[ 2017-02-03 ]

The uncompleted wooden structure

GH¢110,546 oil cash for project missing
DAILY GUIDE has learnt that a total of
GH¢245,082.35 meant for the construction of a
kindergarten block for Dabaabi M/A Primary School
in the Dormaa Central municipality of the
Brong-Ahafo Region has not been accounted for.

According to the Finance Ministry, the said amount
was paid to the construction firm in November
2016, yet there is no such structure at Dabaabi.
This is slightly less than the initial estimated
cost of GH¢251,550.00.

Out of the total amount of GH¢245,082.35 expended
on the project by the Ministry of Finance,
GH¢110,546.49 is reported to be from Ghana’s
oil revenue.

Checks at the Dabaabi M/A Primary School indicate
that there is no such project because not a single
concrete block could be found on the site as
evidence of the money used. More so, the
headmaster of the school, chief of the community,
Nana Yaw Sakyi III and former Municipal Chief
Executive of Dormaa Central, Gordon Asubonteng,
said no such school project is in the
municipality.

This revelation came to the attention of DAILY
GUIDE when Dr. Ishmael Ackah, energy adviser for
the Africa Center for Energy Policy (ACEP) posted
it on his Facebook wall recently.

According to him, ACEP, as part of its random
tracking of projects funded with funds from
Ghana’s oil revenue, realized that the Dabaabi
kindergarten block was not visible on the ground.

ABFA Confirms Spending

When DAILY GUIDE checked the 2014 reconciliation
report on the Petroleum Holding Fund, ACEP’s
claim was corroborated. The section of the report
that reads, ‘2013 Annual Budget Funding Amount
(ABFA)’ indicates that GH¢110,546.49 was
released for the construction of a two-stream
kindergarten block at Dabaabi M/A Primary School.

Dr. Ackah noted that it is not clear where the
other half of the GH¢245,082.35 purported to have
been spent on the project came from.

The school, which was earmarked as one of the
‘schools under trees,’ was supposed to have
been completed in 2014, yet it is 2017 and the
school is yet to see the kindergarten project on
the ground. What currently exists is a modest
structure being put up by the community.

When the headmaster and the chief of the community
were contacted, it came to light that the
community had been contributing GH¢8.00 per month
to construct a modest structure to house the
kindergarten pupils.

ACEP To The Rescue

The amount, which was said to be inadequate, could
only develop a wooden structure without a roof.
ACEP donated some money to assist the community
purchase aluminum roofing sheets for the
structure. The community still needs over
GH¢2,000.00 to complete the structure.

Source - Dailyguideafrica.com

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