Story: Kwame Asare Boadu, Kumasi

THE Ahafo-North District Assembly in the Ashanti Region has cautioned the assembly members against making unsubstantiated allegations against the District Chief Executive (DCE), Mr Eric Nana Agyemang Prempeh.
At an emergency meeting of the assembly at Tepa, the House expressed regret at the way one or two persons within the assembly were going round with all manner of “unsubstantiated” allegations bordering on mismanagement against the DCE, knowing very well that such allegations could tarnish the image of the entire district.
The Presiding Member, Mr Bismarck Francis Osei, told the meeting that as far as the assembly was concerned, it had confidence in Mr Prempeh as an able DCE, because as far as it knew, he had not committed any wrongful act.
Moves by some members to get one assembly member who had been spreading some of the allegations against the DCE to come forward to prove it were later shelved.
It was, however, agreed that members be given up to the end of February this year to file any complaint against the DCE if, indeed, there was any, with the Complaints Committee.
In the absence of that, the assembly would not take kindly to further media allegations against Mr Prempeh.
Mr Osei said he expected members to use the Complaints Committee if they had anything wrong against the DCE.
“Unfortunately, some of us are behaving as if we don’t know there is such a committee in place, but are only interested in using the media to tarnish the image of the DCE and the assembly,” he said.
The assembly also discussed the privatisation of the Community Centre at Tepa to save the assembly from spending so much on its management.
It was agreed that the centre be renovated first before the issue of privatisation would receive further discussions.
Addressing the assembly later on the District’s Mutual Health Insurance Scheme, the DCE expressed concern about the absence of a board for the scheme.
He said he was personally intervening to ensure that the scheme was put on the right footing.