Ellembelle Assembly Members call for probe into alleged financial misconduct by DCE

Concerned Ellembelle Assembly Members have accused their District Chief Executive Officer (DCE), Kwesi Bonzoh, and his team of alleged financial misconducts.

They said the DCE has been spending assembly revenue without General Assembly approval since January 2024, breaching the Local Government Act of 2016 and have expressed their concern and disappointment regarding the district’s management.

At the core of their grievances is a perceived lack of transparency in the assembly’s financial administration. The members raised issues surrounding the district’s rubber plantation project, claiming a lack of accountability in its management. They also criticized the Ellembelle District Improvement Program, citing inadequate oversight of its operations and other expenditure.
According to them, these projects reflect a broader issue of financial mismanagement under the current administration.

Additionally, the assembly members expressed frustration over the district’s leadership, which they say has failed to protect vital water bodies and farmlands from illegal mining operations. They alleged that the DCE has ignored the assembly’s standing orders as outlined in the Local Government Act of 2016 (Act 936) and has disregarded parliamentary regulations on financial management. This lack of leadership, they argue, undermines the district’s potential for sustainable development and threatens the well-being of local communities.

Concerns were also raised about the alleged use of district resources to support Kwesi Bonzoh’s political ambitions. The assembly members claim that the DCE has been misappropriating assembly logistics and revenue for personal gain, conducting so-called community engagements with assembly-branded vehicles bearing his political campaign materials.

In light of these allegations, the concerned assembly members have called on the Presiding Member to establish a commission of inquiry to investigate Kwesi Bonzoh and the former District Finance Officer and District Budget Analyst Solomon Kwaku Agyei. They urge an examination into the spending of assembly revenue from January 2024 to date, which they argue was done without General Assembly approval, in violation of section 117, subsection 1 of the Local Government Act.