Pro-NDC Information Centre, namely Badu Information Centre in Offinso Agyeimpra community of the Ashanti Region, has been temporarily shut down by the Offinso South Municipal Chief Executive Hon. Kingsley Appiah.
According to the closure letter dated September 27, signed by Offinso South Municipal Coordinating Director Muhammed A. Majeed, on behalf of the MCE, the facility didn’t adhere to noise control rules within the Offinso Municipality.
“Information received from this office indicates that your facility does not regard the rules and regulations spelt out to control the noise level of all information centres within the Offinso Municipality”.
“To curtail this canker, you are hereby directed to cease operating the facility immediately, until further notice in order to give the good people of your catchunent area peace of mind. Please comply with this directive to avoid any consequence, ” the body of the letter states.
But, Isaac Boakye, CEO of the Information Centre, claims the closure is politically motivated due to his NDC affiliations and vigorous campaign support for the NDC flagbearer, John Dramani Mahama and the Offinso South parliamentarycandidate.
Isaac Boakye emphasized that the MCE for Offinso South is not only shutting down his information centre but also intimidating him with armed police, aiming to cause fear and facilitate arrest.
Mr. Boakye stated that he requested a permit in a letter dated March 12th, which was approved on February 13th. He also paid the necessary operation and registration fees.
Moreover, the Municipal Engineer oversaw the setup of his information centre, making the MCE’s harassment unexpected.
Mr. Isaac Boakye, who’s the Agyeimpra polling station chairman of the NDC, views the actions of the Municipal Chief executive as a blatant abuse of power.
He denies excessive noise claims, stating his machines operate within legal time frames and at minimal levels compared to a competitor in the same community.
He stated that surprisingly, the MCE charged him with operating without a permit when he reported the incident to Offinso police, as he believed the suspension was suspicious and sought justice for reopening his information centre.
Source:Mybrytfmonline.com/Kaakyire Kwasi Afari
