Exim Bank dished out GH¢40m to govt affiliates after galamsey ban - Ras Mubarak alleges

A member of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Ras Mubarak, has said apart from some questionable monies dished out to some persons named as brand ambassadors by the Ghana Export and Import Bank (Ghana EXIM), many more dubious activities have taken place at the bank.

Speaking to GhanaWeb in an exclusive interview on Thursday, September 10, 2020, the National Democratic Congress Legislator for Kumbungu in the Northern Region said PAC is determined to exposing the rot at the bank.

He told GhanaWeb that his investigations into Ghana Exim Bank expenditure shows that GH¢40 million have been dished out wantonly to some persons affiliated to the government.

“There are a lot of things that have happened or that are happening at Ghana EXIM that are questionable. For instance, I know that GH¢40 million have been given to some politically exposed persons to help Ghanaians who have been affected by the ban on galamsey.

“It is good to want to support Ghanaians but it should be worrying if these monies don’t get to the people who are supposed to be getting the monies,” he said.

He added that while there is nothing wrong with helping people who are affected by the ban on illegal mining (galamsey), the disbursement must be above board.

“These are young people whose livelihoods have been turned upside down [by the ban on galamsey], but it is dangerous if you give out money and there is no proper accounting; when there is no proper auditing of these monies. It makes you wonder if there is sincerity in helping those who need help,” he stressed.

Ras Mubarak early on this week alleged that Ghana Exim Bank has paid GH¢2 million to dancehall artiste Shatta Wale to promote Made in Ghana products.

At the PAC hearing on Wednesday, September 9, the Kumbungu lawmaker indicated that it was strange for Ghana Exim to pay such an amount to an artiste.

He told GhanaWeb on Thursday that in the coming days, top executives of Ghana Exim Bank will be invited again to the Public Accounts Committee to provide better particulars for the monies the bank has dished out.

“These crimes against the nation can’t go unpunished. There is a lot of suffering. Currently, we are in COVID-19, many agencies of government have not had their releases to do their work. So if one agency of government has so much that they wantonly dissipate public funds, we should all be worried and it has nothing to do with politics.

“It is about protecting the public purse. Because these are monies from the taxpayers, people who are suffering, who are going through a rough time to get by…so we would expect that the ruling establishment to use those taxes judiciously,” he said.