The Effutu Constituency Executives of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) have lodged a complaint against the constituency chairman, Mr. Kojo Halm for grossly abusing his position to the dissatisfaction of all executives.
According to them, the chairman’s conduct which is strongly backed by the Member of Parliament (MP) for the constituency, Alexander Kwamina Afenyo-Markin, is affecting the smooth running of the party activities in the constituency.
In a letter signed by P.P. Kwamena Mbir Taylor, Effutu Constituency Secretary on behalf of the Executive Committee members, he indicated that the chairman has failed to convene Constituency Executive Committee meeting for the past six months and all efforts in trying to compel the Constituency Chairman to call for a meeting in accordance with Article 7(18) had proven futile.
They stated that, “Whereupon, as courtesy demands as a leader of the Constituency, the Member of Parliament (MP) was duly informed by the Secretary about this development but the MP categorically told the Secretary that he (the MP) had asked the Constituency Chairman not to convene Executive meetings. His reason was that he (the MP) was the Candidate who was seeking for re-election and nobody else.”
“Therefore the outcome of the election should not bother anyone. He further indicated that he had directed the Secretary at many fora to write a letter to the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Education, Winneba, demanding for the re-instatement of the staff who are party members and had been dismissed from the services of the University. The letter was also to demand for the reversal of party members who had been transferred from Winneba Campus to other campuses of the University but the Secretary declined,” they indicated.
They also noted that The MP Afenyo-Markin had asked the Constituency Assistant Secretary to use her name under a write-up which seeks to react to some of the articles that had been published against his personality, which she declined.
Kwamena Mbir Taylor said, the University of Education, Winneba is in no way an agency of the noble party and for that matter could not be compelled to subject itself to the dictates to the party and that by all standards, the MP as a Lawyer is believed to have known that the party is not clothed with any authority to exercise such powers over the University.
“It will interest you to know that when the very Vice-Chancellor assumed office, some contracts were awarded to some party members without recourse to the Constituency Executives but only the Member of Parliament. Besides, it behoves on the Secretary as an Executive Officer of the party to adhere to the provisions as stated under Article 3(5) (A) of the Party’s Constitution. It had been the practice of the MP to always employ a divide and rule tactics because he always meets with only 6 out of the 17 Constituency Executives; and when they arrived at a decision(s), then he would want the Constituency Secretary to act upon them.”
According to the Secretary, he did not subscribe to these conducts because it was inappropriate for the Secretary to undertake such acts, hence the MP sees the Secretary as rubbing shoulders with him.
He revealed that although there were directives from the Member of Parliament to the Constituency Chairman not to convene any meeting, an emergency executive meeting was convened on 15 January, 2020 at the instance of the Constituency Chairman, at the residency of the Effutu Municipal Chief Executive without any stated agenda where the Constituency Chairman requested that the Constituency Secretary and his assistant to leave the said meeting.
The Constituency Chairman is also accused of diverting monies allocated to other officers or for specific purposes and in attempt to prevent him, there ensued between him and other officers a tango; and the Chairman had mischievously taken a hatred stand against the Secretaries and some officers of the party.
The Constituency Chairman, according to the Secretary had also directed the Constituency Treasurer to hold on with the distribution of End of Year packages and all attempts to get the money shared proved futile.
The chairman had also attempted to make the constituency secretary a personal Secretary of the MP.
By: PROSPER AGBENYEGA
