S/R RE: Ask your MP what he uses his common fund for-Damongo NPP chairman tells Murugu community.
The attention of the office of the MP for Damongo Constituency was drawn to a story with the above headline and associated to the embattled NPP chairman of Damongo Constituency who also doubles as the Assembly Man for the Attributo Electoral Area.
In a bid to catch the eye of the “money bag”, Nana Kwame continues to engage in a recycling of same old accusations, fabrications and lies, when he’s supposed to be telling us what his Central Government has done and is doing about major promises made to the people of Damongo, or at least what the West Gonja District Assembly (which he’s a part of) has done or is doing in respect of providing basic socioeconomic facilities to better the lives of the people.
To start with, I would like to call on Chairman Kwame to remind President Nana Addo who he claims he’s closed to, that he’s yet to release 3rd and 4th Quarters common fund for 2018 to MPs.
It is proper to put it on record since the 3rd quarter ended in September, 2018, not even a dime was released by Central Government to MPs.
It is just one month away for the 1st quarter of 2019 to come to a close, first time in recent history in the 4th Republic.
Back to the substantive issue, the MP made it clear in 2017 that his attention would be shifted to human resource development and women empowerment and a few other interventions.
So in 2017/2018 academic year, the MP supported students in various institutions to the tune of GHC 61,500. In the 2018/2019 academic year, Hon Garlus again supported students to a tune of GHC 38,000.
Among this were two Masters students and two PhD students.
As the Ranking Member for Mines and Energy Committee in Parliament, Hon Garlus secured 8 scholarships from GNPC science and maths scholarship scheme for his constituents. Out of this number, 2 are PhD students and two are ladies studying in various science, maths and energy related course areas.
In order to keep supporting the women groups he started in 2011, the MP released GHC 48,000 of his common fund to support these groups.
In order to give the women some other sources of funding their susu aside the MPs annual support, three corn mills were operationalized in YRA, Zongo and Achubunyor.
In addition to this, three other corn mills were purchased and delivered to Sor No 2, Broto and Grupe. Also, a complete set of corn motor was purchased and replaced in Mole.
It is worthy to note that the said corn mill in Mole was provided them by Hon Garlus as a DCE. Attributo electoral area, Langbonto electoral area and canteen will have their corn mills operational this year.
The MP in March 2018 also supported CAMFED with GHC 5,000 for onward support to needy but brilliant girls in the District.
He also supported Spelling Bee in their annual competition.
The MP has decided to adopt this as annual program to support CAMFED and other educational related activities in the District.
The Kojokura CHPS compound which was started by Hon Ali as a DCE got completed by Hon Muhaz and was commissioned in 2018. This has not been operational since.
So Hon Garlus in December 2018 delivered hospital beds to the facility to assist in its operationalization.
On Energy and Security, the MP secured 100 streetlights and has since connected/delivered to the ff communities; Laribanga, Bonyanto, Tailorpe, Achubunyor, Jonokponto, Mempeasem and Canteen.
Some other communities shall follow in the coming days.
Additionally, 800 solar lamps were procured and delivered to communities which do not have electricity inclusive are; Murugu, Mognori, Broto, Achulokura, Porposo, Gberge, Kojokura, Sumpini among others.
On sports, 25 sets of jerseys and 10 footballs were purchased in 2018, 15 of these were delivered to 8 houses in DASS and 7 houses in NDESCO.
The remaining 10 were delivered to some communities and youth groups.
In 2017, a 6 unit classroom block with ancillaries was put to use in Langantire.
The project was secured by Hon Garlus in 2015 from GETfund and execution was done by a local contractor from Damongo.
Another 6 unit classroom block and a KG block are under construction in Soalepe.
The project was again secured by Hon Garlus in 2016.
Work got stalled after change of government in 2017 but it’s currently progressing steadily.
Let me try to zero small on the said community (Murugu) where this challenge was thrown by the embattled chairman.
In order to get the economic activities of a particular community running, the first and foremost is its accessibility. Before 2009, the Mognori-Murugu-Kpulumbo stretch of road was not accessible.
As a DCE, Hon Garlus applied to IFAD and other allied agencies to support the West Gonja District Assembly to give the road a facelift.
The donor agencies requested the two communities (Mognori and Murugu) to start dry season farming on the banks on the Mognori river.
Hon Garlus mobilized funds, farm inputs and got these two communities to clear as much as 20 acres of land and started a dry season farming using the river to do manual irrigation.
This got the donor agencies to approve the request to compliment the WGDA to work on the said road.
In addition, Hon Garlus led the team of African Development Bank partners and the Ghana Highway Authority Engineers to see for themselves how farmers and pregnant women struggle to cross the Mognori river to and from Murugu during rainy seasons.
This got the AfDB to approve a request for the Murugu bridge to be built. Per the original terms of the contract, the distance (from Laribanga to Mognori) was not qualified for any of the ancillary facilities under the Fufulso-Sawla road project.
In Murugu community itself, the first ever teacher’s quarters was built by Hon Garlus as a DCE.
The first ever solar poles were sent there under Hon Garlus as a DCE.
As for the empty debate as to which regime has captured Murugu under the ongoing rural electrification, it’s for the people of Murugu to judge and not any outsider to go telling them some stories.
On the flip side, I want to remind Nana Kwame that he’s still the Assembly man for the Attributo Electoral Area if he’s forgotten.
I would want to also use this opportunity to wish him well in his bid to become the first Regional Chairman of Savannah Region amidst the stiff opposition from his own party guys.
According to them they worked day and night to get him elected as the constituency chairman who over this period has been a disappointment.
The last but not the least, I want to advice Nana Kwame to stop diverting attention from the ineptitude of his government and its appointees.
His government is in power, with him as a constituency chairman and an Assembly man who’s supposed to know much about the work of the District Assembly, so he should be telling us what the District Assembly uses its common fund for and not targeting the MP who gets far less than the Assembly in common fund.
As for Nana Kwame’s obsession with Samuel Jinapor and his political escapades in Damongo, it’s clear the game my good friend is playing. But he should be reminded Samuel is 4th most powerful person in government, 2nd most powerful in Northern Ghana and 1st most powerful in the entire Gonjaland (SR).
I leave it at that.
Shalom!
Issifu Seidu Kudus Gbeadese
(RA, Office of Parliament)
