’s intention to raise the Value-Added Tax (VAT).
On Thursday, November 24, 2022, the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, announced an increase in the VAT rate for the next year presenting the 2023 Budget Statement and Economic Policy in parliament.
But reacting to the announcement in a Facebook post, the opposition MP wondered how the current event is occurring under the presidency of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who led a protest against VAT when it was introduced in 1995.
“Who could ever have imagined or predicted that Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo who led the fatal 1995 Kumepreko demonstration against the introduction of VAT under President Rawlings which tragically claimed the lives of Ahunu Ahonga & 5 others would today be increasing VAT by 2.5%,” he wondered.
The increase in VAT will enable the government to raise money to finance initiatives like road development, according to the minister of finance.
“Mr. Speaker, the demand for roads has become the cry of many communities in the country. Unfortunately, with the current economic difficulties and the absence of dedicated source of funding for road construction, it is difficult to meet these demands. In that regard we are proposing the implementation of new revenue measures. The major one is an increase in the VAT rate by 2.5 percentage points,” the minister said.
In 1995, Nana Akufo-Addo and other members of the New Patriotic Party led what is described as Ghana’s largest demonstration in history.
Five protesters were killed during a protest against the then-government of Jerry John Rawlings’ decision to introduce VAT. Unidentified assailants fired into the crowd of protestors.
Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has expressed bewilderment over the government’s decision to increase Value Added Tax (VAT).
Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, in his presentation of the 2023 Budget Statement and Economic Policy in parliament on Thursday, November 24, 2022, announced an increment in VAT rate for the upcoming year.
But reacting to the announcement in a Facebook post, the opposition MP wondered how the current event is occurring under the presidency of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who led a protest against VAT when it was introduced in 1995.
“Who could ever have imagined or predicted that Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo who led the fatal 1995 Kumepreko demonstration against the introduction of VAT under President Rawlings which tragically claimed the lives of Ahunu Ahonga & 5 others would today be increasing VAT by 2.5%,” he wondered.
According to the minister for finance, the increment in VAT will allow the government to raise funds to finance projects such as road construction.
“Mr. Speaker, the demand for roads has become the cry of many communities in the country. Unfortunately, with the current economic difficulties and the absence of dedicated source of funding for road construction, it is difficult to meet these demands. In that regard we are proposing the implementation of new revenue measures. The major one is an increase in the VAT rate by 2.5 percentage points,” the minister said.
In 1995, Nana Akufo-Addo and other members of the New Patriotic Party led what is described as Ghana’s largest demonstration in history.
Five protesters were killed during a protest against the then-government of Jerry John Rawlings’ decision to introduce VAT. Unidentified assailants fired into the crowd of protestors.
Member of the 8-member ad hoc committee hearing the motion of censure against Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, took exception when the minister sought to raise an objection to some words used in the grounds for the motion.
According to Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, the minister for finance had no moral authority to raise issues about the language used in the grounds supporting the motion against him.
“The minister himself on the 12th of March 2013, is on record at the William Ofori Atta Institute for Integrity Lectures to have actually called for a coup, nothing can be stronger than that. So I don’t think we will be taking lectures on language from the minister,” the MP stated during the committee’s sitting on Friday, November 18, 2022.
The censure motion against the minister brought by the minority group is on seven grounds which among other things levels allegations of conflict of interest, mismanagement of the Ghanaian economy, and breaching of the country’s fiscal management laws.
However, appearing before the committee to answer to the grounds of the motion, Mr Ken Ofori-Atta raised concerns about the language used by the proponents of the censure motion.
But according to Mr Ablakwa the finance minister by his concern “appears to want to lecture us on language”.
Referencing a statement by the finance minister in 2013, Mr Ablakwa said Ken Ofori-Atta by saying “the country’s silence on the election petition could trigger a coup” could not raise such an objection.
Akyem Abuakwa chiefs storm Parliament to support Ofori-Atta as he faces censure committee.
The first day of the public hearing of the committee on the motion of censure against the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, was characterized by heated exchanges and clashes between the Minority members and some members of the Majority side.
The Member of Parliament for the North Tongu constituency, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, also engaged in heated exchanges with counsel for the Finance Minister, Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko.
Mr Otchere-Darko had sought to advise Mr Ablakwa to reserve some of his comments for a press conference and not the committee sittings, but in a sharp rebuttal, the North Tongu MP asked the seasoned lawyer not to attempt to teach him his job.
“You can’t come here and teach me how to do my work,” Mr Ablakwa said, adding, “you can’t come here and throw your weight about. This is Parliament, you can’t tell me what to do, you are not the chairman so don’t tell me what to do,” a livid Ablakwa retorted.
Mr. Otchere-Darko had earlier expressed concern that his client would be caught off guard by the evidence and requested “full particulars of the facts in support of the allegations against the [Finance] Minister.”
He also said there would not be enough time to scrutinise the evidence outlined by the Minority.
“It would not be fair for the Minister of Finance to be ambushed right here without any preparation to start answering questions.”
The Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, also dismissed suggestions that the current economic crisis in Ghana was mainly caused by the war being waged on Ukraine by Russia.
Addressing the Committee, the Tamale South MP said the “reckless borrowing” and “reckless spending” by the Finance Minister are the cause of Ghana’s woes.
“Did you borrow to support the war in Ukraine,” Mr Iddrisu asked, arguing that, it was because of Ofori-Atta’s recklessness that caused Ghana’s economic woes.
The Chiefs and Landowners of Torgorme in the North Tongu District of theVolta Regionare calling on the government to return to them the 17,000 hectares of land to enable them to engage in commercial farming.
