The former Chief Executive of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA), Hon. Osei Assibey Antwi, has rebuffed allegations of financial malfeasance insisting nothing untoward was done contracting a loan and approving payments to contractors for the construction of the Krofrom Market.
The Ghanaian Times reported that constituents of the KMA’s 9th General Meeting had questioned how contractors for the Krofrom Market Redevelopment Project had received some GHc8 million when the entire loan approved by the general assembly towards the project was GHc5 million.
The report pointed to financial maladministration on the part of the former KMA Boss Osei Asibe Antwi with inferences that he wrote letters requesting a loan in excess of the amount approved by the assembly and issued letters for payments to the contractor on the blind side of the assembly.
In an interview with Kojo Marfo on AbusuaNkommo at ABUSUA965FM, Hon. Assibey Antwi clarified that the letter he wrote was not a unilateral decision, but rather an entire decision taken by the Assembly.
He also noted that the letter was written to the consultant, not directly to Fidelity Bank.
“The letter was written to the consultant because you have to write to the consultant, then they will refer those activities to Fidelity,” Hon. Assibey Antwi explained
He explained that the arrangement with Fidelity Bank was to finance the shelves, which were completed before he left KMA.
“The arrangement with Fidelity was that after the first phase, which was even completed before I left because they were to finance the shelves, and truly the shelves were done before I left KMA. The next arrangement was that after the shelves had been completed, it would be given out”, Hon. Assibey Antwi said.
The Former KMA Boss who now heads the National Service Secretariat emphasized that the matter is a family issue, and details of the content should be discussed in the appropriate place.
He urged the current administration to reach out to him if they didn’t understand anything related to the matter insisting brawl could be likened to needlessly discussing private family squabbles in the public.
“In Assembly matters, you call the predecessor if you don’t understand anything.
“You can ask Hon. Samuel Sarpong and Kojo Bonsu, though we’re not in the same party. I used to call them in matters I didn’t understand, and they explained to me when I was in charge”, he stated.
He further questioned why the Assembly couldn’t reach out to him when they set up a committee to investigate the matter.
“I was the former Mayor when they set up the committee. What stopped them from just calling me?”, he quizzed.
Hon. Assibey Antwi also reminded the Assembly of a meeting where Nana Amoamanhene came to brief them about the stages and progress of the project.
“And I am only reminding them, was there not a meeting when Nana Amoamanhene even came to brief us all about the stages and how things have gone?” he asked.
Mr Asibe Antwi stated emphatically that “nothing untoward had happened and that everything was in the interest of the market. Everybody knows that everything was also explained”, he stressed.
Background:
The Ghanaian Times, reported that during the 9th General Meeting of the KMA on May 8, it was revealed that a loan of GH¢5 million initially proposed for the redevelopment of the Krofrom market had been increased to GH¢8 million. However, only GH¢4.8 million had been utilized for the market project, leaving no documentation of the disbursement of the remaining GH¢3 million.
But in a press release issued on Friday, May 10, 2024, the KMA’s Public Affairs Unit clarified that there had been no reports or claims from the Assembly indicating any misappropriation of funds amounting to 3 million cedis from the project budget.
The KMA’s press release clarified that the Assembly had agreed to a loan facility of 5 million cedis from Fidelity Bank, which had been fully repaid with interest. The document further explained that while the agreed loan amount was 5 million cedis, the bank had disbursed 8 million cedis after contractors submitted certificates to that effect, which were duly approved by the KMA.
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/103.5FM/Kwadwo Owusu
