Power play at Nanton District Assembly: DCE accused of unauthorized appointments duplicating existing roles

Ninety-four staff members of the Nanton District Assembly have petitioned the Ministry of Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs over appointments they say have duplicated existing roles and disrupted the assembly’s operations. 

The workers accuse the District Chief Executive, Rosina Abdul-Rahman, of appointing people to positions whose responsibilities overlap with those of established officers.

The appointments include an Environmental Sanitation Coordinator, whose duties allegedly duplicate those of the assembly’s Environmental Health Officer.

The DCE has also appointed a Project Coordinator, a position the petitioners say overlaps with the responsibilities of the District Planning Officer.

The workers say the appointments have created uncertainty over who is responsible for key functions and could leave some established officers with little or no work.

Sources at the assembly allege that some of the appointments were directed at sidelining officers who had disagreed with the DCE on certain decisions.

Coordinating Director allegedly removed

The petition follows controversy over the removal of the assembly’s former District Coordinating Director, Alhaji Mohammed Shaibu.

Sources say that on 19 December 2025, a man identified as the DCE’s personal bodyguard entered the assembly premises and forcibly removed Alhaji Shaibu from his office.

They allege that the office was subsequently locked up and the keys taken away.

Sources within the Local Government Service have confirmed to The Fourth Estate that Alhaji Shaibu has since been replaced by Yussif Musah.

Some employees say the incident has increased fears that other officers could be removed from their positions without notice or due process.

Dispute over contractor’s payment

The petition also describes a dispute between the DCE and the District Finance Officer over payment to a contractor hired to renovate the assembly’s offices.

According to the petitioners, the Finance Officer refused to authorise payment after an internal monitoring report recommended that the contractor completes outstanding work before receiving the money.

They allege that the DCE subsequently warned the officer that she would withhold approval of financial memoranda submitted for the release of funds unless the contractor was paid.

The Fourth Estate has not independently established the terms of the contract, the value of the payment in dispute or whether the contractor completed the outstanding work.

Questions over Mother’s Day expenditure

The petitioners have also questioned the expenditure of GHC79,708 on a Mother’s Day programme organised by the DCE in May 2026.

They allege that Ms Abdul-Rahman instructed the Finance Officer to pay several vendors involved in the programme.

According to the petition, the Finance Officer requested invoices to support the payments but was presented with what were described as “blank invoices”, which he rejected.

The petitioners say the officer also raised concerns that the programme had no budgetary allocation. They allege that the DCE then suggested using part of the assembly’s Disability Fund to finance it.

The Finance Officer reportedly refused, citing public financial management requirements.

The Fourth Estate has not independently verified whether any money from the Disability Fund was eventually used or whether payments were made to the vendors.

Staff demand investigation

The petitioners are asking the Local Government Ministry to investigate the DCE’s appointments and determine whether the new positions are necessary and consistent with the assembly’s approved organisational structure.

They also want the authorities to examine the removal and replacement of senior officers, the dispute over the contractor’s payment and the spending on the Mother’s Day programme.

The workers warn that disputes over appointments, authority and financial decisions could undermine the assembly’s operations.

Local Government Service questions appointments

The Head of the Local Government Service, Professor Lord Mensah, has questioned the authority of the DCE to make appointments that duplicate positions within the service.

“What you need to appreciate is that all workers across the assembly, including cleaners and drivers, are all recruited through my office here,” he said. “So under no circumstances should a DCE be recruiting or giving appointment letters to duplicate what we have.”

After reviewing the appointment letters issued to the Environmental Sanitation Coordinator and Project Coordinator, Prof Mensah said the positions appeared to duplicate existing roles and could impose an unnecessary financial burden on the assembly.

“What is the essence of having a department on environmental health at the assembly level and you go and have a coordinator?” he asked. “You create parallel functions and at the end of the day it will be difficult for the technocrat to really function.

“I don’t know the criteria she uses in appointing them. It’s wrong to appoint and duplicate the structures that we have in the Local Government Service.”

Prof Mensah said he would ask the Ministry of Local Government to intervene.

The Fourth Estate made several attempts to obtain a response from Ms Abdul-Rahman. She initially agreed to an interview but subsequently did not answer repeated telephone calls or respond to messages setting out the allegations.