Castle probes NYEP Coordinator

The Central Regional Coordinator of the National Youth Employment Program (NYEP), Nana Osibey Quansah has been invited for questioning at the seat of government, following The Chronicle’s exposé of rot under his administration.Deep throat sources at the Castle hinted The Chronicle that government is not happy with how the program is being managed in the Central Region, despite the efforts it has put in place to streamline the programme.

The seat of government, immediately after The Chronicle’s publication on Monday May 23, 2011, that revealed detailed minutes of a meeting held at the conference room of the Cape Coast Regional Coordinating Council to cover-up the rot in the region, invited Nana Osibey for questioning on how he could perpetuate such acts, to the detriment of his subordinates.

The Chronicle is reliably informed that Castle intends dispatching some security officials to investigate the operations of the Central Region NYEP Coordinator, since the government could not afford to work with corrupt officials.

“Very soon, some security personnel would be dispatched to the Central Region to investigate the activities of Nana Osibey. We’ve heard various allegations against Nana Osibey, but at the moment we don’t have any concrete evidence that implicates him, and that is why we will be sending some security officials to investigate him. Their findings will be key in taking a decision over his administration,” noted an inside source at the seat of government, who spoke to The Chronicle on condition of anonymity.

Nana Osibey Quansah was allegedly reported to have extorted monies from some deputy Coordinators of the NYEP under his jurisdiction, with the promise of renewing their contracts, when it expires in September this year.
All the Coordinators and beneficiaries under the program have a two-year contract which began in September 2009.

About half of the deputy Coordinators’ allowances were delayed for five months (September, October, November, December and January).

Others had their allowances delayed for eight months (September, October, November, December, January, February, March and April).

Those who had their allowances delayed for five months were paid GH¢ 2,000.00, in addition to the February 2011 allowance. Those with eight months arrears had their money (GH¢ 3,200.00) paid, in addition to the May 2011 allowance.

Some of the deputy coordinators interviewed alleged that Nana Quansah demanded 50% of the arrears paid to them, with the explanation that the money was to be given to the NYEP authorities in Accra.

An additional GH¢ 400.00 was allegedly demanded from the deputy Coordinators to help facilitate the activities of the Regional Headquarters.

Part of the money, The Chronicle learnt, was to be used in maintaining the Regional Coordinator’s personal vehicle, which he had been using to facilitate the activities of the program in the region, until the program allocates an official vehicle to him.

However, when contacted on his cellular phone, he denied ever taking money from his subordinates. “My hands are clean,” he retorted.

In his effort to clean the mess, an emergency meeting was called on Friday, May 20, 2011, to discuss how his Secretariat could come out with a press release to deny the story.

Notice of the emergency meeting was conveyed to all the seventeen Coordinators and their deputies in the region at around 10:30 am. The said meeting, which was closely monitored by The Chronicle, started at 3:00pm and ended at 6:25pm at the conference room of the Central Region Coordinating Council at Cape Coast.

Among the key issues raised were allegations of cover-up, so that media houses in the country would not get the oxygen of publicity on the issue, and also to gag Isaac Abeiku Nyanful, the deputy Coordinator of the program in the Ajumako-Enyan-Essiam district, who is on indefinite suspension without pay.

Nana Osibey Quansah suspects Mr. Nyanful to be the brain behind his predicament, hence the decision to gag him and prevent more ‘bombshells’ that will bring the programme’s image into disrepute.