WENCHI ASSEMBLY RENOVATES MCE'S RESIDENCE (PAGE 14, JULY 12, 2010)

THE Wenchi Municipal Assembly in the Brong Ahafo Region is renovating the residence of the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Mr Yaw Osei Agyei, at a cost of GH¢45,000.
The decision by the assembly to undertake the project is due to the deplorable state of the bungalow.
Since the current MCE, Mr Yaw Osei Agyei, assumed office over a year ago, he has been residing in his father’s private apartment at Wenchi because it would have been very expensive if he had opted for a hotel accommodation for the assembly to bear the cost.
The renovation work on the five-bedroom block, which is being done in two phases, involves rewiring, replacing louvre blades, panelling, replacing doors, erecting an overhead water reservoir, as well as digging a manhole for toilets and water drains.
The other works are fixing air conditioners, water heaters, kitchen cabinet and laying floor and wall tiles in the various rooms.
Mr. Agyei, who conducted the Daily Graphic to inspect the project, vehemently denied a recent report by a local FM station that the assembly did not approve the amount for the renovation and explained that members of the assembly first approved GH¢22,000 and later gave the approval for the remaining ¢23,000.
“The whole place was in a deplorable condition and was not suitable for human habitation and it is also not true that the assembly did not approve of the money for the renovation,” the MCE explained.
According to the MCE, when he went through the accounting books of the assembly, he detected that there was a huge debt owed contractors in respect of various projects they had executed for the assembly.
Mr Agyei said he needed to find appropriate means to clear the accumulated indebtedness, among which was the plan to improve on the revenue generation of the assembly by blocking the leakage that was detected and checking corruption on the part of some revenue collectors.
He stressed that because of the precarious financial position of the assembly, he decided not to stay in a hotel but rather stay in his father’s house and explained that it would have been incumbent on the assembly to have borne the cost of lodging at the hotel.
The MCE further indicated that since the assembly was also not in a position to construct an entirely new residence, the only wise decision was to opt for the renovation of the dilapidated bungalow, which had not been occupied by his predecessor due to its state.
Mr. Agyei insisted that he had never taken a unilateral decision to engage a contractor to renovate the place but rather it was a collective arrangement, adding that as a citizen of the area, he was determined to develop the municipality.
He said the doors of his office were always opened for any member of the area to contact him on any matter he or she did not understand instead of going about spreading falsehood which would not help in the development of the area.