…Why? The NPP forgot its 26 trillion debt in one year?...
It is rather irresponsible and gutter journalism, which the NPP US Public
Relations Committee is practicing when they tried to throw the dust in the
eyes of the Ghanaian electorates in their desperate bid for power. They
cannot deceive people in the name of democracy, giving them false and utopian
promises that are highly incredible and inconceivable.
Apart from the masterpiece attacking their so-called SHS free education,
that was written by our (NDC US) General Secretary, who coincidentally,
happens to be a professional in the educational sector, and knows the
intricacies and potential harm of NPP’s haphazard free SHS policy, there have been
several (non partisan) experts including a group of academic think-thanks,
who analyze government policies through the lens of objectivity who had
dismissed the policy as unfeasible, not well thought through and unserious.
Indeed over the weekend, a highly respected pastor, Rev. Dr. Mensah Otabil,
who heads a tertiary educational institution came out boldly to debunk the
possibility of any government providing free quality SHS education.
And what is interesting and exciting to us, the NDC NY is that, the public
feedback with regards to this false and deceitful propaganda or the NPP
has been negative. Because they realized that, Nana Akuffo Addo is merely
building castles in the air and trying to bring down the heavens to earth. You
would be able to determine the negative opinions of the electorates toward
this “tasty” (to use your words) promises, when you observe various
comments over the social media and on the articles NPP communicators write and
the subsequent rebuttals. By going over the various comments, you will
realize how the Ghanaian electorate detests this false promise of theirs.
We realize at this juncture that other discerning members of the Ghanaian
public, who are not members of the NDC, are coming out boldly and letting
people know how ridiculous this fiasco of free SHS policy of the NPP is.
Because of the negative public reaction toward it, we will leave it to these
good Samaritans and advocates of truth to carry on. What they are trying to
do finds expression in the wisdom of S.L. Vella who wrote in his book,
Silent Voices of the Soul, that, “Integrity is telling myself the truth.
Honesty is telling the truth to other people.”
Just imagine a party (NPP), whose government had caused Ghana whopping
arrears of 26 trillion cedis, calling the NDC government corrupt. According
the Deputy Minister of Finance, Hon. Fifi Kwetey, the NDC government upon
coming into office had to literally hold onto vital socio-economic investments
in order to service or pay off these arrears, which the NPP government
incurred. This is a clear case scenario of a pot calling a kettle black.
However, since the NPP has decided to continue with their character
assassination and unfounded allegations, leveled against His Excellency President
Mahama, we of the NDC New York would from now until the elections, begin
to expose the NPP’s gigantic and gargantuan cases of corruption and
embezzlement, which is undeniable and unprecedented in our political history.
The NPP should rather be commending not condemning our current President,
His Excellency, John Dramani Mahama, supported the late President’s
decision to focus on developing Ghana notwithstanding the harm they had done after
eight years in government. Despite it being plain that they had “milked”
the state coffers severely , Mills Mahama team saw wisdom in leaving
prosecuting NPP to the law enforcement agencies instead of making their
prosecution the main work of their administration . The NPP should ponder over this
proverb from Milan Kudera who was quoted as saying in 1929 that, “ The
struggle of man against power is the struggle of memory against forgetting.” as
they read the rest of this article, which is replete with facts and
figures about the huge economic mess they caused this nation.
We will therefore conclude with some excerpts, revealing cases of
corruption from the White Paper on the Report of the Commission of Inquiry on the
Ghana @ 50 Celebration, of course this all happened under the tenure of NPP
Kufuor administration:
6.0 OBSERVATIONS, DEDUCTIONS AND FINDINGS
The Government accepts the following observations, deductions and findings
of the Commission:
6.1 A total amount of thirty-one million eight hundred thousand United
States Dollars (US$31.80 millions), equivalent at the time, to ¢293.10billion
or GH¢29.31 million was approved by Parliament for the celebrations. The
first tranche of twenty million United States Dollars (US$20 million)
equivalent of ¢182.90 billion or GH¢18.29 millions was approved on 20th July,
2006. The second tranche of eleven million eight hundred thousand United States
Dollars (US$11.8 millions) equivalent of ¢110.2 billions or GH¢11.02
million, which was a loan from Fidelity Bank, was approved by Parliament on the
30th day of July, 2007.
6.2 By 31st December, 2008, a total sum of ninety-seven million seven
hundred and seventy-six thousand three hundred and eighty-eight Ghana Cedis and
forty-four Ghana Pesewas (GH¢97,776,388.44) had been spent on the
celebrations. This exceeded the sum of twenty-nine million three hundred and ten
thousand Ghana Cedis (GH¢29,310,000.00) approved by Parliament. This was in
violation of Article 178 of the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana
and the Financial Administration Act, 2003 (Act 654).
