FACTCHECK: NDC MP falsely claims Bawumia donated US$1m to Sierra Leone in 2017

The Member of Parliament (MP) for South Dayi, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, has accused Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, of donating a paltry sum to victims of a recent dam spillage in the Volta Region.

The MP compared Bawumia's widely reported GHc160,000 personal donation to the dam spillage victims to a 2017 donation to the Sierra Leone government when the West African country was hit by massive floods and mudslides.

The claim of Dafeamekpor

In a post shared on X (formerly called Twitter) on Wednesday, October 19, 2023, the MP accused the vice president of discrimination.

“In August 2017, Dr Bawumia Donated $1m (Ghc12m) in cash & items to flood victims in Sierra Leone.

“However, in October 2023, he comes to visit Flood Victims in the Volta Region & gives us Ghc160k ($13k) in cash & items,” he wrote on X.

“When we talk of deliberate discrimination, they say No,” Dafeamekpor added.

August 2017: Ghana government donates to Sierra Leone:

In August 2017, Bawumia delivered relief items worth US$1 million to the people of Sierra Leone following a twin-disaster.

A massive flood-cum-mudslide disaster in Regent, near the capital Freetown, left the West African nation reeling with then President Ernest Bai Koroma calling for help.

Over 400 lives had been lost while rescuers are still on mission to find survivors at the time Bawumia and the Ghana delegation arrived in Freetown.

Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, had the week prior announced US$1 million worth of aid to Sierra Leone after an earlier call to his Sierra Leonean counterpart to sympathise with him.

"On Saturday, Vice President Bawumia led a government delegation made up of ministers of state as well as officials of the National Disaster Management Organisation to Freetown to deliver the items.

"Vice President Bawumia passed on Ghana’s message of sympathies to the Sierra Leoneans. The items were received on behalf of Sierra Leone by President Bai Koroma, who expressed gratitude to the government and people of Ghana," a TV3 report at the time read in part.

Floods triggered by Akosombo Dam spillage

When the Volta River Authority (VRA) decided to spill excess water in the Askosombo Dam, some level of flooding was expected but the volumes since the spillage started in mid September has submerged entire communities in three constituencies across eight districts of the Volta Region.

Reports indicate that over 10,000 Ghanaians have been forced to evacuate from their homes and several properties.

Farms, parks, as well as structures, including homes, schools, hospitals and companies could be seen submerged in water, according to footage reviewed by GhanaWeb.

The government's official response has been through an inter-ministerial committee which visited Mepe with the president to commiserate with victims and where the government's response was formlly announced by the president.

It was sequel to this visit that Bawumia also visited some affected areas and made the said donation of GHc160,000.

Flowing from the above, GhanaWeb found the following facts

1. Bawumia did not donate US$1 million dollars of his personal funds to Sierra Leone. He was in Freetown as leader of a government delegation.

2. In the case of the GHc160,000, it was a personal donation to victims.

3. The US$1m donation was not in cash and items, it was items worth the reported sum.

Verdict:

The MP's claim that Bawumia donated US$1m - in cash and items - to Sierra Leone disaster victims is FALSE.

View the MP’s post below:

In August 2017, Dr Bawumia Donated $1m (Ghc12m) in cash & items to flood victims in Sierra Leone.

However, in October 2023, he comes to visit Flood Victims in the Volta Region & gives us Ghc160k ($13k) in cash & items.

When we talk of deliberate discrimination, they say No. pic.twitter.com/TRzQHcoeiS

— Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, Esq. MP. (@etsedafeamekpor) October 19, 2023