Builsa South Presiding Member, Richard Adjuick (middle)
Assembly members of the Builsa South District Assembly have asked the Member of Parliament (MP) for the constituency, Dr. Clement Abas Apaak, and the District Director of the Ghana Health Service, James Tobiga Naabil, to refund an amount of GH¢36,432.50 immediately.
At an ordinary meeting of the assembly, the assembly members were angry. They said the MP and the District Director of the Ghana Health Service bypassed procurement procedures and did what they wanted to do with the money.
Presiding member of the assembly, Richard Adjuick, said the two would have to refund the money for the right procurement procedures to be followed to prevent any embarrassing encounter with the Public Accounts Committee in future.
Although the MP for the Builsa South was expected to be at the meeting, he was absent hence James Tobiga Naabil had to face the angry assembly members alone with several explanations. In spite of the explanations, they still insisted the money should be refunded with immediate effect.
According to some members, the money could not cover the 6-unit boreholes the MP wanted to drill and mechanise, for which reason they were not surprised that since January 2018 the boreholes related to the fund cannot be located.
They saw the release of the money and the supposed award of contract by the MP as illegal, suspicious and doubtful.
According to the District Director of Health, on December 18, 2017, Dr. Apaak presented a cheque for GH¢40,000 to the District Health Directorate, being the MP’s share of the social intervention fund.
On January 25, 2018, a letter from the MP came asking for a portion of the money for the drilling of six boreholes.
Contractor Dead
Even before the right procurement processes would be initiated, a contractor named only as Martin (now deceased) appeared on January 26, 2018, claiming that he had been awarded a contract by the MP to drill the six boreholes in Jiningsa, Uwasi-Tuedema CHPS compound, Fumbisi-Baasa Puing, Kanjarga-Musidem, Kasiesa-Yemona and Gbedema CHPS compound.
The District Director, James Tobiga Naabil, said he found it unacceptable, but had to issue the cheque for GH¢36, 432.50 to the deceased contractor because some comments from the MP indicated that he (James Tobiga Naabil) was an obstacle to the listed communities in terms of getting potable water.
“… Hon. Presiding Member, I’m not from this district. I came here as a technical person. I don’t want to tell you the ordeal I went through before releasing this money. I know procurement processes . . . I’m speaking as someone who knows what he’s about,” Mr. Naabil revealed.
Apaak Reacts
Meanwhile, Dr. Clement Apaak has denied any wrongdoing, saying he did not mention the name of any contractor in his letter to the health director.
In his view, he has not committed any offence, neither does he have anything to fear or hide.
He said: “I have every right to suggest which social interventions I want to invest my share of the social intervention fund in. I suggest six boreholes and that is all.”
FROM: Ebo Bruce-Quansah, Fumbisi