"Minister Paid For �B� Rating"

Most residents in the Brong Ahafo region have expressed dissatisfaction with the �B� rating of the Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Kwadwo Nyamekye-Marfo by the African Watch Magazine in the recent Political Performance Index (PPI). They said Mr Nyamekye-Marfo does not deserve the rating which adjudged him the top-performing regional minister in the Mills administration because has failed to meet the expectation of the people in the region. Latest to join the fray to pooh-pooh the Regional Minister�s rating is the National Coordinator of the Real Democratic Patriot Party (RDPP), Raphael Cubagee, who accused Mr Nyamekye-Marfo of allegedly paying for the rating. Mr Cubagee aka Shamo Oquaye, a former stalwart of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), who left the party last year to form the RDPP, chided the regional minister for allegedly paying to secure the �B� rating. The RDPP founder alleged that a month before the release of the PPI, Mr Nyamekye-Marfo embarked on a trip to the US and some parts of Europe to influence the publishers of the magazine. Mr Cubagee pointed out that the action of the minister was calculated to create an erroneous impression that he is a hard working minister to boost his chances of winning the impending Sunyani West NDC parliamentary primaries. According to him, the regional minister is fiercely being challenged by some strong party stalwarts who are tipped to floor him. �If that is not the case, how can Nyamekye-Marfo, whose regime has seen massive corruption be graded �B� above all other regional ministers in Ghana?� Mr Cubagee quizzed. According to the RDPP boss, Mr Nyamekye-Marfo is the first regional minister in the history of the Brong Ahafo region to be summoned by Parliament to answer questions bordering on corruption with regards to the Brong Ahafo @50 celebrations. He said there are still some lingering questions, stressing that Parliament asked the minister to come back and answer those questions. Mr Cubagee said the Brong Ahafo region has recorded many robbery cases and vandalism by NDC thugs under the leadership of Mr Nyamekye-Marfo, adding that the regional minister has lost his grip of the region because his party people do not respect him. He alleged that the selling of state property such as state lands to party cronies and top government officials in the region has been in the rise, saying the grading does not reflect happenings on the ground. He also accused the Municipal/District Chief Executives in the region of engaging in corrupt practices under the watch of the regional minister and alleged that funds meant for various developmental projects had been misappropriated by some greedy individuals.