Senator Prince Kermue Moye faces mounting public scrutiny after a video obtained by In Profile Daily newspaper contradicted claims Bong County officials made regarding the controversial renovation of the Wainsue Clinic in Electoral District #3.
The controversy erupted after the county Development Officer, Sedekei Kromah, publicly stated that Sen. Moye never promised to independently secure funding for the clinic project.
But video footage now circulating tells a completely different story of the project.
In the video, Sen. Moye is heard directly assuring residents that the renovation project would not involve county budget funds.
“We are not going to the county account, we are men, Bong County has men. We are going to LACE from the district development funds that are supposed to impact all districts to take US$25,000 to renovate this place. Another US$25,000 will come from LACE to build a guest house here,” Moye said during a gathering at the clinic site.
His statement has triggered widespread criticism after the same clinic project was later inserted into the county’s proposed US$3.94 million development budget currently before the County Council for approval.
Critics say, the development exposes a contradiction between Moye’s public statements, and the county administration’s explanation of the project.
Kromah, while defending the clinic’s inclusion in the county budget, claimed Senator Moye only promised to lobby government to prioritize the project through official county channels.
But many residents argue that the video directly undermines that narrative.
The controversy has intensified concerns that the county’s development process has increasingly being driven by political influence rather than community consultation as required under the decentralization laws.
Residents have meanwhile questioned why county funds are being allocated to a clinic project, which Moye publicly claimed through outside funding arrangements, while several other health facilities in the county remain in deplorable condition.
“If Sen. Moye already promised funding for the clinic, why should the county budget now carry the same project? There are many struggling clinics that also need urgent attention,” inquired Elijah Cooper, a resident of Wainsue.
The issue comes amid a worsening healthcare crisis in the county.
The County Health Officer, Dr. Dianue Paye Zwuogbae, recently disclosed how the only 11 out of more than 40 health facilities in are currently in good condition.
Observers say, the reality makes the prioritization of the Wainsue Clinic even more “politically sensitive.”
Whether the county administration intend to rehabilitate other damaged clinics, Mr. Kromah shifted responsibility to the Ministry of Health; a response critic say, contradicts the administration’s own justification for immediately accommodating the Wainsue project in the county budget.
Human rights advocate Jesse Cole of the DELTA Human Rights Foundation, warned that the growing pattern threatens the decentralization framework, and weakens participatory governance.
“Development must come from the people through proper consultation as required under the Local Government Act. What we have witnessed instead, are politically influenced project decisions,” Cole said.
Political observers say, the clinic controversy is part of a pattern that involves Sen. Moye’s increased influence over county development priorities.
At the opening of the May Term of Court, Sen. Moye also publicly disclosed how the county budget allocations had already been made for the construction of a magisterial court; an announcement many believe should have come from county authorities rather than a sitting senator.