The North Gonja District Assembly and the Member of Parliament for Daboya Mankarigu, Hon. Alhaji Mahama Shaibu Obey, are facing mounting criticism over their failure to release funds to repair the only ambulance serving Daboya Mankarigu, which has been out of service for some time.
The vehicle, the sole ambulance covering the entire North Gonja District, requires an estimated GHC 30,000.00 to be fixed. But the District Chief Executive for North Gonja has repeatedly maintained that the Assembly does not have the money to carry out the repairs.
Speaking on Spear FM “This is Savannah Super Morning Show” Chief Katariguwura Abu Ibrahim who spoke on behalf of the Wasipewura’s palace confirmed that multiple appeals from the Wasipewura’s palace to both the DCE and the MP have yielded no results. According to him, the matter has been brought before the paramount chief of the Wasipe Traditional Area on two separate occasions, with the palace reaching out to the DCE and the MP each time, only to be told there is no money available.
Katariguwura Abu Ibrahim revealed that he and some chiefs at the Wasipewura’s palace are planning to contribute their own personal resources toward raising the GHC 30,000.00 needed for the repairs. This has fuelled further questions from residents about why an Assembly entrusted with taxpayers’ money would leave citizens to fund the repair of a public health resource themselves.
Spear FM’s newsteam visited Daboya where the news team interacted with some residents.
The residents say they find it difficult to understand how the Assembly could spend its entire Common Fund allocation and even exceed it by more than GHC 98,000.00, according to the Auditor-General’s 2025 report, yet cannot find GHC 30,000.00 to maintain a life-saving ambulance.
Constituents also say the MP is far harder to reach than the DCE. A constituent from the Daboya Mankarigu constituency, speaking to Spear FM on condition of anonymity, said attempts to reach the MP by phone, whether to share information or raise concerns, often go unanswered, with calls neither picked up nor returned.
Residents insist that all funds received by the Assembly, including the Common Fund, Internally Generated Funds, and other allocations, are held in trust for the people and should not be managed at the discretion of the DCE or Assembly staff. Many say they see no visible development projects to show for the funds received over time.
The Assembly is now being called upon to account to the people of North Gonja for all funds received and how they have been used, and to release funds for the immediate repair of the broken-down ambulance.
