The Daily Statesman can state on authority that another scheme is in progress to enable them repeat the obvious criminal act of siphoning more state funds, through the Youth Employment Agency and other state institutions, for this year’s campaign.
The last three months to the 2012 election witnessed an unusually shocking disbursement of state funds under very bizarre circumstances, through the use of phantom schemes and companies that sprung up overnight, for the purposes of vote buying.
A chunk of the money was disbursed in November from the Ministry of Finance for unbudgeted expenditure, including payments to rlg for distribution of laptops embossed with President Mahama’s campaign pictures. The other organisations that were used for this unprecedented vote-buying spree included LESDEP, SADA, NADMO, Zoomlion and GYEEDA.
The reckless manner in which huge sums of monies were siphoned through GYEEDA has been confirmed by revelations from the ongoing sittings of the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament.
According to the Auditor-General’s Report, GYEEDA in 2012 spent close to GH¢200million, even though it had budgeted to spend only GH¢20 million. Most of the expenditures were done without proper documentation covering them.
The payments that accounted for the chunk of the reckless spending went to four companies: Zeera Group, Asontagba Cottage Industries, Better Ghana Management Services and Craft Pro.
According to Member of Parliament for Obuasi West, Kwaku Kwarteng, the reckless spending at GYEEDA, recorded in the last quarter of 2012 leading to the general election, was deliberately fashioned out to make money available for the campaign of President Mahama and the governing NDC.
Mr Kwarteng told the Daily Statesman yesterday that the overspending could have been forgiven if it constituted a useful expenditure.
“But it is completely scandalous when those over expenditures are coming from corruption and plain thievery. It is evident that the GYEEDA over expenditures in the last quarter of 2012, when we were going into an election, and many other such expenditures, were incurred for the purposes of giving the ruling NDC illegitimate advantage in the election. Put in another way, public money was siphoned and used to run a campaign for the ruling party,” he bluntly stated.
On the ongoing prosecution of some officials of GYEEDA, the MP insisted that the Mahama government decided to take some of the alleged culprits to court to give the impression they were also disturbed by the stealing that took place.
“Now, government itself has come out to cite clear cases of corruption and has taken people to the court to give the impression that they are also disturbed by the stealing that happened and that they are doing something. That government is refusing to pursue these cases suggests that they have no heart to correct the wrong and the reason is that some people in government are implicated, and they know it was a clear strategy and clear calculation by government to siphon money for their elections. That is why they are unable to bring the people they themselves have cited for being responsible to book,” he explained.
The Obuasi West MP says indications are clear that the reckless over-spending of 2012 will be repeated in this election year by President Mahama and his government.
“I see the GH¢100 million set aside for youth employment generation through the Youth Employment Agency as an attempt to siphon money for their campaign as they did with the GYEEDA overspending. I am worried and I wonder why President Mahama and his functionaries can’t be mindful of the damage they doing to the economy,” he stated.
The MP cautioned Ghanaians to be vigilant in the upcoming election and resist any form of vote buying by President Mahama and the NDC government, cautioning that their woes would be made worse if they should get another term to mismanage the affairs of the country.
Meanwhile, Deputy Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament, Samuel Atta Akyea, has lambasted the Mahama-led administration for its appetite for corruption.
According to him, the administration is not a good custodian of the public purse, hence the need for him to step aside for a Nana Addo-led administration to take over the management.
Speaking in an interview with Rainbow Radio's Kwame Tutu on the GYEEDA report, the legislator supported the view that the various scheme under the programme were conduits used by the government to syphon money from the state for their campaign.
"This is an election year; ‘let's create, loot and share’; they have used GYEEDA as a conduit to siphon these monies for their campaign purposes; it is so clear. It doesn't accord with common sense to spend money on a venture which was not budgeted for. What reason will you place on this? ‘Let's use these companies as conduits to syphon funds for our political campaign’. You don't need a magician to tell you this," he lamented.
The Mahama-led administration, he stated, has lost the conscience in delivering to Ghanaians good governance.
"Ghana is descending low in terms of good governance and accountability. This is disgusting. President Mahama should go for Nana Addo to take over the management of this country," he maintained.
He revealed that PAC would invite all the companies at the centre of the GYEEDA scandal to answer questions regarding the payment made to them.
"The embezzlement is embarrassing. The NDC is mismanaging our resources. The more money they get, the more they waste it. The wastage at GYEEDA and SADA alone is serious and calls for a serious probe," he stated.
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