Prophet Badu Kobi, Founder and Leader of the Glorious Wave Church
Prophet Badu Kobi, the founder and leader of the Glorious Wave Ministry has lambasted the Nana Addo-led administration for spending GHC5.24 million from state coffers on the Ghana@60 celebration.
The Prophet says it makes no financial sense for a government who promised to protect the public purse, to spend such an amount on a 60th anniversary.
President Nana Akufo-Addo in February 2017, announced that the Ghana@60 celebration will be costing an estimated GHC20 million and corporate Ghana will be sponsoring the event.
“This diamond jubilee commemoration is estimated to cost some GHC20 million and I am hoping that individual Ghanaians, the Ghanaian private sector and corporate Ghana in particular, will provide the funds for this anniversary.”
“My ambition is to commemorate this anniversary with minimum or no burden at all on the national treasury… this must be a Ghanaian undertaking in its true sense and I am appealing to all Ghanaians to chip in to make a success of this important undertaking,” the President said in February.
However, it has emerged that the state allocated an amount of GHC5.24m from the state coffers to undertake various activities as part of the Ghana@60 celebrations.
Deputy Minister of Finance Kwaku Kwarteng appearing before Parliament on Thursday said, GHC3.1m was sourced from government’s coffers while GHC2.16m was sourced from the District Assembly Common Fund.
“The Ministry of Finance released an amount of GHC5.26 million cedis towards the celebration of the 60thindependence anniversary of Ghana.
This was made up of GHC3.1 million from government of Ghana sources of funding and GHC2.16 million from the District Assembly Common Fund. Out of the total GHC5.26 million, GHC3 million went to the office of the Chief of Staff at the Ghana at 60 secretariats while GHC100,000 and GHC2.1 million went to the 100 regional coordinating councils and 216 district assemblies respectively,” Mr. Kwarteng said.
But responding to the revelation, Prophet Badu Kobi slammed government and questioned why a state that was financially challenged, spend lavishly on its 60th birthday.
‘’Why should we spend such an amount of money? What was the amount used for? There is something wrong with us as a country. You waste such an amount of money and when Prophet Kobi who is a tax payer, complains, you insult him and say he should not talk? I am not a spectator but a citizen. I am also an authority as a man of God to complain. You spend the amount on celebration for what? You spend this amount only in Accra within six months?" he quizzed.
He has threatened a legal action against the Akufo-Addo-led administration.
When asked if there was nothing positive under the current NPP government six months into their administration, he said, “I will only commend them for the commitment to resource the National Identification Authority but aside that, there is nothing positive under this government I can bodily point to. They have failed to deliver on their promises. The one-district-one-factory policy promised Ghanaians has not started and we are in the seventh month.”
On the promise by the government not to borrow, he slammed the NPP for deceiving Ghanaians to vote for them only to assume office and borrow about 40 billion in only six months.
‘’The government is not sincere. They deceived Ghanaians to get their votes. ’No man including myself is perfect but every man must be sincere. Where is the vision of this government to do things without loans? Our politicians need power but can do little,’’ he fumed.
