The Kintampo South National Democratic Congress (NDC) has expressed disappointment with the unjustified attacks by the area’s Member of Parliament, Alex Gyan, in his quest to peddle lies and label the Anyimahene of Anyima Traditional Area as an incompetent king for his inability to lobby for developmental projects in the constituency.
According to a statement signed by the NDC Communications Officer, Mr. Mathew Atanga, the MP in the constituency is attempting to use any foul means to persuade potential voters in the area to support him. However, indigenes have made it categorically clear that they will support NDC parliamentary candidate Felicia Adjei because the MP has woefully failed Kintampo South Constituents, the party claims.
Mr. Atanga said there is reportage going around in the area that captures the MP accusing and indicating that the natives of the entire Kintampo South Constituency should give their tremendous support to him on the grounds that he has lobbied for a water project in the area, which is a palpable falsehood.
Meanwhile, the NDC Communications Officer in Area has indicated that the MP Alex Gyan and the entire NPP fraternity are power-hungry strategists who have devised crude methods against the Anyimahene of Ayima Traditional Area on the grounds that the Chief is a brother to the NDC parliamentary candidate.
The statement said the MP is intending to use all manner of unorthodox media and political strategies to paint the Chief and supporters of the NDC candidate black in order to put their beleaguered incoming parliamentary candidate in an advantageous position to win the forthcoming 2024 general elections.
All signs are crystal clear that Chief is doing tremendously well in terms of development in the area, so the NDC parliamentary candidate will surely win the seat back for the umbrella fraternity, part of the statement read.
Read below the statement:
Press release
25/08/23
KINTAMPO SOUTH NDC CONDEMNS HON ALEX GYAN FOR THE UNWARRANTED ATTACK ON THE ANYIMAHENE OF ANYIMA TRADITIONAL AREA, NANA OBREMPONG AMEYAW AMPONSEM II
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) of Kintampo South constituency through communication department wishes to condemn in no uncertain terms the unwarranted attack on the Chief of Anyima by Hon Alex Gyan MP for the constituency. We view the uncouth actions of the MP as totally disrespectful to our traditional authorities and same is highly condemnable. Indeed, if the 1992 constitution had made provision for the impeachment of an MP on grounds of misconduct, we are sure that the actions of Hon Alex Gyan would warrant an impeachment without mercy.
The facts as we are aware from the press confab that the MP and the Chief have held separately, gives a vivid picture of an MP who sees a glaring defeat come 2024, and has resorted to using such unconventional means of gaining popularity. Hon Alex Gyan earlier the Anyima community when the chief was outside of Ghana. During his engagement with the people of the town, he made certain remarks about a water system which the Chief and the water committee of the town had made effort to restore it since it was broken down. Indeed, from the narrative from both side, a lot of back and forth had gone on regarding the management and ownership of the water system. Unfortunately time will not permit us to recount the entire event however, a few issues stood up which we want to bring to light:
1. Hon Alex Gyan the MP in company with Hon Opoku Nyame in their response to the chief on 24/08/23, claimed innocence of engineering the whole mess and rather accused the chief for failing to handle the issue properly after the MP’s visit. This cannot be accurate. The MP when he visited the community in the absence of the chief and in the process of interacting with the people openly made statements to a cheering crowd to suggest that, the chief was conniving with the Jema District water works manager(refered to herein as the contractor) to shortchange the community for their private benefit. This was absolutely bad! The MP if he understood the real meaning of diplomacy and confidentiality in dealing with a high profile person such as the chief, would have declined to directly address the issue in the manner that he did. Instead, he choose to run his mouth as if he was addressing his party supporters in a rally. That was pathetic of an MP!
2. Now, the chief in his response raised some critical issues which we expected the MP and the DCE to have provided answers to.
a. The chief stated unequivocally in his statement that, the DCE was aware of the contractor that he gave the contract to and even negotiated for his share of 5% of the total contract sum which was inputted into the contract document. Is this true or not? If it is true, then can we conclude that the alleged stealing that the contractor is said to have engaged in indicts the DCE as well?
b. The chief stated further that, when the district assembly came in and dissolved the water committee on grounds of misappropriation of funds, they assembly under Hon Alex Gyan as DCE then, also made sales of the water and yet not a pesewa was given to the community. Can Hon Alex Gyan who is now MP come out to tell us how much they made from the sale of the water and account for the usage of the money? Because you cannot accused the committee of misappropriation of funds and turn round to do worse, so he must account for the sale of the water.
c. The Anyimahene went further and disclosed that, when the free water initiative was announced by government and subsequently government reimbursed the service providers, the money that was meant for the Anyima water system was misdirected to an individual’s pocket. We want the the MP and His DCE to come clear on this. Who is that individual? Under who’s authority was he given the money? We want to know and also, the money must be retrieved from the individual and paid to the rightful managers of the water system.
d. Last but not least, the MP accused the chief of frustrating his effort to development the Anyima community because according to him, the Chief is the brother of Hon Felicia Adjei the NDC candidate. To us this is laughable and should be discarded to a nearby dustbin. We have over 100 communities making up Kintampo South district. In all these communities, one development or the other is needed. Ranging from poor road network, lack of telecommunication network, broken down boreholes and many others need urgent attention by the government. So why did the MP chose to fight with a chief over a project which through the Chief’s own proactiveness the water system is already working when other communities desperately need help in similar regard? Is it the case that, the MP is deliberately disrespecting and ridiculing the chief publicly because he fears the contribution of the chief to the development of the community is posing a threat to his already deteriorating popularity in the community and the constituency as a whole? It is really sad how this noble traditional ruler is being treated.
The position of NDC in this matter is as follows;
1. Per the document that guides the Anyima water project in page 6 under the heading “Community Ownership and Management of the Project”, it was categorical that, the water system shall be fully owned and managed by the community. The role of the district assembly per the document is to supervise how the community manages the project. The attempt by the MP and his DCE to forcefully confiscate the project so as to hand it over to their party apparatchiks should not be tolerated. The chief and the people of Anyima have every right to manage the project or elect to contract a private person to do that on their behalf. We are by this, expressing our support for the chief’s effort to stopping the MP from perpetuating an elligality.
2. We demand of the MP to render an unqualified apology to the chief, the water committee members and the people of Anyima for publicly attacking Nana Obrepong Ameyaw Amposem II in such manner.
3. We also wish to call on the constituents of Kintampo South constituency to take interest in the foregoing discussion regarding the conduct of the MP. We view his conduct as unpardonable and call on everyone to condemn it. Meanwhile, it will be disastrous for the people of Kintampo South to renew the mandate of Hon Alex Gyan as MP. We should consider his first term as a regrettable mistake and correct it in 2024. By this singular action of his, he doesn’t deserve to be a member of the Ghanaian august house of respectable men and women.
Long live Kintampo South!
Long live NDC!
Issued by;
Mathew Atanga
Communication Officer
Tel. 0247144224
Signed by;
Sakyi Robert (Slima)
Chairman
Tel. 024 351 5751
Story by Lawrence Odoom
