William N. Jalulah
28 August 2008
Saboba — INVESTIGATIONS BY The Chronicle in Saboba, in the Northern Region, have revealed that a lengthy argument, which ensued between the District Chief Executive (DCE), David Nyame, and a retired educationist, Abukari Norgah, over the sale of fertilizers, resulted in the DCE allegedly slapping the watchman of the storeroom in which the fertilizers were stored for sale.
An eyewitness account of the incident, had it that on Wednesday, August 20, this year, the DCE, who was given coupons to distribute to interested individuals, who wanted to buy fertilizers, arrived at the stores of the Saboba new market, where the fertilizers were stored, and questioned Mr. Norgah, why he did not wait for him to bring the coupons, but decided to sell the fertilizers without giving out coupons to the buyers.
Mr. Nyame also wanted to know why the dealer had increased the price of the fertilizer from GH¢ 26.00 per a bag, to GH¢ 26.50.
The eyewitness, who had also gone to buy some of the fertilizers, said the dealer explained to the DCE that he had to employ the services of loading boys from Saboba to Wapuli Bridge, to offload and reload the fertilizers, when the vehicle bringing them could not pass through the area, which is currently flooded. Therefore, in order to offset the extra cost incurred, he decided to sell them little above the original price.
Mr. Nyame also alleged that the fertilizers were being sold in bulk to one George Wumbei, a National Democratic Congress (NDC) activist, who then distributed them to farmers, who were believed to members of his party.
According to a reliable source, the DCE ordered one Jumoh, who was then in the store selling the fertilizers, together with the watchman, Bako, to stop the sale and close the store.
Not comfortable with the DCE's order, Jumoh, who was then at the entrance of the store, wanted to know why the DCE did not give the order when his boss (Norgah) was present?
This infuriated the DCE, and he allegedly entered the store and ordered the watchman to come out. Bako said showing without any resistance, except to pick something he had left in the store, the DCE allegedly slapped him on both cheeks. He then dashed to the police station to report the incident.
When this reporter contacted Mr. Bako (the victim), at his Zongo residence in the centre of Saboba, he explained that he heard a heated argument while he was inside the storeroom, so he called out and asked, "What is going on," to his amazement the DCE held him and gave him two slaps.
"When he slapped me, I did not challenge him, because I know him as my DCE, and would not want to run into any problems, either with him or his people," Bako lamented.
He said later the DCE, and some elders of his Tilanbgelni community, came and pleaded with him for a harmonious settlement, which he had no option but to accept.
"Me, I did not want to have any problem with anybody, so when he came and said it was evil that led him to slap me, and not because of his position as the DCE, and rendered apology, I accepted it," the victim stated.
Giving his version of the incident, Mr. Nyame told The Chronicle that "the fertilizer dealer and I made a lengthy argument, and my argument was, why five thousand?"- referring to the Gp50 increment.
He said the fertilizers were being transported by the government from Tamale to Saboba, and the work of the dealer was to sell them at a fixed price of GH¢ 26.00 per a bag.
He explained that the dealer made a profit of Gp80 out of every bag of fertilizer he sold.
He said the dealer explained that at the time of transporting the fertilizers, one side of the Wapuli Bridge, the only motorable road now linking Saboba to Yendi, was flooded, and for the loaded truck to be able to pass through the flooded portion, some of the fertilizer had to be offloaded.
According to the DCE, Mr. Norgah, the dealer, told him that he engaged the services of some people, who offloaded some bags and carried them across the flooded portion, before reloading them at a cost, hence his decision to add GP50 to the original price.
Mr. Nyame said after listening to the dealer, both of them resolved that the sale of the fertilizers should not be based on political lines, but sold fairly to all those who needed them.
He contended that farmers could not buy fertilizers at the old price of GH¢50.00 and that the manner in which farmers were struggling to get coupons before getting the subsidized fertilizers was his worry. "That is why I went to the dealer to do the right thing."
When quizzed on the slapping issue, he denied the accusation.
Having admitted that a heated argument ensued between him and the fertilizer dealer, the DCE claimed there were rumour mongers who were behind the whole matter, and not that he slapped the watchman.
When Mr. Wumbei, who the DCE alleged had sold the fertilizers to NDC members, was contacted, he said the police called him to find out if truly he carried some of the fertilizer in bulk, but he explained to them that because some people had struggled in vain for the fertilizers, he pleaded with the dealer to consider such people.
Mr. Wumbei also said though he did not witness the incident, he heard that the DCE had slapped Mr. Bako, and later apologised to him.
Attempts by this paper to find out from the police in Saboba, whether or not the matter was reported to them, failed.
The officer in charge was said to have travelled.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 Ghanaian Chronicle. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
