Misuse of COVID-19 funds: Your words mean nothing – Segbefia to Akufo-Addo

A former Minister of Health, Alex Segbefia, has said President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s words means nothing with regards to his assurance to the nation that COVID-19 funds were not misused.

The president, addressing parliament in his State of the Nation’s Address recently, said nothing dishonorable was done with covid-funds despite a report by the Auditor-General that covid funds were misappropriated.

Speaking to the President’s stance on the Class Morning Show on Class91.3FM on Thursday, 16 March 2023, Mr Segbefia reiterated earlier standpoint by the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) that covid-19 funds were used by the government for the 2020 election campaign.

Mr Segbefia told show host Koku Lumor that “I know that the first gentleman of the land told us in all certainty that we are not going to the IMF but we are at the IMF. The first gentleman of the land told us there will be no haircut, people are bald, forget the haircut, so the fact that he has said [covid funds were not misused], it means absolutely nothing for some of us.

“We will rather look at the facts, look at the ground and see what is happening, what the report says and then make an assessment. We’ve always known over the years that in terms of propaganda and in terms of speeches and in terms of giving the rhetoric, no one touches the NPP, they are on a class of their own but eventually the truth comes out and everybody sees where we are.”

“So I’m clear that covid-19 funds were used for the elections of 2020, that is my posture and that is why we are not able to account properly for what we’ve done,” he stated.

The former health minister explained that “We have situations where you don’t have the right receipts for vouchers on items that have been purchased, we have no proper trail of things that have been spent on and by who and we forget in terms of quantum, it was a percentage that was used to fight covid, the other was used for budget support.”

“So what budget support because at the end of the day we were running a negative economy and even that money that was used for budget support, we were able to borrow this year close to GHS50billion from the Bank of Ghana. So really, where are these funds that came from the covid and what were they used for”? He quizzed.