<<Print>>

For the past three years, educational materials worth six hundred and six-seven million (old) cedis or sixty-six thousand, seven hundred Ghana cedis meant to improve the reading skills of children in Tema have been left to rot by the city authorities. The materials which include library books, shelves and tables are part of provisions made by a humanitarian organization, SUCARDIF, as part of its efforts to revive the dying library culture in the country, in which it earmarked Tema as its first beneficiary of the one billion-cedi �Save Ghana Library Project.� Investigations conducted by The Heritage revealed that a memorandum of understanding signed between the Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA) and SUCARDIF, August 2006, implored the assembly to provide the first floor of its Manhean sub-metro office for the library facility, which it did at the initial stage. However, after the organization had renovated the offices of the sub metro and fixed several stocked the facility with tables and books meant for the project with millions of cedis, all at absolutely no cost to the assembly; the TMA abrogated the contract. It took over the offices, which it has now turned into its Tema East sub-metro office. Since then, attempts by the NGO to get the assembly comply with the MoU have proved unsuccessful, the paper has learnt. Checks by The Heritage have revealed that the assembly, since 2006, has made no single effort to utilize the books, the whereabouts of which remain a mystery, but has rather dismantled the shelves at its offices. Staff members of the assembly are, in fact, using the tables for their various activities. The paper noticed this on a visit to the premises December 4. Sources working with the NGO contend that the MoU signed between the assembly and the organization binds any defaulting party, which in this case is TMA, to pay a compensation of �50,000,000 (GH�5,000) to the innocent party for abrogation of contract. But, up till now, the terms have not been honoured by the assembly. Presiding Member of the assembly Kingsley Kwame Appiah, in an interview with the paper, averred that the assembly has plans to deliberate on the contract the assembly entered into with the organization and its related issues. He, however, said he �had no knowledge� of the several million cedis-worth of books stocked at its sub-metro office, adding that the NGO rather �caused the assembly�s decision to abrogate the contract.� Other sources within in the assembly said otherwise, noting that the books were actually delivered at the offices of the Tema East sub-metro.