When the deceased Head of State, Prof. John Evans Atta Mills, launched the Local Enterprise and Skills Development Programme in Tamale two years ago, he sold LESDEP as a unique model for youth development, aimed at focusing on training the unemployed in our various communities to acquire variable skills that would eventually make them self-employed.
The former President said LESDEP was a means of enhancing the socio-economic standards of the youth, throughout the country.
Credible information reaching The Chronicle indicates that Mr. Mustapha Darko, National Democratic Congress (NDC) Chairman for the Tema East Constituency, has virtually taken over his party as his bona fide property. He has moved the local LESDEP office to his residence, inside Site Two (2), a suburb of Tema Community One, and appointed his 22 year old son, Ahmed Darko, as the Coordinator for the office.
The paper gathered that he has also arranged for each of his three wives to manage three schools under the school feeding programme in the Tema Metropolis.
One of his wives is in charge of the Twedaase Primary School at Community One, another is currently controlling the Community Nine (9) Primary School, and the last oversees the Tema Manhean TMA Primary School.
Besides these, he is alleged to have taken five units of the market stalls at Kwasea Dwaso, a wing of the Tema main central business district, for himself.
Mr. Darko is also accused by party insiders of hijacking two of five vehicles, including a Mahindra, and about four motorbikes, used in the elections and which are currently in his possession.
There are allegations too that the constituency chairman of the ruling party has taken two slots of government-sponsored places in the Hajj Pilgrimage.
Party officials also accused the boss of commandeering seven auctioned vehicles, using the cover of his office to grab them from the Tema Port for himself, without allowing any party executive to benefit.
As a result, the members say he is running a one-man show. There are allegations that last year, the Tema Metropolitan Chief Executive, Robert Kempes Ofosuware, donated some bags of rice and other items to be given to the Moslem community in the area for their Eid al-Fitr celebrations, but the chairman took all those items to a secret location, and shared it among his friends.
Furthermore, monetary contributions, which were made towards the 2012 general elections through the chairman, never got to the party.
Reacting to the allegations, Mr. Darko stated that they were not true, saying they were attempts to drag his hard-earned image into the mud.
On the issue of moving the office of the LESDEP to his residence, the NDC chair explained that thought it was true that his son, a graduate from the University of Ghana, was the coordinator of the office, he had not moved the office to his residence.
He told The Chronicle that when the Tema Metropolitan Assembly decided to run the programme, it could not get an office for the programme, and therefore, he asked his son to use his video center, which is no longer operating, as the Tema office of LESDEP until the TMA got a place.
He denied putting his three wives in charge of school feeding projects in three schools in the Metro. In his defence, he said he shared the existing schools to party women in groups, saying his wife was currently working together with the NDC Women Organiser in Site Two at the Twedaase Primary school.
The Tema East NDC chairman explained to The Chronicle that only one pick-up was given to the constituency from the party headquarters during the elections, and that the vehicle was still available for all to see.
As regards his hijacking of some motorbikes, Mr. Darko said all the motorbikes had been given to footsoldiers to work for the party, with approval from the executive members and the Tema Metropolitan Chief Executive, stressing that he had not taken any motorbikes.
Touching on the Hajj subject, the chairman stated that it was not true that every year the constituency party was given two slots. It was only in 2011 when after asking for that privilege from the party for some time, one slot was given to each constituency chairman. Even then, he called a meeting of his executives, and later the slot was given to someone through Alhassan, Assembly Member for Site Two.
He also denied that he had been given seven auctioned vehicles, and that all he had was one, and that he even could not raise money to go and clear it from the port.
When he realised that he could not clear it, he asked someone to do so for him, and that the vehicle had been parked at the residence of the philanthropist who cleared it for him as at now.