Malik Basintale, Deputy National Communications Officer of the party, raised serious allegations against Hon. Amish Chinnia Issahaku, Deputy Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources and current Member of Parliament (MP)Sissala East Constituency.
His speech, peppered with direct accusations, captured the crowd’s attention as he unveiled the NDC’s Parliamentary Candidate, Mr. Mohammed Bataglia.
During the rally, Basintale did not mince words as he criticized Issahaku for what he described as “gross incompetence” and corruption. He accused the MP of using donkeys to smuggle fertilizers meant for local farmers across the border to Burkina Faso. This, he claimed, was a direct consequence of Issahaku’s mishandling of resources allocated under the government’s Planting for Food and Jobs campaign.
Speaking to the crowd, Basintale remarked, “Now all the donkeys in the area know their way to Burkina Faso. Some of them even go on their own when they haven’t been recruited to smuggle fertilizers.”
The statement drew a mixture of laughter and gasps from the audience, but its underlying message was grave: that local farmers were being deprived of essential agricultural resources through systematic corruption.
According to Basintale, Issahaku’s actions had left the region in a state of neglect, with farmers suffering the most. “This man, who was entrusted with the well-being of our farmers, has misappropriated farm inputs under the Planting for Food and Jobs campaign. He accessed these inputs but failed to pay the full amount due. Today, the government is owed 1.3 million cedis because of his actions,” Basintale revealed.
He further alleged that a significant portion of the inputs meant to support the local agricultural economy had been smuggled out of the country, leaving the area’s farmers struggling to cultivate their crops. “While our farmers are crying for fertilizer, Bato Wese (referring to Issahaku) has been sending what’s rightfully theirs to foreign countries. The fertilizers are crossing the borders while our crops wither,” he added.
These accusations come at a crucial time as political parties prepare for the upcoming elections. The NDC is aiming to unseat the incumbent MP and regain control of the Sissala East constituency, with Mohammed Bataglia as their candidate. Basintale urged the people to support Bataglia, describing him as a man of integrity who would prioritize the needs of the constituency’s farmers over personal gain.
The NDC is positioning itself as a party that will address the challenges faced by farmers in the region and reverse what Basintale described as the “corruption and incompetence” of the current administration.
The question remains whether these allegations will influence voter sentiment in the Sissala East constituency or if the incumbent MP will manage to clear his name before the election.
Source: mynewsgh.com
