The Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has slammed the government accusing it of excessive corruption even at a time when we are negotiating with the International Monetary Fund for a bailout.
The MP says the 2021 Auditor-General’s report has revealed that financial irregularities have worsened from the GHS12.8billion recorded in 2020 to a gut-wrenching GHS17.4billion.
Mr. Ablakwa said it has been traumatising in reading the report considering the level of corruption.
“It’s been such a traumatizing 746-page read. If we don’t urgently, sincerely and aggressively confront and defeat corruption and deliberate leakages in public financial management, no magnitude of IMF bailout will save us.”
Read his full statement below
Even as the Akufo-Addo government commences IMF bailout negotiations, the tragic irony is that corruption is now totally out of control.
The latest 2021 Auditor General’s report makes for grim reading. It indicates that financial irregularities have worsened from the GHS12.8billion recorded in 2020 to a gut-wrenching GHS17.4billion.
Instead of stopping the massive haemorrhage so we can improve our economic conditions in this period of excruciating cost of living crisis, officials have disingenuously managed to create more loopholes by some additional GHS5billion in a free-for-all plundering.
Instructively, the Electricity Company of Ghana alone awarded illegal single sourcing contracts without PPA approval to the explosive amount of GHS221.15million. Most of the beneficiary companies have exceedingly interesting names such as: Adu Ofori Atta Enterprise, Adiepena 67 Enterprise, Cota-Q Enterprise, MasterMind B Venture, Kudirash Ghana Limited, Engineering and More, Nel Service Limited and Bentry Company Limited.
Though Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta failed to provide information on the COVID-19 National Trust Fund in his COVID-19 expenditure statement to Parliament two weeks ago, thanks to the Auditor General, we now know GHS67,907,330.33 was received in the form of donations from individuals and corporate organizations.
It is equally worth noting that the COVID-19 Private Sector Fund has been instructed by the auditors to refund GHS254,203.00.
It’s been such a traumatizing 746-page read. If we don’t urgently, sincerely and aggressively confront and defeat corruption and deliberate leakages in public financial management, no magnitude of IMF bailout will save us.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
