A confidential report currently being reviewed by the Presidency suggests that at least ten (10) Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) are to be queried.
They also risk being fired from their various positions as a result of multiple issues raised against them in the course of their stewardship.
A report by Asaase News indicates this is part of an anticipated decision by the President to make some necessary changes for the last 12 months of his tenure to make his administration more responsive in a few critical areas where public confidence has waned or seen to be waning.
Typical among these are at the local government level where leadership failure is most felt by communities.
Credible sources at the Jubilee House have stated that the topmost on the President’s list of MMDCEs to be dismissed is Edward Owusu, the DCE of Atebubu Amantin.
Mr Owusu, an unrepentant loyalist of President Akufo-Addo has, however, succeeded in driving a wedge within the Atebubu District of the Bono East Region with his anti-people activities. Not even people within the New Patriotic Party executives are willing to vouch for him.
His alleged anti-social attitude and abrasive leadership manner have earned him strong opposition in the area, with chiefs, elders and civil servants all calling for his head.
The President, Asaase News can confirm, that after having the matters investigated, has decisively responded to the complaints by swiftly ordering the dismissal of Mr Owusu. The DCE is said to have been summoned to Jubilee House. Asaase News can also report that there are at least nine others to follow and this is contained in a confidential report sighted by Asaase Radio.
The first of the nine other MMDCEs mentioned in the report is Samuel Oduro Frimpong, the MCE for the Ejisu Municipality. According to the report, Oduro Frimpong is said to have become very detached from his constituents and remains passive in addressing the municipality’s problems. He is also said to have failed to reach out to stakeholders and does not welcome suggestions from people.
Amansie Central District Chief Executive, Michael Donkor, is the second DCE named in the report. Mr Donkor, according to the report, does not even live in the district. He is said to live in Kumasi and is alleged to be involved in illegal mining (galamsey) to the extent of being openly seen fighting over galamsey concessions in his district. This allegation, Asaase News has learnt, is being taken seriously by the Presidency.
Another allegation against him is that he seldom goes to the office and in the few occasions that he does, he tends to leave the office early. This suggests that he has lost interest in serving the people he was nominated to serve.
The Ahafo Ano South East District Chief Executive, Thomas Opoku Ansah, is the third on the list. He is also accused of living outside the district and “shows no sense of seriousness” in the execution of the duties of the office of DCE. He is also said to be detached from the locals and is allegedly involved in galamsey. He is also alleged to display a profligate lifestyle resulting in disaffection for government and for the NPP in the Ahafo Ano South East District.
The actions and inactions of Jerome Gmasombe Kofi Gyimah, the Sene East District Chief Executive, the fourth DCE named in the report, is said to have resulted in a divided district and a DCE who is seen as being completely detached from the communities he is appointed to serve. The report accuses the Sene East DCE of a leadership which continues to make the government unpopular in the district.
New Juaben North Municipal Chief Executive, Comfort Asante, the fifth person spotlighted in the report, is also alleged to be totally detached from the locals of her district. She is also said to be frail, making her unable to undertake the rigorous activities of the office of an MCE, particularly in such a vibrant municipality.
In the Ga West Municipality, where Clement Nii Wilkinson Lamptey is the MCE, is also red-flagged as another problem local authority area. The report largely accuses him of running “a one-man-show” in the municipality. He is said to be reluctant to listen to other key social actors in the area, including the Member of Parliament for the constituency and runs the municipality like his personal fiefdom. In effect, the activities of the MCE is said in the report to have made the government unpopular.
The MCE for Nzema East Municipality, Dorcas Elizabeth Amoah, is another local representative of the government alleged to have relatives involved in galamsey activities in the Ahunyame, Gwira Akosonu, Gwira Ambanzine and Awukyire communities. She is also accused of “being disrespectful and arrogant” towards traditional leaders, technocrats in the Assembly, and the locals of the area.
The eighth person mentioned in the report is the DCE of the Upper West Akim District, Eugene Sackey. He is also accused of being completely detached from the locals in his district and has failed to collaborate with the Member of Parliament for the constituency and with other officials of the District Assembly to execute the plans of government for the area.
The DCE for Twifo Lower Hemang Denkyira Emmanuel Kojo Nanah, the nineth person identified in the report, has been unwell for sometime and has left the running of the District to the Presiding Member of the Assembly who is said to be giving the government and the President a very bad image with his woeful leadership. The DCE was asked by the Chief of Staff to resign but has not and Jubilee is expected to name a replacement very soon.