The residents of Obuasi East are currently expressing their dismay with their District Chief Executive (DCE), Faustina Amissah. They believe that she is prioritizing skin bleaching over the development of the area, which has caused a great deal of frustration in the community.
The youth of the area were particularly incensed by a demolition exercise that Amissah carried out in February of this year.
The DCE claimed that the demolition was necessary to make way for the construction of a hostel facility for the KNUST-Obuasi Campus, as well as to ensure that the allocation of bungalows to public workers was done in a fair and transparent manner.
However, the residents of Obuasi East feel that Amissah’s priorities are misplaced. They believe that the development of the area should be the DCE’s primary concern, rather than issues such as skin bleaching.
This sentiment has led to a great deal of tension between the community and the local government.
But without any evidence, the youth claim she has a “hidden interest”.
The District Chief Executive (DCE) has reported that the Assembly has been in communication with the squatters of the demolished bungalows since 2019, but all attempts to remove them have been unsuccessful.
Amissah has stated that the Assembly has decided to use force to evict the squatters due to the high cost of battling the issue in court. The Assembly is empowered by law to demolish buildings, making this the most effective course of action.
However, some members of the youth community have accused the DCE of hindering their means of livelihood as community miners. This has led to an attack on the person of the District Chief Executive.
Some of the youth group told the media that they would vote against the New Patriotic Party “because of this bleaching DCE Akufo-Addo has imposed on us here”.
“We want development. We want jobs. Fausti has not been doing anything in the office apart from bleaching. What development or jobs has she brought since she came here?”, a youth representative whose relative was arrested at an Anglogold concession last month asked.
The Obuasi East district was created in 2018 and Hon. Faustina Ammisah who was the Presiding Member became the first DCE of the district till date
The district was carved out of the Obuasi Municipal Assembly as one of the 38 newly created and upgraded district assemblies in Ghana and has Tutuka as its capital. The district is located in the southern part of Ashanti Region, bounded to the North by Adansi North District, South by Akrofuom District, East by Adansi Asokwa District and West by Obuasi Municipal.
