Gov’t investigates ‘who said tweaa’ DCE

The Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development has begun investigations into the conduct of the District Chief Executive for Ahafo Ano South in the Ashanti Region, Mr Gabriel Barima.

Mr Barima during an end of year programme for the District Health Directorate at Mankranso was seen on video trading insults with an unidentified person after the person chuckled when he (Barima) was giving a speech.

A statement signed by the Local Government Minister, Mr Akwasi Oppong-Fosu said the Ministry was expected to complete its investigations by the end of January 2014.

The video, which is trending on social media, shows the DCE exchanging words with the person who chuckled whilst he was delivering his speech at the Mankraso Hospital.

On the video, Mr Barima was urging the health workers to turn over a new leaf by being courteous to patients who visit the hospital for medical care when suddenly someone in the audience chuckled in obvious mockery.

The enraged DCE truncated his speech in anger and before his abrupt departure; he tried identifying the person who made the disparaging remark.

He exclaimed in Twi interspersed with English; “who made that ‘tweaa’ sound? Am I your size?…I have been given the platform to talk. You were not given the platform to talk. And so, what you are saying, nobody is listening except mine.”

“Am I your colleague? Do you think you’re my colleague?…You sit somewhere and behave like you’re talking to your co-equal. Am I your co-equal? If you’re a hospital worker, who are you? Why do you have to behave in that manner? I’ve ended my speech. I’m not talking again. If you don’t respect people…I’m not talking again. Take your programme.”

Mr Barima was seen throwing the microphone he was using to address his audience down and stormed out of the event grounds, only to return minutes afterwards.

Sure that the one who showed disrespect to him was a staff of the hospital, the DCE stated, “If you are a staff at the hospital and so what? I will never come to your hospital again.”

“I won’t come to your hospital for you to display gross disrespect towards me. I have money, what do you think we look for money for? I can go to any hospital that I want.”

Still fuming, he said it was his dead body that would be brought to Mankranso Government Hospital, and then added sarcastically, “Even mortuary, you don’t have here.

He however apologized for his actions when he was interviewed by Accra based Radio Gold last Monday.