Minority asks government to desist from taking unworthy credit

Accra, May 12, GNA - The Minority in Parliament, on Wednesday cautioned the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Government to stop taking credit for development projects began by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Government.

Mr. Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, Minority leader at a press conference in Accra, said: "We are not against the NDC

Government continuing projects and programmes of the NPP. What we are against is the NDC taking credit for NPP programmes without giving credit where it is due."

He made reference to a sod-cutting ceremony for the rehabilitation of the Tamale General Hospital, during which President Evans John Atta Mills was said to have arrogated credit of the project to the NDC Government.

He quoted the President as saying "As a government we are working to achieve these objectives, let no one doubt our abilities to meet these promises."

Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu questioned where and when the NDC made that promise and stated that the promise they made in relation to the Tamale General Hospital, was to upgrade it to a teaching hospital.

Referring to the Hansard of July 11, 2007, Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu said that loan for the project was contracted

by the President Kufuor-led administration, in an answer to a question posed in Parliament by Mr. Haruna Iddrisu,

Member of Parliament for Tamale South who wanted to be appraised on when work on the hospital would begin. He noted that in an answer to the question, the then Deputy Health Minister, Mr. Owusu Agyei elucidated on the

designs and other documentations on the 50 million pounds mixed credit facility project. Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu said the same project had 17 million pounds grant component from the Dutch

Government. "President Mills had no word of acknowledgement for the efforts of President Kufour's Government in that

regard," he said. Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu said that: "the NDC Government has so vilified the President Kufuor's administration

that to acknowledge this would have laid bare the fruit of hypocrisy that President Mills is baring fulsomely." At the same sod-cutting event, the Minority leader allegedly accused President Mills of announcing that his

government had secured a loan of 350 million dollars loan from the Exim Bank of United States of America (USA) to

hook on several communities in the northern belt to the national electricity grid. Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu emphasised that the loan agreement was contracted when former President Kufuor was

invited for a State visit to the USA and noted that the agreement came to Parliament on July 17, 2008 but was

ratified on August 12, 2008 long before the NDC came to power. The Minority leaders said that the loan was not utilised before the NPP left office because due diligence on the

procurement of materials and equipment had not been completed. He said that "President Mills has inherited that loan and now has to commit it to use but having accused

President Kufuor's administration of 'reckless and profligate expenditure' he cannot lift his head up and

acknowledge this pioneering role of President Kufuor". Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu accused the Deputy Minister of Energy, Mr. Armah-Kofi Buah who was said to have

stated that NDC had made savings in the electrification project and inferred that the NPP had inflated loan for the

project by 102 million dollars. The Minority leader explained that the 350 million dollars loan was in two folds, first the loan and procurement

of supply and equipment. He said restricted nature of the tendering required that the tender was audited to ensure value for money which

the NPP inaugurated Crown Agents to undertake item-by-item value for money audit, which was completed before

NPP left office. "The Deputy Minister has betrayed lack of understanding of the process involved in restricted tendering," he

said. Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu said the Deputy Minister must resort to learning instead of the "pedestrian propagandist

and attack-dog they have turned themselves into". "Propaganda delivered the governance of the nation into their hands, propaganda will not help them keep power

for the people of Ghana have learnt their lessons," he said.