Deputy Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Hon. O. B. Amoah, is urging all the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies in the Northern Region not to pay any money towards the President’s tour of the region because the ministry has not sanctioned such directive.
A leaked internal memo issued by the Regional Coordinating Director, Alhassan Issahaku, Sunday, October 1, 2017, directing each of the 26 MMDAs to pay GH¢5,000 (total GH¢130,000) towards President Akufo-Addo’s tour to the region this week went viral on social media with critics questioning why this is so, when Presidency has got a budget for its activities.
“In the bid to put together the required arrangement for a successful tour, each assembly is required to contribute an amount of Five Thousand Ghana Cedis (GHC5,000) payable by Monday 2nd October, 2017,” the leaked internal memo in part read.
The letter further urged the MMDCEs to treat the notice as urgent.
But Hon. O. B. Amoah interacting with Fiifi Banson on Kasapa 102.5 FM over the issue, Monday, said such directive by the Northern Regional Coordinating Director was not sanctioned by the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development and urged the MMDAs not to comply with the directive.
“When the President is touring a region, the Presidency has its own arrangement in terms of financing. For example, if he is touting the Northern Region which has 26 districts, the President cannot visit all these places. So, it is farfetched to demand that each MMDAs pays GH¢5,000 towards such a visit. If the Aufitor-General has to audit you, you can’t justify it because if you are in Savelugu and the President did not come to that place, how are you going to put it in your books. This is what makes the letter problematic,” he noted.
He added “We have not sanctioned any letter of such nature. The Presidency has its budget to cater for such expenditure. I was expecting the Regional Coordinator to know better or the Chief Director who wrote the letter to know the implications of what he is writing that you cannot impose such a directive on the MMDAs. This is not a party program for you to direct all constituency chairmen to make contributions towards such tour.”
