BA Regional Minister briefs Parliament

Centre Spread, Jene 25, 2010
Story: Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah
THE Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Kwadwo Nyamekye-Marfo, yesterday told Parliament that the celebration of the region’s 50th anniversary by the chiefs and the citizenry had been unanimous and overwhelming, since the celebration had been aimed at paying tribute to the founding fathers and those who toiled to give the region its status.
He was responding to questions concerning the anniversary, as well as the extent of damage caused to property at the Sunyani Residency on December 19, 2009 and what had caused the damage, posed to him by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament (MP) for Sunyani East, Mr Kwasi Ameyaw-Cheremeh.
Answering, the regional minister told the House that the total revenue received from both public and private sources amounted to GH¢462,894.42.
He explained that out of that amount, GH¢285,634.42 had been received from public sources, GH¢162,360 from private sources and GH¢14,900 from the sale of the BA@50 cloth.
Mr Nyamekye-Marfo stated that GH¢413,563.98 out of the revenue had been spent on organising the anniversary
and broke down the amount spent as follows: Publicity and artistes, GH¢65,482.50; fuel and repairs, GH18,262.55; T&T and accommodation, GH¢21,901.45; consultancy, GH¢19,089.00; awards, GH¢27,580.50; BA@50 cloth, GH¢22,700, and grand durbar/climax, GH¢41,390.10.
The rest are: Quiz, GH¢12.096.50; projects (arch, statue/busts), GH¢93,806.14; trade and investment fair, GH¢23,022.24, and others, GH¢20,300.
That explanation did, however, not go down well with the MPs, particularly those on the Minority side, as they questioned why the amount spent on the anniversary cloth had far exceeded what had accrued from it.
They also wanted to know whether no revenue had accrued from the trade and investment fair.
Replying, Mr Nyamekye-Marfo stated that while some pieces of the cloth were still in the store, some district assemblies which collected some pieces were yet to pay up, while some were given on protocol.
On the investment fair, the regional minister explained that nothing accrued from it because it had been meant to showcase the investment potential of the region and not to make profit.
When questioned further as to whether he had no knowledge of the fact the some money had been collected from the exhibitors, he answered that he was not aware and promised to investigate to ascertain the authenticity or otherwise of the claim.
He told the House that in managing the BA@50 revenue and expenditure, he had been guided by the various established provisions and procedures in both the Financial Administration Act, 2003 (Act 654) and Regulation 39 (1) of Part II of the Financial Administration Regulation, 2004 (L.I. 1802) in relation to the discharge of his duties and responsibilities.
Mr Nyamekye-Marfo added that in accordance with the provision of the Audit Service Act, 2000 (Act 554), the Auditor-General had been invited by the Regional Co-ordinating Council (RCC) to carry out an audit of the celebration.
Answering the second question, he stated that the RCC had no record of any damage caused to any property at the residency on December 19, 2009 but admitted that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) had held its regional congress at the residency on the said date.