Minority leader rebuffs GHS 1 million ‘chop chop’ claims

The Minority Leader in Parliament, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, has debunked claims that his side of house has allotted GHS1 million for a workshop at to be held at Koforidua in the Eastern Region.

A statement released by the Office of the Minority Leader on Wednesday 16 March, explained that: “The amount involved in the proposed Koforidua workshop, which has been scheduled, is GHS 374,000.00 and not GHS 1 million” as is being alleged in social media circles.

“The directors or clerks attached to the caucuses are the people who generate correspondence with the Speakership and the hotels involved, since they (the clerks), and not the leaders, are the ‘spending officers’. Indeed, in this case, it was the director, as is the usual practice, and not Hon. Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, the Minority Leader or any of the other members in leadership, for that matter, who generated the correspondences”, the statement further pointed out.

Below is the full statement:

RE: MINORITY LEADER IN “CHOP CHOP”

The attention of the Office of the Minority Leader has been drawn to a release circulating on social media concerning the Minority Leader and some Members of Parliament.

Firstly, it is being alleged that the Minority Leader has authorised the spending of about GHS1 million caucus money, and that he is doing so on the blind side of the other members in the Minority Leadership to enable him “chop chop”, that is, benefit.

The amount involved in the proposed Koforidua workshop, which has been scheduled, is GHS 374,000.00 and not GHS 1 million. The Directors or Clerks attached to the Caucuses are the people who generate correspondence with the Speakership and the hotels involved, since they (the Clerks), and not the Leaders, are the “Spending Officers”. Indeed, in this case, it was the Director, as is the usual practice, and not Hon. Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, the Minority Leader or any of the other members in leadership, for that matter, who generated the correspondences.

The Koforidua programme is a 2015 programme, which the caucus had discussed on a couple of occasions in 2015 and, which had had to be postponed on a number of times in 2015 because of the unavailability of funds. The programme is to be funded from the caucus’s allocation from Parliament and not the caucus’s own internally generated fund.

As is the practice, the amount quoted is generated after the relevant Hotel, in this case, Capital View, had submitted their quotation upon a request from the Director of the Minority Caucus. The Leader, after the correspondences, then directed the Secretariat to get in touch with the Whips to brief them about what steps were being taken and to have the input of the Whips in fine-tuning the processes and the conclusions.

The Leader requested for a meeting involving Leadership and the officers at Capital View. When the latter showed up, the rest of Leadership could not show up because, apparently, they were involved in a concurrent programme in the NPP Presidential candidate – Nana Akufo Addo’s house. This is the background of the caucus meeting on Thursday March 10, 2016. There was some misunderstanding, apparently due to the fact that the Leadership meeting on Wednesday could not come off to enable the secretariat brief the Leadership on what steps had been taken. It had nothing to do with any conspiracy involving the Minority Leader and the Director at the Minority Secretariat.