GNPC funding Okyenhene, Rebecca foundation a sign of cronyism and nepotism – ASEPA

Executive Director of Alliance for Social Equity and Public Accountability (ASEPA), Martin Thompson, has described the move by GNPC to allocate money to some organisations and persons affiliated to the president, as nepotistic.

According to him, the beneficiaries - Rebecca Foundation, Okyenhene, EOCO, and other CSOs did not go through any competitive selection and other processes to secure the money for their projects.

His comments follow a heated argument between the PAC Chair, James Klutse Avedzi, and deputy ranking member of the Committee, Mohammed Hardi Tufeiru, on September 1, over the allocation of a GH¢5.4 million cedis funds by the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation’s (GNPC) as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

Speaking on the clash over GNPC’s donation, Mr Thompson noted, “It’s a clear example of nepotism and cronyism. For example, Rebecca Foundation belongs to the first lady and so there wasn’t any competitive selection process…On what basis did Rebecca Foundation qualify that other independent foundation did not also qualify and so the fact that the whole process did not go through any process raises several questions.

“The Okyenhene’s foundation, we know that is the clan chief of the President and to some extent, in relation to the president…So this whole incident is like GNPC rolling out public funds to the foundation of the wife of the president and to the chief or the relative of the president without any competitive selection process, without focus to any public scrutiny and then you can make a clear case of nepotism and cronyism… I think that it is unfortunate especially when there are other independent foundations who similarly demand such support to be able to function effectively but hasn’t been able to be access such support from GNPC,” he added.

On Tuesday, September 1, 2020, which was the first day of the two-week Public Accounts Committee sitting to examine reports of the Auditor-General, public boards, corporations and other statutory institutions for 2017, ended abruptly as the deputy ranking member of the Committee, Mohammed Hardi Tufeiru and the Chair, James Klutse Avedzi, traded in a heated argument.

The clash had to do with the direct payment of sponsorship and support requests to the tune of GH¢5 million to the Okyenhene, Rebecca Foundation, Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) and some others.