Some aggrieved members of the Ho municipal assembly have petitioned the Volta Regional Minister Dr Archibald Yao Letsa to transfer some officials of the assembly who have been implicated in an investigative report by a committee.
The implementation of the report was suspended by the presiding member of the Ho Municipal Assembly, Eric Seyram Bene.
The report sighted by Citi News strongly recommends the immediate “transfer of the Internal Auditor and the Human Resource Manager and the total restructuring of the internal audit unit due to persistent negligence of duty leading to serious revenue leakages.”
The committee in its report also accused the Internal Auditor and Human Resource Manager of “executing contracts awarded by the assembly through anonymous companies in clear violation of the Civil Service Act and amounting to conflicts of interest”.
The report encouraged “strict adherence to procurement processes with the full involvement of the procurement officer and openness of the entire process”, asking that “persons found guilty of procurement breaches be made to “face the full rigours of the law”
Even though the report is silent on the amount involved in the alleged corrupt practices at the Ho Municipal Assembly, the aggrieved assemblymen said the assembly has been unable to implement projects from its internationally generated fund.
According to the assembly members, the presiding member whom they suspect has a hand in the corrupt activities uncovered by the committee suspended the implementation of the findings of the committee.
“I have been in this assembly for long but I have very little to show for it in my electoral area and it is not because I am lazy but because the top leadership is not being efficient and when we constitute a committee to investigate the inefficient practices and suggested recommendations, our presiding member has unilaterally written to suspend the work of the implementation committee so empowered by the General Assembly and we think this is untoward” assemblyman for Hofedo, Samuel Bewiadzi told Citi News.
But the presiding member for the Ho municipal Assembly, Eric Seyram Bene, who denied knowledge of the petition presented to the regional minister told Citi News he believes the allegations about his involvement are a ploy by political opponents to sabotage his plans to become the Member of Parliament for the Ho central constituency.
“We had committed an error in asking the same committee that conducted the investigations thus, I called on my subcommittee chairpersons who are my advisors to discuss the error and they all agreed with me. We then decided to ask the committee to suspend the implementation until the general assembly makes a determination on the matter and people are saying I had a hand in what?” Mr Bene quizzed.
He further indicated that “the report is so explicit that there is nothing to shield. Absolutely nothing but let me mention this, I have the ambition of contesting for the parliamentary seat for the Ho Central Constituency and so such interests are also around me.”
The Volta regional minister, Dr Achibald Letsa assured the aggrieved assembly members of his office’s interest in the report. I will give you the assurance that we will my office is very much with you and we shall do everything legitimate to address your concerns.” Dr Letsa promised.