6.3 The available records show that the Secretariat alone spent
seventy-five million five hundred and sixty-nine thousand five hundred and
sixty-three Ghana Cedis and thirty-four Ghana Pesewas (GH¢75,569,563.34) on the
celebrations as against the CEO¹s reported sixty-six million seven hundred and
ninety-nine thousand two hundred and fifty-six Ghana Cedis and eighteen
Ghana Pesewas (GH¢66,799,256.18). The NPC and the Secretariat in utilizing a
total sum of GH¢75,569,563.34 clearly exceeded the budget approved by
Parliament to the tune of forty-six million nine hundred and ninety-nine thousand
five hundred and sixty-three Ghana Cedis (GH¢46,999,563.00).
The CEO indicated that the expenses of the NPC and the Secretariat was
GH¢66,799,266.18. The Commission found that even if it accepted the CEO¹s
self-declared expenditure, the NPC and the Secretariat would still have
over-expended by thirty-eight million two hundred and twenty-nine thousand two
hundred and fifty-six Ghana Cedis (GH¢38,229,256.00).
6.4 The NPC and the Secretariat utilized all the internally generated
funds representing the sale of cars, land, furnishing, mansions, sponsorship,
totaling nineteen million three hundred and fifty-two thousand four hundred
and ninety-eighty Ghana Cedis (GH¢19,352,498.00). The Chairman of the NPC
claimed to have obtained written authorization from the then Minister of
Finance to use the internally generated funds. The Commission, however, did
not sight any written authorization to that effect. The Minister of Finance
did not have the mandate to give the authorization since it would have been
contrary to Articles 176 and 178 of the 1992 Constitution. The law is that
authorization for the use of internally generated funds can only be granted
by an Act of Parliament. Utilizing the internally generated funds without
authorization from Parliament constitutes a violation of Articles 176 and
178 of the 1992 Constitution.
6.5 The internally generated funds were to have been used to repay the
Fidelity Loan. However, this was not done. The Government is still in the
process of re-paying the Fidelity Loan. An amount of four million eight hundred
thousand five hundred and forty-three Ghana Cedis and thirty-eight Ghana
Pesewas (GH¢4,800,543.38) has been paid while the amount outstanding stands
at fifteen million three hundred and seventy-four thousand and seventy-five
Ghana Cedis and fifty-eight Ghana Pesewas (GH¢15,374,075.58). This
comprises principal and interest. Government has to secure funds from other sources
to pay this debt. Late payments will cause the outstanding sum to
escalate, due to penal interest.
6.6 The NPC and the Secretariat failed to account for the use of the
non-cash sponsorship. The available records show that the value of non-cash
sponsorship totalled one million five hundred and twenty-one thousand two
hundred and fifty Ghana Cedis (GH¢1,521,250.00 or ¢15,212,500,000.00).
6.7 Budgetary estimates were not laid before Parliament for the approval
of the first grant of eighteen million two hundred and ninety thousand Ghana
Cedis (GH¢ 18,290,000.00 or ¢182.9 billions) given in July 2006. This
constitutes a violation of Article 179 (1) and (2) of the 1992 Constitution.
Evidence gleaned from the Parliamentary Debate, Official Report of 20th July
2006 shows that even though some of the Members of Parliament protested at
the manner in which the request for the approval of the funds was made,
Parliament approved this sum for the celebrations without seeing the budget
estimates or the expenditure items to be covered by this first tranche.
6.8 A bridging finance facility of ten million four hundred and
thirty-eight thousand and thirty-six Ghana Cedis and thirty-seven Ghana Pesewas
(GH¢10,438,036.37 or ¢104.38 billion) and an overdraft facility of ten million
Ghana Cedis (GH¢10 million or ¢100 billion) were procured from Prudential
Bank by the Secretariat and the NPC. These constituted loans for which
Parliamentary approval was required under Article 181 of the 1992 Constitution.
However, Parliamentary approval was not sought for these loans in
contravention of Article 181 of the 1992 Constitution.
6.9 The unauthorized loans from Prudential Bank cost the Government the
sum of three million eighty-two thousand nine hundred and fifty-five Ghana
Cedis and twenty Ghana Pesewas (GH¢3,082,955.20), which was paid as interest
to Prudential Bank, thus increasing Government¹s expenditure.
6.10 The CEO of the Secretariat and the Chairman of the NPC claimed they
had to obtain the overdraft facility from Prudential Bank because there were
late releases of funds from Government. The Commission found, however,
that whatever delay occurred in the releases of funds from Government was a
result of the failure of the Secretariat and the NPC to apply promptly for
the release of the first tranche of GH¢l8.29 million (¢182.9 billion).
There are more to this report, dates April 10th, 2010. And we are
committed to revealing these shocking instances of corruption ans mismanagement of
state resources under the NPP administration, blow by blow.
We will therefore urge Ghanaian electorates to think twice, before voting
for the NPP, because voting them back into power, means bringing back the
most corrupt government in the system, who have nothing positive to offer to
the country.
Fellow Ghanaian electorates, this is part one of this investigative
reports, more revealing facts are coming log on Ghanaweb, Peacefm, Myjoyonline
and Modern Ghana, periodically to read more of these facts.
Do not make a mistake of voting for the NPP come December, 7th2012, you
will regret for it, they do not have the interest of Ghana at heart. Vote NDC
for better Ghana.
Husseini Y Baba AlWaiz, Press Secretary, NDC New York
