…..DIOs accuses RIO of corruption and extortion
Information reaching savannahnews indicates that the Northern Regional Information Officer (RIO) at the Information Services Department (ISD) Alex Ibrahim Abdulai, is engaged in what could best be described as an act of corruption and extortion from District Information Officers (DIOs) under the department in the region.
According to a whistle-blower at the ISD, the RIO is demanding that each of the twenty (20) DIOs from the 20 Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) in the region should make payment of GH¢80.00 to him before he allows them to pick up 22 brand new computers supplied to the DIOs through his office by the Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communication (GIFEC).
GIFEC, an agency under the Ministry of Communication as part of its mandate to promote the learning and use of Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) in all state institutions and departments like the ISD in the Ministry of Information, decided to provide mercury desktop computers to the department to be distributed to all regional and district offices across the country.
Narrating the purported extortion and corrupt act involving Mr. Alex Ibrahim to savannahnews, the whistle-blower said sources within the ISD revealed that none of the other DIOs in other regions across the country paid a pesewa before taking the computers for their official work.
The whistle-blower noted that the RIO however told them that the amount he demanded from each DIO is to cover the cost of transportation and installation of software programmes into the computer.
The RIO according to the whistle-blower prevented the officers from picking the computers when some of them went to his office on Monday September 19, 2011 insisting “no money, no computer”.
Explanations demanded by the DIOs numbering about seven (7) according to the whistle-blower, on the breakdown of the cost revealed that, the RIO could only mentioned GH¢30.00 as transportation cost and goofed over GH¢50.00 as cost of installation for the software programmes.
When the officers challenged Mr. Alex Ibrahim to mention programmes that are to be installed in the computers that could cost up to GH¢50.00, the whistle-blower said he only retorted “you know I am a computer illiterate and therefore only the technical people know what they are putting in. So, I owe nobody explanations until the money is paid”.
The officers however suggested that all of them could install relevant programmes in their computers either at no cost or at a cost lesser than what he was asking each of them to pay, but the RIO still refused to listen to them, the source noted.
The whistle-blower who is also a staff of the ISD told this reporter that the cost of transportation and other miscellaneous expenses were borne by the Ministry of Information according to what a reliable source within the department told them. Thus, the DIOs opined that the charges were illegal and amounts to extortion since their colleagues in other regions have collected their computers without paying for anything.
To achieve this plan, savannahnews learnt that, Mr. Alex Ibrahim smartly called all the District Chief Executives in the region and asked them to give the DIOs the money to enable them pay and take delivery of the computers.
Though the officers according to our informant had assured the RIO of picking the computers in anticipation of paying him later when a memo they had sent to their respective District Assemblies had matured, he (RIO) blatantly refused.
When contacted Mr. Alex Ibrahim confirmed, that he insisted money must be paid to his outfit by the DIOs before they could pick the computers due to the cost incurred during the transportation of the computers from Accra to Tamale.
According to him, the office was not having money at all to buy fuel, service the vehicle and also cater for him and another official he travelled with, and since his superiors in Accra wanted him to come for the computers, he had to take fuel on credit as well as borrow money.
Mr. Alex Ibrahim, gave the breakdown as configuration and installation of computer programs GH¢20.00, embossment of the name of each district on the computers GH¢10.00 and the rest of the GH¢50.00 covers transportation, feeding and hotel accommodation, hiring of tarpaulin, fuel and lubricants and vehicle servicing.
He also confirmed informing almost all the DCEs in the region to help their DIOs to pay the GH¢80.00 and take delivery of the computers, adding “I have even informed the Director of ISD in charge of Regional Coordinating at the head office in Accra and the Chief Director at the Northern Regional Coordinating Council and they all gave me the go ahead since according to them, my concerns are genuine”.
Besides, Mr. Alex Ibrahim also explained that the reason why he is not giving the computers to them so that they would pay later on was based on a directive given to all RIOs by the Information Minister to have all the computers embossed before releasing them. “Another reason why I refused to release them is because officials of the Fuel Company that gave me the fuel on credit to travel to Accra are on me to pay the money”, he pointed out.
At the time of filing this report, Yendi, Central Gonja and Nanumba South Districts had taken delivery of their computers whereas the rest of the 19 computers and their accessories left were sitting idled in the office of the Regional Information Officer.
Meanwhile, the District ISD Officers are currently not only aggrieved about the bullying behavior of Mr. Alex Ibrahim but have also abandoned the computers pending a response from their headquarters as to whether or not there is a fee attached to the delivery of the computers which are meant for ensuring efficiency in the Department.
They have on the other hand vowed to expose their Regional Director for allegedly engaging in various acts that amount to corruption and extortion of money allocated to the region for various government programmes, if he did not rescind his decision of take GH¢80.00 from them.
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