Redevelopment of Krofrom market: GH¢3m missing from project fund …KMA members provoked, demand probe

The Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) has raised concerns over the alleged disappearance of GH¢3 million from a loan intended for the Krofrom Market project in Kumasi and called for a probe into the matter.

In the year 2021/2022, the Assembly proposed GH¢5 million loan from a bank for the market project, accompanied by a letter signed by the former Metropolitan Chief Executive (MCE), Osei Assibey-Antwi.

During the 9th General Assembly meeting at the Prempeh Assembly Hall on Wednesday, it was revealed that the loan amount was increased to GH¢8 million.

The Krofrom abandoned market structure

However, only about GH¢4.8 million was spent on the project, leaving the remaining GH¢3 million unaccounted for.

This discrepancy sparked heated discussions among members, led by a former Presiding Member, Abraham Oppong, who urged thorough investigation to hold those culpable accountable.

According to the members of KMA, the increase from GH¢5 million to GH¢8 million raised eyebrows.

The Krofrom Market project, initiated nearly two decades ago, holds significant promise for Kumasi residents.

Efforts to reach Mr Assibey-Antwi proved futile as he could not be reached on phone.

In his presentation, Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) of KMA, Samuel Pyne, indicated that extensive deliberations had been held by a committee concerning the agreement of the old contractors and that an alternative funding for completion of the market project was being sought.

He said efforts to abrogate the contract were on course with a formal report yet to be submitted to the District Assemblies Common Fund Secretariat (DACFS) and the Ministry of Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development (MLGDRD).

Giving the overview performance of the Assembly for the 2023 fiscal year, the MCE said a total of GH¢63,432,565.34 out of GH¢69,800,000.00, representing 90.88 per cent of the total budget, was received.

On expenditure, Mr Pyne said GH¢64,802,869.00 out of the GH¢69,800,000.00 budgeted was spent, representing 92.84 per cent of the expenditure budget.

He highlighted the performance of internally-generated revenue, noting a year-on-year growth of 21.98 per cent, resulting in the collection of GH¢27, 901,002.66, despite the major challenge with property rate collection in the year under review.

He mentioned that the Assembly, from January 2023 till date, had installed over 5,500 streetlights in the metropolis in collaboration with the MLGDRD and Ministry of Energy.

According to him, the success story was tied to the enforcement of some digitalised revenue measures and their compliance by the people of Kumasi.

The KMA, Mr Pyne noted, would continue enforcing such measures to ease revenue collection, enhance the feedback mechanism between the Assembly and rate payers, and develop more projects in the metropolis.

He spoke on a revenue mobilisation strategy for 2024 with a focus on enhancing revenue collection processes and structures.

This strategy, he said, included improving bill delivery and e-payments systems, utilising the court system effectively to recover overdue revenues, and collaborating with the Economic and Organied Crime Office to recover outstanding revenues as needed.