According to them, the land was acquired by government under Legislative Instrument (LI) No 162 in 1975 from the chiefs and people of Torgorme and had not been used for the purpose for which it was taken.
“We wanted to put on record that to date no compensation has been paid for the acquired lands,” Mr Emmanuel Worlanyo Essoh, Chairman and spokesperson for the chiefs and people has disclosed.
Addressing a press conference on Friday at Torgorme, he said the landowners had not benefited anything even “we the smallholder farmers don’t get a place to farm now.”
According to him, the land, under the Kpong Left Bank Irrigation Project (KLBIP) was being used by Ghana-Millennium Development Agency (MiDA) and Ghana Commercial Agricultural Project (GCAP) to go into commercial farming.
Mr Essoh noted that now that the project had come to an end, “the new investors are not willing to offer us the smallholder farmers the land to do farming to improve our livelihoods.”
“We therefore, took the matter to court and judgment was delivered in favour of the landowners on December 2008 at Koforidua High Court,” he added.
This, notwithstanding, the Lands Commission continued to exercise authority on all Torgorme lands, allocating the lands to such investors like Vegpro, Goshen Farms without any input from the Torgorme Traditional Area.
“Since August 2021, all attempts to get allocation for our 1,500 smallholder farmers have proved futile.
We have also reported the matter to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture to intervene but nothing was done.”
“So all that we are demanding from the government is to give back our lands so that we would do individual farming to improve our living conditions,” Mr Essoh stated.
The District Chief Executive (DCE) for North Tongu District, Osborne Divine Fenu when contacted said he came to meet the issues but was doing everything possible to ensure it was resolved as soon as possible.
Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has introduced a new policy that effectively abolishes the charges levied on victims of sexual offences when they submit police medical forms for a doctor’s report in his constituency.
Under current laws, victims of sexual offences such as defilement, rape and other forms of sexual assault are charged between GHS150 and GHS400 to have their police medical forms filled by doctors.
However, in a Facebook post, Samuel Ablakwa said his office, together with various stakeholders in North Tongu, is implementing a policy where victims will have their police medical forms endorsed by doctors for free.
“We have with immediate effect abolished all charges victims of sexual offences are required to pay when they submit police medical forms for a doctor’s report.
“The North Tongu District Health Director and the Medical Superintendents of the Battor Catholic Hospital and the Tagadzi Polyclinic are fully on board to implement this latest MP’s initiative.
“All victims of defilement, rape and other forms of sexual assault will now be attended to free of charge,” he wrote.
According to the MP, there is a need to ensure that victims of sexual offences are given public support in receiving justice.
He noted that the medical facilities in his constituency under the new policy would submit quarterly reports to the District Health Directorate for his office to effect payment for police medical forms endorsed by doctors over the period.
“These vulnerable and traumatized victims need our collective support and the removal of all barriers towards securing justice by successfully prosecuting those demonic perpetrators.
“Hitherto, victims of sexual offences are asked to pay between GHS150 and GHS400 to have their police medical forms filled by doctors. Under this new dispensation, the medical facilities in my constituency will submit a quarterly report to the District Health Directorate for prompt payment by the North Tongu MP’s office,” he explained.
A total of one hundred and twenty-eight (128) Persons With Disabilities (PWDs) drawn from the six (6) traditional areas of the North Tongu District of the Volta Region have been supported with various relief items at a grand ceremony at Battor Dugame, the district capital.
The colourful event which was the second of its kind within one year, was organized from the three (3) percent disability component of the District Assembly Common Fund (DACF).
The relief items were selected by the beneficiaries themselves through discussions held between them and the District Assembly through its Social Welfare Department. The protocol was employed to avoid the situation where the recipients of the items would reject them on the grounds that they were not consulted and involved in the decision to acquire the items for them.
The relief items included food such as sugar, gari, rice, tin tomatoes and cooking oil for about forty-six of the beneficiaries, mostly women, who expressed the desire to go into the food vending venture in their respective communities. Between thirty and forty of the PWDs also received 300-litre size deep freezers and 50-litre size of iced chests for use in selling iced water and ice blocks as well as iced cream to earn a decent income.
Three of the beneficiaries took home corn mills that would not only turn around their economic fortunes but also help address the huge challenge residents of some remote areas in the district face in grinding corn for their domestic use.
Six of the PWDs also received laptops and desktop computers and their accessories for their studies while others went home with pumping machines, industrial sewing machines, metallic plastic chairs for hiring as well as roofing sheets and vulcanizing machines. Three PWDs were supported with mobile phones, SIM cards in addition to airtime worth GHS 1,500 each to enable them start a credit transfer business in their various localities.
The items would not only equip the beneficiaries with the necessary tools and materials to earn a decent living in the society but also enable them generate some income from the start-up items to support their families.
Presenting the items to the beneficiaries, District Chief Executive (DCE) for the district, Hon. Richard Collins Arku noted that the role of PWDs in the socio-economic development of the district cannot be over-emphasized. According to him, his outfit with the support of the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo would continue to support the PWDs in order to put smiles on their faces.
Hon. Arku emphasized that the days when what he described as peanuts in the form of cash, were given to PWDs in the name of supporting them, are gone, adding that such persons also have a dignified life to live as members of the larger society. The DCE cautioned the beneficiary PWDs not to go and sell the items, warning that the Assembly would severely sanction anyone caught in the act.
According to some of the beneficiaries, the items signified the fulfilment of a big dream in their lives. They expressed gratitude to the DCE and the government for the support given them.
