Constituents Reject MP’s Toilet Facility

…But Associate Says It’s Propaganda By Her Contender

Some residents of Yamfo in the Tano North constituency in the Ahafo Region have allegedly rejected a toilet facility built by their Member of Parliament (MP), Freda Prempeh.

Reports indicate that the apparent rejection of the public place of convenience was due to the late commissioning of the facility by the lawmaker, who happens to be the Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources.

On this Tuesday August 8, after a ceremony to finally commission the facility, situated at Yoyoo, a suburb of Yamfo, some residents supposedly served notice they will not use the public lavatory.

They are peeved that, despite several appeals to the MP, they were ignored by delaying for well over four years.

Madam Prempeh, according to 3news.com,was allegedly hooted at during the event, together with her entourage, to register their displeasure.

But others in the constituency have jumped to MP’s defence, saying the bad press is as a result of agenda by her detractors, who are after her seat.

A close associate to the MP, one Maxwell Adu Agyei, has said there is no iota of truth in the allegation levelled against the minister.

He said the toilet facility was being used for the purpose for which it was built, adding the accusation is just an attempt by her opponents to tarnish her image.

“It is all lies and falsehood being peddled by someone in particular who wants to contest her for the seat. The toilet was opened yesterday and, already, there are several people thronging the place to use it. What is happening is all propaganda and it is not the reflection of what is happening in Yamfo. These people only want to tarnish the good image of the MP,” he told online news portal Ghanaweb, in an interview.

According to the former vice chairman of the NPP in the Tano North constituency, the facility, even though lobbied for by the parliamentarian, was initiated by the Middle Belt Development Authority (MBDA), but was stalled for a period of time.

“The truth is that it is the government that is building these toilets across the country. It was the turn of the middle-belt under 1 constituency 1 toilet project and the MP was able to lobby for four for her constituency, when some places didn’t even get one. It was initially not something that was sponsored by her own money until COVID came and made money issues a little difficult,” he added.

Even though there were no funds to continue the project, Mr.Adu Agyei, who was an assembly member in the area, said the MP had to raise her personal funds to complete it.

According to him, he was even involved in the project and at a point had to put pressure on the MP, to take over the completion of the project.

He said the project had been locked by the contractors because they were not being paid and so when it became obvious that they had to ensure its completion, he personally got a carpenter to break into the facility to continue the work.

“There are a lot of people in that area, but their toilet had been out of use for a long time and so the people kept appealing to the MP.

“I had to call her to mount pressure on her about the complaints of the people until she released her personal money for us to use for the project. I had to eventually lead carpenters to break the doors of the toilet for us to continue the work because the contractors refused to come around because they had not been paid.

“We bought paint and other things and fixed the place, because Dr. Freda Prempeh said she could not allow for the place to be under lock when her people badly needed it. After it was done, those who even thought that she was the one behind the closure have been showing gratitude to her,” he explained further.

It is alleged that the former Minister of State hurriedly commissioned the facility because someone, whose name Mr.Adu Agyei failed to mention, has begun the construction of another facility for them.

The Tano North constituency is promising to be one of the hottest constituencies in the country where a keen contest is expected as far as the parliamentary primaries of the NPP are concerned.

This is so, because Madam Prempeh is getting a stiff competition from Dr. Gideon Boako, the spokesperson for Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia.

In July, this year, The Anchor had reported about news of some 35 polling station executives, said to be loyalists of the MP, whose names were allegedly removed from the Constituency Album (certified delegates for elections).

The deleted names were allegedly replaced with loyalists of Dr.Boako. This is causing disaffection and division among executives in the constituency.

The MP subsequently wrote to the national executives of the NPP, requesting their intervention, but this paper cannot tell what has become of her petition.

The issue, according to this paper’s sources, was influenced by the flagbearer contest between Dr. Bawumia, former Trade and Industry Minister John Alan Kyerematen and eight others.

But the MP, after the publication of the story, which was originally by the Ghana News Agency (GNA), strongly denied any linkage of the issue to the party’s presidential race.

Meanwhile, the Yamfo Traditional Council has jumped into the fray, refuting the reports that the chiefs and people of the area have rejected the facility.

Nana Appiah Afrane, the Sanaahene of the Yamfo Traditional Council, described the online publication as “fictitious with ill-motives.”

The traditional leader commended the minister for the facility, as it has brought relief to the residents of the area.

Source:Anchorghana.com