GANTA, Nimba – Nimba County’s Assistant Superintendent for Development D. Dorr Cooper has reacted strongly to statements made by dismissed Project Management Committee Treasurer Eddie Z. Tenwah that the purchase of three vehicles by Nimba’s the current PMC personnel contradicts the Budget Law.

Last week, Tenwah conducted an interview with journalists in Ganta, accusing the PMC of spending the county’s social development funds on unbudgeted items. Tenwah made reference to the recent purchase of three vehicles by the PMC for use by Nimba County Administration and the PMC respectively.

The National Budget law for the 2015/2016 Fiscal Year mandates the PMC to “ensure that the County Development Funds are spent only on county development activities.”

The law also entrusts county councils with the responsibility of deciding on which projects to spend the county social development fund in the form of resolutions. Tenwah has argued that the decision to purchase the vehicles was not made through a resolution from the past county council sitting, prior to the February 2015 sitting.

Cooper made his statements to a crew of journalists last Tuesday evening in Ganta following a media consultative meeting.

Cooper maintained that the former PMC treasurer was hypocritical in his claim that the PMC does not have the mandate to purchase vehicles for members of the county administration.

He pointed out that Tenwah, during his tenure as acting chair and treasurer of the PMC, purchased thirteen motorcycles for use by district commissioners of the county under the justification that district commissioners needed the bikes to access ongoing projects in their respective districts.

He concluded, “The decision to purchase these vehicles was passed at the last county council sitting meeting. This is exactly what was done.”

Featured photo by Flickr’s jbdodane