Scrap 'non-fa' GHC1bn 'Hawa Koomson budget' – Angry presidential staffer

Presidential Staffer, Ibrahim Adjei, has described as “bad” and “non-fa”, the GHS1,010,239,700 budget approved for the Ministry of Special Development Initiatives for 2018, since, in his view, nothing in it is justifiable.

In the budget, which was approved by parliament on Wednesday, 275 ambulances will be procured at a unit cost of GHS354,750 totaling GHS97,556,250.

Fifty warehouses would be constructed at a unit cost of GHS1,652,469 totaling GHS82,623,480.

Also, 1000 solar-powered mechanical boreholes would be constructed at a unit cost of GHS132,000 totaling GHS132,000,000.

Additionally, 1000 “water closet institutional toilets with mechanised boreholes and solar panels” would be constructed at a unit cost of GHS187,000 totaling GHS187,000,000.

Fifty micro-enterprises would also be constructed at a unit cost of GHS550,000 totaling GHS 27,500,000.

Below are the rest of the items in the budget approved for the ministry led by Mavis Hawa Koomson:

275 projects at a unit cost of GHS1,100,000 totaling GHS302,500,000

Construction of 100 markets at a unit cost of GHS1,100,000 totaling GHS110,000,000

Internal Management or Organisations totaling GHS8,600,000

Hiring of office accommodation for Middle Belt and Coastal Belt Development Authority and Regional Offices totaling GHS15,000,000

Legal and Administrative Framework Review – GHS1000,000

Maintenance, Rehabilitation and Refurbishment – GHS3000,000

Procurement of Office Furniture and Fixtures – GHS6,500,000

Local and International Affiliation – GHS2,500,000

Procurement of Office Supplies and Consumables – GHS3,000,000

Tendering Activities – GHS759,970

Treasury and Accounting Activities – GHS500,000

Procurement of Computers and Accessories – GHS1,500,000

Manpower Skill Development – GHS3,500,000

Foreign Training – GHS2,000,000

Planning and Policy Formulation – GHS3,500,000

Policies and Programme Review Activities – GHS1,500,000

Publication and Decimination of Policies and Programmes – GHS500,000

Development and Management of Database – GHS400,000

Research and Development – GHS1,000,000

Development of Website – GHS800,000

Budget Preparation – GHS2,000,000

Budget Performance Reporting – GHS500,000

Management and Monitoring of Policies and Projects – GHS3,000,000

Speaking on the items in the ministry’s budget, Mr Adjei, who is an Assistant to the President’s Executive Secretary, told Francis Abban of Accra-based Starr FM on Friday, 22 December that “we need to remove all this – somebody will say ‘non-fa’ from the list. Let me give you a quick example as I go through the list. This thing of hiring office accommodation for Middle Belt and Costal Belt Development Authority and the Regional Offices, costing GHS15 million and the operative word is ‘hiring’ … now imagine if you just build … Now is Hawa Koomson telling us that she is building 50 offices across the country? With all due respect we have 10 regions and I’m sure that an office or two will suffice per region to administer the economic zones … and this is something that you construct and you own as opposed to hiring.

“All of them, everything should be taken out. We need to start from Ground Zero. It must be canceled. For this one we don’t have to pussyfoot about it,” Mr Adjei said.