The Ofori Panin Fie and Nananom of Akyem Abuakwa has described a video in circulation in which a broadcast journalist attributed the financing of the J. B. Danquah Memorial Centre to the sole efforts of the Government of Ghana.
The Ofori Panin Fie is concerned with the substance of the publication and has refuted the claims, describing it as false, irresponsible and abysmal attempt to misinform the populace and heighten tempers within the country as the 2020 general election draws nearer.
In a press statement, the Ofori Panin Fie placed on record that the J. B. Danquah Memorial Centre, situated at Kyebi is not financed by the Ghanaian tax payer’s money but sponsored by Huawei Ghana and the Yamoransa Foundation.
According to the Ofori Panin Fie, Former President John Agyekum Kufuor in 2006 commenced the construction of the facility at Kyebi to serve the people in the area.
The facility was named the J. B. Danquah Memorial Centre in commemoration of his outstanding contributions to the birth and development of our nation.
It houses an ultra-modern ICT Lab donated by the Yamoransa Foundation for the teaching and learning of ICT with special emphasis on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) subjects, a Maker Space also donated by the Yamoransa Foundation for the teaching of robotics engineering as well as the construction and development of virtual reality-based applications, games and applications of 3D printing, a GIFEC Zonal office which is a 30-seater ICT lab purposed for the teaching, learning and application of ICT.
The facility also houses a library, an EC office and a radio station.
The statement states that, the entire facility is managed under the auspices of the Ghana Library Authority, the EC and Okyenhene.
“As such, the Ofori Panin Fie and Nananom of Akyem Abuakwa would like to state emphatically that: The J.B. Danquah Centre was not financed by the Ghanaian tax payer’s money. It was, however, sponsored by Huawei Ghana and the Yamoransa Foundation,” the statement emphasised.
They hinted that the J. B. Danquah Centre is not a family property of the Ofori Panin Fie, it is the property of the Ghana Library Authority and is meant for public use by members within and without the community.
“We wish to admonish all journalists to remain decorous and professional in their reportage and desist from the publication of misleading information to ensure the continual dignity of the media space,” the statement cautioned.
It added that the Ofori Panin Fie remains open to all who call upon it for any further clarification to any issue that concerns the Kingdom and the State.