The First Six Months Of The New Sissala East District Chief Executive: An Objective Observation From A Layman In The District

16th of December, 2014 was exactly six months since the confirmation of Johnson Saborh as the DCE of the Sissala East District. The 16th of June, 2014 was the exact date of this confirmation by the Honourable Assembly Members. It came after a long wait by the people of the Sissala East District. The Young Democrats with the active support of the Young Patriots in the Sissalaland played a yeoman role in that regard.

Like the ushering in of any new king, there were those who were pleased beyond measure and there were others who felt totally disappointed because they felt the one who contributed extremely little to the success of the NDC in the 2012 elections got this priviledged position. Then there were the skeptics who just wanted to watch the scene to see how the new DCE will help develop this under-developed district and also unite the NDC which as it stands till date, remain totally fractured and disunited.
Many were those who gave him good counsels, including my humble self (see; Mr. Sissala East DCE, this is my piece of advice to you! Ghanaweb Feature Article 2014-06-24.htm). These sound pieces of advice I perceive was however misconstrued by Johnson Saborh and his associates. They I perceive rather opted to follow the path of praise singers, hero-worshippers and people I often refer to as, gaping gullible sycophants.
It wasn’t long after the appointment and confirmation of Johnson Saborh that we heard announcements of progressive ways to generate revenue for the district. This we were all pleased about. The revenue was generated and according to Johnson Saborh, between January to August of this year, 281,981.88 Ghana cedis was generated (see: Sissala East Assembly achieves revenue target.htm; GNA, 13/10/14). This money we were told was used for various developmental projects in the district. We were told it was used for the construction of a volleyball court (at an alleged inflated cost of 9400 Ghana cedis) in the Tumu Township. What is sad about this project is that not only is the cost if true, allegedly totally inflated but also it is totally misplaced. I have already indicated this in an earlier piece (see: Attention to President Mahama the Volleyball Court in Tumu Is a Misplaced Priority!!! _ Features _ Peacefmonline.com.htm).
The poor farmers from Challu, Tarso, Kassana, Tanvieri, Wuru etc., whose money formed the bulk of this internally generated revenue, were ignored. Their money was not used to develop their roads which are now death traps nor help finance the education of their wards but was rather used for a project which I’m not sure will add even a penny to the coffers of the District Assembly. 9400 Ghana cedis is not small money to the poor farmer or the poor woman with the donkey cart who was taxed to generate this amount.
Aside this we were told by the DCE that a school block was constructed by the District Assembly at Navrowie. Enquiries with some people in the area indicate a total exaggeration in this regard. The facts of the matter according to such persons indicate that the good people of Navrowie constructed the single classroom block with bricks (what we refer to as atta-kwame) on their own and when they were short of funds, they pleaded with the District Assembly for support. The District Assembly assisted them with some few bags of cement and roofing sheets. This support has all of a sudden metamorphosed into a full project executed by the District Assembly as indicated by the GNA story referenced above. The DCE also said the same thing when he interacted with the people of the district at Taffiasi. Similar scenarios can be said of the refurbishment of the St. Gabriels School and the bore-hole to be dug at the Rural Houses, the DCE’s own area. They are all self-help initiatives and not the projects of the district assembly as we are made to believe by Johnson Saborh. The DCE and his appendages can provide a contrary evidence of what I’m saying is untrue.
Another said situation is that till now, nobody knows of the exact costs of this allegedly extremely inflated cost which was used to execute this little help to the people of the Sissala East.
Equally pathetic within these six months of the Johnson Saborh DCEship is the dictatorial and autocratic leadership the Sissala East district has experienced. Never in the history of the Sissala East has it experienced a leadership so dictatorial and autocratic yet so uncaring. It all started with the unilateral decision to take away electricity poles from Challu and some surrounding villages. Had it not been the intervention of Almighty Allah, that decision nearly created an unnecessary confusion in the district, pitching one brother against another. Similar to this is the construction of the volleyball court without the consent of the Assembly Members and many more.
The NDC as a party in the Sissala East district is totally disunited and many thought Johnson Saborh could have been a remedy. It wasn’t long after his confirmation that issues of his ambition to become the next MP came to light. This ambition of his made him to pitch himself to a camp as reported by the Chronicle Newspaper of 03/10/14. The paper reported that Johnson Saborh fielded his candidates who now dominate the NDC executives in the constituency. To also show where real power lies, he is alleged to have abandoned the development of any community that the NDC executives there are perceived to support the incumbent MP. The deliberate and malicious abandoning of the road from Challu to Bugubelle is often cited as an example. Thus, within just six months, Johnson Saborh has succeeded in further dividing the NDC family.
These are just an extremely few objective observations I made within this six months of Johnson Saborh’s DCEship. The driver in the district like the one in the Flagstaff House is not on top of issues. Congrats though for the only tangible achievement so far, the street naming in Tumu Township.
Just as I wish to end here, let me wish DCE Saborh, my former headmaster, Happy Holidays in advance and hope that by the end of the Year, he will come clean and explain how an amount of over 281,000 Ghana cedis can be finished within just three months without the district seeing any tangible development…
I shall In Sha Allah be back…

Fuseini Abdul-Fatawu
0248967484
Acting Secretary of Young Patriots in the Sissalaland