Resign! – Minority to Hawa Koomson

The Minority in Parliament has asked the Minister of Special Development Initiatives, Mavis Hawa Koomson, to resign following what critics have described as outrageous allocations made in the ministry’s over GHS1bn budget for 2018 which was approved by parliament on Wednesday.

Ranking Member of the Finance Committee, Cassiel Ato Forson, told Class91.3FM’s parliamentary correspondent Ekow Annan on Friday, 22 December that the minister has shown gross incompetence by her actions, and, thus, has no business being at the helm of affairs at the ministry.

Per her ministry’s budget, GHS800,000 has been earmarked for the development of a website. In addition, GHS10, 000,000 will be used to procure 20 four-wheel drives.

Mr Forson said: “This is gross incompetence and I don’t think she deserves to occupy the high office, so, she should resign. Of course, she should go immediately. She does not qualify to occupy that position”.

Below is the full breakdown of the budget approved for Mavis Hawa Koomson’s ministry by parliament on Wednesday:

Procurement of 275 ambulances at a unit cost of GHS354,750 totaling GHS97,556,250

Construction of 50 warehouses at a unit cost of GHS1,652,469 totaling GHS82,623,480

Construction of 1000 solar-powered mechanical boreholes at a unit cost of GHS132,000 totaling GHS132,000,000

Construction of 1000 water closet institutional toilets with mechanised boreholes and solar panels at a unit cost of GHS187,000 totaling GHS187,000,000

Establishment of 50 micro-enterprises at a unit cost of GHS550,000 totaling GHS 27,500,000

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