The Kwadaso Municipal Chief Executive, Mr. Eric Asibey, has responded to the concerns and complaints contained in a petition against him to the Ashanti Regional Minister, Dr. Frank Amoakohene. The petition was also copied to the NDC Regional Chairman.
A group, calling itself ‘The Grassroots Movement’ of the NDC, in the Constituency,
claims among other complaints that several engagements with the MCE, Constituency Executives and other stakeholders for the MCE to make good use of every direct or indirect opportunity at the Assembly for the benefit of party members “were never heeded by our Municipal Chief Executive, Eric Asibey”.
The group indicated that “the advances made by our MCE appeared to be more about satisfying his personal interests rather than that of the party”.
As a result, the petitioners called on the Regional Minister to quickly intervene by engaging with the interested parties in the constituency within two weeks in order to calm down nerves and forestall unity and progress in the municipality.
Mr. Eric Asibey, in response to some of the grievances, told The Chronicle on the phone that “it is not surprising to me at all that no persons were doing this or championing this campaign other than the people who were opposed to my nomination as MCE for the Kwadaso Municipal Assembly (KwMA). It is no news because these are the same people. They were the same people then and are the same people now”.
He said he has been quiet all this while because he is a leader and must exhibit the same by reciprocating the trust vested in him by the President and also replicate the persona of the President as his representative in the municipality, no matter how the insults and provocations may bother him.
The MCE explained that the group may be “thinking of their parochial interests” if they say he is not taking care of them because that is never the case, as the agitators are only thinking of their own “interests and I am dealing with the grassroots”.
According to him, he has since assumption of office spent not less than GH¢100,000 on the grassroots.
Mr. Asibey said he committed himself to give each of the 15 Wards in the constituency GH¢1,000 when he assumed office as the MCE and also gave every ward GH¢1,000 during the Christmas festivities. He recently spent not less than GH¢40,000 on the forms for nomination of ward executives.
Some wards, he said, also organised New Year get-togethers and invited him, and he donated GH¢1,000 at a few that he attended and donated GH¢5,000 at the Ward Co-ordinators’ end-of-year party. Women’s Wing also organized a programme at which he again donated GH¢10,000 to the group.
He said these were the minimum one-year expenses at the grassroots he can readily recollect, aside from individual gifts and payments of school fees for some tertiary school students, giving out start-up capital to needy petty traders, donations at funerals, among others.
On the issue of the MCE conspicuously missing at party meetings or not meeting the constituency executives, he explained that courtesy demanded that he should be properly informed about such meetings ahead of time instead of expecting him to read about the same on party WhatsApp platforms.
Mr. Asibey also dismissed the assertion that he had been flirting with the NPP members and giving them Assembly contracts, insisting that was never true. “But even if I have a friend who is an NPP guy, or even if my parents are NPP supporters, does it mean I should disown them? I cannot do that. So why should you restrict me to that level?” he questioned.
The MCE said the petitioners and those calling for a demonstration against him were the same people who organized press conferences against his nomination, and “they are still on it. They want to unseat me and take over”.
From Thomas AgbenyegahAdzey, Kumasi
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The post Kwadaso MCE denies allegation of neglect by NDC group appeared first on The Ghanaian Chronicle.
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