[ 2016-11-23 ]

NDC is stealing in the name of the poor – Sir John
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has accused the
governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) of
conniving with friends and family to steal from
the country

According to the party, the Mahama-led
administration, in the name of stash away cash in
the name of sole-sourcing have shoved aside
laid-down procedures in the awarding of contracts
in order to enrich themselves.

At a press conference in Accra, the former General
Secretary of the party, Mr Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie
accused the NDC of bloating the cost of projects,
citing the cost of construction of boreholes by
Animax Drilling Company of Ghana at GH¢18,000
instead of GH¢12,000.

“Now, construction of a borehole, as a matter of
fact, should not qualify as an emergency to be
offered on a sole-sourcing basis. Again, the
price-tag for a mechanized bore-hole, according to
players in the industry, should not be more than
GH¢18,000, irrespective of the area or location.
To drill a mechanized borehole ranges between
GH¢12,000 and GH¢18,000 anywhere in Ghana on the
open market.

“As matter of fact, a company like Animax
Drilling Company of Ghana, quotes a mechanized
bore-hole within the Greater Accra Region at
Gh¢14,000, and a maximum of GH¢18,000 is quoted
for same in any part of the country, irrespective
of area, location and soil make-up,” he said.

Below is the full statement

“They steal in the name of helping the poor”

A statement by Kwadwo “Sir John” Owusu Afriyie


Ladies and gentlemen, I have decided, in my
capacity as a concerned citizen of Wonuo, in
Ghana, to hold this press conference because I am
worried about the path that President John Dramani
Mahama and his friends and family are taking this
country on. If we allow it to continue a day
beyond January 7, 2017, there will be no future
for Ghana. It would probably take us another
generation to recover.

Just this morning, I saw some research work done
by Nana Attobrah and his Danquah Institute that
estimates that some GH¢12 billion worth of
contracts secured under sole sourcing since 2010
had their costs inflated by 65%. What this means
is that Ghana could have saved as much as GH¢7.8
billion in public funds, equivalent to $2 billion
in today’s deflated currency.

Before I go on to my other main case on how Mahama
is killing Ghana, let me make this important
point. My point is this: President Mahama is
dangerous to our country. He is killing us softly
with a lethal potion of his charm offensive and
offensive corruption.

Typically, what would cost GH¢100 to do Mahama
would do it for GH¢400. Let me break it down in
another way. What it means is that with the amount
of money John Mahama and his NDC has spent, Ghana
should have developed at least four times faster.
If running a country is all about taxing,
borrowing, spending and stealing then every
graduate from Nsawam Medium Security is more than
qualified to be President.

President Mahama’s own Finance Minister is
worried about how Ghana will find money to honour
the GH¢60 billion in interest payments due for
the next three years, starting 2017. What we know
is that more than half of the GH¢112 billion
which the country now owes is made up of corrupt
deals, pure and simple. If we keep President
Mahama in office for another four years I might be
forced to leave my farm in Wonuo and seek economic
refugee status elsewhere. But, I am too old and
love my country too much. Unfortunately, I won’t
be alone in being forced to consider migrating.
The good news is that I have no intention to leave
Ghana. So we must all do what we can to make sure
Mahama gives us no reason to want to leave and
that means kicking him out with our thumb. Tens of
thousands of graduates without jobs do not want to
leave Ghana to be economic refugees or illegal
immigrants anywhere. But, if things continue like
this dumsor would return; public sector workers
would be sacked; hospitals would have no
medicines; nurses and teachers would not be paid;
our roads would get worse.

What would even be worse is that I do not think
Ghana would be able to control the anger of the
hungry youth who see no hope in their future. We
need to urgently give them hope. The truth is
that Mahama is a threat to the peace and security
of our nation. He is threat not only because he is
a tribalist, but more so because he kills hope.
Corruption kills and if corruption kills then the
man whose greedy hands are constantly on the
trigger of corruption must be stopped to stop
corruption killing Ghana.

Without Mahama, Ghana can do four times better.
With Mahama Ghana is spending four times more than
what is needed to develop. Another four years of
Mahama would make us four times poorer. If his
government can be this corrupt, reckless, uncaring
and incompetent when he knew he would be facing
re-election in 2016, then just imagine what he
would be if given a final term where he would not
have to worry about re-election. I fear for Ghana.
I fear for Wonuo.

The issue of sole-sourcing where contract figures
are often over-bloated has been topical,
particularly under the current NDC administration.
Under normal circumstances, government contracts,
per the procurement law, are supposed to be taken
through open tender process and subjected to value
for money audit before execution.

But under the current Mahama government, this
laid-down procedure has always been shoved aside
and contracts awarded without recourse to due
diligence. These contracts often go to friends and
family members who often do not even have the
requisite know-how to carry through with the job.
This has resulted in instances where contracts
have been awarded and abandoned, midway, and
because these awardees happen to be friends and
family members of His Royal Highness Dramani, no
efforts are made to hold them to account.

Ladies and gentlemen of the press. I want you to
just focus on one such contract by a public
institution that is meant to regulate and give
consumers protection and you will see the culture
of impunity that has overwhelmed Ghana under
Mahama.

Now, construction of a borehole, as a matter of
fact, should not qualify as an emergency to be
offered on a sole-sourcing basis. Again, the
price-tag for a mechanized bore-hole, according to
players in the industry, should not be more than
GH¢18,000, irrespective of the area or location.
To drill a mechanized borehole ranges between
GH¢12,000 and GH¢18,000 anywhere in Ghana on the
open market.

As matter of fact, a company like Animax Drilling
Company of Ghana, quotes a mechanized bore-hole
within the Greater Accra Region at Ghc14,000, and
a maximum of GH¢18,000 is quoted for same in any
part of the country, irrespective of area,
location and soil make-up.

It is in the light of this that a Public Utility
Regulatory Commission letter dated 6th
October,2016, requesting for a “single-sourced
procurement approval for PURC’S pro-poor water
project” shows the danger that our cash is in
under Mahama.

In the said letter, it is stated “the commission
is seeking approval to single-source contractors
to construct bore-holes in selected deprived
communities”. The letter continues, “the
commission seeks to proceed with phase II of the
pro-poor water project which shall cover all ten
[10] regions of the country and consist a total of
five hundred [500] bore-holes to be drilled and
mechanized”.

The letter continues “the total cost of the
project for the 500 bore-holes is GH¢30m.” And,
no matter where the borehole is being dug, the
rate per unit is quoted at GH¢60,000. This,
ladies and gentlemen, is four times, the market
rate. Going by the maximum Animax quotation of
GH¢18,000 per borehole in the remotest part of
the country, the 500 bore-holes would have
amounted to GH¢9m and not GH30m. So, in all, the
contract offered on sole-sourcing by PURC, has
been bloated by at least GH¢21m.

Now, we currently find ourselves in a country, and
under a government where allowances for nurses and
teacher trainees have been cancelled due to
unavailability of funds in the state coffers.
Qualified and working professionals from these two
fields of study who have been fortunate to be
employed, have had to go without monthly salaries
for not less than 3yeaars, in some instances.
Again, there some of these professionals who have
qualified, for years, but have not been employed
and have become burdens on their parents by way of
daily upkeep.

Source - Graphiconline

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