I humbly call upon the president H.E. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo, National Executives of the New Patriotic Party, and the rank and file of the NPP to pay immediate and rapt attention to the Suhum Municipality and correct the wrongs currently being perpetuated by the acting MCE Hon. Margaret Darko, if the party wants to continue enjoying its enviable and comfortable dominance in the Municipality and Constituency.

There is usually some level of automatic reverence attached to the office of the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCES) and this is for a simple reason: they constitutionally represent the President in their various municipalities and districts. They are supposed to act as social development agents and implementers on
behalf of the government of the day. The success of local governance is heavily premised on these MMDCES.

I dare say that some MMDCEs in the Akufo Addo’s first government performed creditably and brought local governance in their constituencies and districts into high repute. This assertion, however, cannot be conclusively made in the Suhum Municipality, a municipality that the NPP enjoys tremendous dominance and support. The respect, support and reverence accorded the government in this municipality is gradually dwindling over the last four years since the NPP came into power. Even though the NPP government has done a few things in the Suhum (obviously through the visionary leadership of Akufo Addo and the equitable distribution of projects across the country), the ill-motive actions of the acting MCE is dwindling the gains made in the Municipality.

 In less than two months the MCE who is using all fair and foul means to seek a re-appointment by the NPP government has mobilized thugs to beat, threaten and/or torment party officials and grassroots people who are perceived to be against her bid. It is instructive to note that, necessarily, there will be party faithful who will rise
up against her bid knowing how she fraudulently abused her office for personal and parochial gains in the first term rather than championing the vision of Akufo Addo and pursuing the course of the people of Suhum.

 Two weeks ago, Hon Margaret Darko organized known thugs from Taifa to beat up a young and vibrant party communicator popularly known as Suhum Obama with claims of sending messages against her. As I write, the communicator’s phone is still in their custody.

A complaint has been lodged with the Suhum District Police Station and there is evidence to show.

 Just four days ago, known supporters of Hon Margaret Darko who alighted from a well known truck in the community attacked another party faithful and communicator and beat him up mercilessly for engaging the woman on a WhatsApp platform. She does not understand why he will make a case for a different person to become the MCE. The thugs/ supporters of Hon Margaret Darko are quoted to have stated that they have been asked by their boss to shut him (the communicator) up, which has also been reported at the Suhum District Police Station. This is not the
way to seek re-appointment and her actions are gradually infuriating the citizens of Suhum.

 There are numerous testimonies and people are ready to open up in camera on her nefarious activities whiles she was the substantive MCE and even now as an acting MCE.

There is documentary evidence to show corruption, abuse of funds and financial malfeasance whilst in office and I will by this want to urge the NPP government and the president to audit the four-year term of Hon. Margaret Darko.
Mr President, in all humility, we the citizens of Suhum do not want to experience this stern woman in this second term of yours.

Mr. President and the NPP government, every good citizen of the Municipality, not spectators, or anyone who follows the politics of the municipality will bear me out that this is not and cannot be any form of a settlement of a parochial personal vendetta or even to champion any unwarranted or unsolicited agenda. It is in good faith that I write this.

The attitudes and actions of the acting MCE, perpetrating violence, fomenting trouble and engaging in financial malfeasance is not only related to her current bid to be retained as the MCE but traces back to the period she has been MCE for the Municipality and the Constituency. She has openly fought and threatened journalists, attacked her own constituency party officials and chased school feeding caterers out of their offices.

Her level of arrogance and impudence is nauseating. She is on record to have openly disrespected and insulted the traditional rulers in the municipality on several occasions and as such, has courted their anger and will receive their wrath if retained. Someway somehow, she’s been able to forcefully facilitate the transfer of forty-two (42) staff of the
assembly who tried to question or at least to understand some contracts that were executed without due procurement processes. She signs and gives contracts without due diligence by her designated officers and they dare not question her. There are pictorial

evidence of her abandoning State owned vehicles to rot and spoil without putting them to the use for which these pickup vehicles were dispatched. There are many of those I can put evidence to in my next letter. Reference is made to her threat to go after a Daily Guide journalist in June 2019 for asking a question on bad roads in the Municipality. The reporter, Alex Boye, at the Meet-The-Press series by the Local Government Minister, Hajia Alima Mahama in Accra asked why the Suhum Assembly is not working on the poor roads in the village precisely Abenabu where he hailed from. This harmless question attracted a call from the MCE and an unknown person claiming to be from the BNI, with both of them threatening to come after his life.

Reports suggests that she is notorious for attacking journalists. Mr. President and National Executives, it is public knowledge that the acting MCE when she was substantive could not simply see to the election of a Presiding Member / Officer without chaos. For 6 consecutive times, a whole President’s nominees were rejected. She is simply not able to pursue and protect the interest of the President and government.

On September 12, 2019, Margarete Darko Darkwa, chased out some caterers of the school feeding programme with a pickup full of armed Police officers in some basic schools in the Suhum municipality. This action contravened a directive by the National Secretariat of the Ghana School Feeding Programme asking Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCES) to stop terminating contracts of caterers under the programme and
awarding same to new persons without the approval of the Secretariat.

She is alleged to have unilaterally terminated contracts of some caterers and re-awarded them to new caterers. In all of this, Mr President, the acting MCE has strategically aligned herself to and is in bed with the constituency secretary who has been awarded several juicy contracts and because of that has mounted spirited defense of the MCE in a bid to subsequently protect his personal interest. She is on record to have funded the removal of the Constituency Party Chairman who brought the Party from opposition to power to fuel an agenda of unseating the immediate past Member of Parliament.

Mr. President and national executives, there are a thousand and one issues to make a case for not retaining Hon Margaret Darko as the MCE for Suhum or to be given any further appointment, but I am pretty sure that with these few evidence there is no need to continue making a case. We do not want to be surprised in our next elections. She cannot continue fighting the Party’s own Constituency Executives and still be MCE.

Thank you Mr. President and National Executives of the New Patriotic Party.

Ebenezer Nyamebekyere

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CC: Local Government Minister designate
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