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The Communication Team of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Sefwi Akontombra Constituency of the Western Region are demanding answers from the Member of Parliament (MP) for the area, Herod Cobbina, over the use of his MPs Common Fund for the past 10 years.

According to the team, the MP has not been able to provide evidence as to how he has spent his Common Fund since he assumed office in 2004.

The team has therefore threatened to embark on a demonstration on August 20, 2015 against the MP to demand a probe into how the MP has used his Common Fund.

In a statement signed and issued by the NPP Communication Director for Sefwi Akontombra, Addo Harry, the team, the MP was obliged by law to use the Common Fund to carryout developmental projects and assist the poor and needy in the constituency but the MP has failed to move in such direction.

They claim the MP receives a minimum of GHC35,000 every quarter as share of his Common Fund, adding that, an accumulation of this figure from 2004 would amount to about GHC1.1 million.

They said although releases into the Fund have been in arrears for some time now, it was clear that the MP has misused his share since he could not show anything for the money he had received since he became MP for the area.

They said the constituents continue to wallow in abject poverty despite the huge sums of money the MP continues to receive as his Common Fund.
“Currently, there is a huge school dropout rate in this constituency especially among the needy but brilliant students. Most of them have now joined their parents in the cocoa farms”, the statement said.

They alleged that the MP withdrew GHC50,000 from his Common Fund for the purpose of buying an ambulance for the Akontombra Health Center but failed to use the money for the purpose.

Similarly, they said the MP allegedly withdrew another GHC45,000 from the Fund for the construction of an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) center for Nsawora and Edumafia communities but again failed to use the money for the intended purpose.

They therefore called on the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Bureau of National Investigations (BNI), Parliament and the Ankontombra District Assembly to collaborate and investigate the MP.
“We are waiting patiently to hear from the above mentioned institutions. Failure to force the MP to account to us within one month from now, will result in embarking on “y3 wuo” demonstration at Sefwi Akontombra Constituency on Thursday, 20th August 2015”, they said.