Pressures from some face-less Castle operatives, have compelled the Offinso Divisional Police Commander to pass on the fraud case involving some polling station chairmen of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) and Mr. D.Y. Kwarteng, the Affigya Kwabre District Chief Executive (DCE) to the Ashanti Regional Command for further action, TODAY can authoritatively confirm.
At a meeting in Offinso between the embattled polling stations chairmen in his office last week, the Offinso District Police Commander revealed his intentions to send the case to his superiors at the regional level, explaining that the case was “becoming too complicated and beyond his jurisdiction.”
Messrs. D.Y. Kwarteng, Affigya Sekyere West and Mr. Osei Bosei, the Kwabre West polling station chairmen of NDC are said to have conspired with the Kwabre zonal manager of Zoomlion Ghana Ltd, Mr. Yaw Boakye to inflate the salaries of some Zoomlion workers with the intention of taking their share when the workers were paid.
The Offinso Divisional Commander who felt the polling station chairmen were not cooperating with the Boamang Divisional Command, where the case was initially reported, asked that the docket be brought to his (Offinso Divisional Command) office. .
But days after the case was sent to his office, the Commander, TODAY has learnt, has been unable to make any meaningful headway because of the political status of the people involved. He has virtually being asked to back off the case by the powers that be, TODAY can state on authority.
TODAY’s source in the district told the paper that the workers, some of who had worked for just two months and some newly recruited mosquito sprayers under the Zoomlion module, were made to understand that their manager, Yaw Boakye, would prepare their reports indicating four months of work so that they would be paid to that effect.
But, the source added that the chairmen warned they would pay the workers their actual two months salary and then they would take the rest of the monies and share among themselves and the Hon. Oppong Kyekyeku Kaakyire, as a kind of “Thank You” gesture for helping them get employment.
The source said the Zoomlion manager who initially refused to be part of this fraudulent deal could no longer resist when he was threatened by the polling station chairmen that they would make him lose his job if he failed to comply.
Luck however run out on them as on the fateful day, these two chairmen and the Zoomlion manager sent an agent with all the pay slips of the workers to withdraw the money from the banks.
The original plan was for them to bring the money for them to take their share of the booty. But the manager of the Komfo Anokye Rural Bank at Boamang could not come to terms with why one person was making a withdrawal of several thousands of Ghana cedis with other people’s pay slips and therefore requested the presence and consent of the owners.
Some of the workers who were not the least enthused about cheating Zoomlion, their main source of income, and condoning fraud, took advantage of the ‘unfortunate’ situation at the bank and reported the issue to some anti corruption campaigners in the district who in turn reported to the Boamang police.
FROM JAMES APPIAKORANG JNR., OFFINSO
IGP, Paul Quaye
