The National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa is chasing the Central Bank of Ghana for spending over GHc139.9million on a construction a Guest of House in Tamale during the peak of the Covid-19.
According to Mr Ablakwa, new documents in his custody reveal the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government’s profligate spending on fantasy projects during the 2020 election campaign.
“Newly obtained documents I am poring over reveal how the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government went on a profligate and vulgar spending spree on fantasy projects during the 2020 electioneering campaign,” he revealed in a Facebook post.
You would recall that in 2016, then-candidate Akufo Addo promised that under his leadership as president, single-source procurements would be a thing of the past: “The era of sole sourcing will come to an end,” Akufo Addo tweeted.
Mr Ablakwa bemoaned the Central Bank of Ghana’s decision to prioritize the construction of a 50-bed guest house in Tamale, single-sourcing it to De Simone Limited for GHS139.9 million.
The MP noted that the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Addison’s fanatical preference for single-source procurement and restricted tendering has resulted in none of the procurements under his leadership being competitive.
Find Hon. Ablakwa’s statement below:
We all have to be extra vigilant this election year.
Newly obtained documents I am poring over reveal how the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government went on a profligate and vulgar spending spree on fantasy projects during the 2020 electioneering campaign.
Consider this classic example (as attached) of how during the 2020 elections, and at the peak of COVID-19 when other central banks across the world were focused on monetary policy interventions to mitigate the adverse economic impact of covid, our Addison-led central bank shockingly made the construction of a 50-bed guest house in Tamale a priority.
Even more puzzling, they single-sourced the lavish guest house project at a staggering cost of GHS139.9 million to De Simone Limited.
The fresh documents in my possession show that Dr. Addison appears to have a hooliganistic appetite for single-source and restricted tendering so much so that NONE of the procurements under his watch have been competitive.
The venerable Togbe Afede XIV was obviously right when he wrote in his latest op-ed that the BoG has failed us.
Remember that in opposition, the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia ticket condemned single-source procurements and argued that it was a veritable conduit for corruption.
Without principle and scruples, they are now the all-time champions of grand single-source procurements.
It is most instructive to note that payments for other infamous wasteful Akufo-Addo-legacy projects such as the US$450million National Cathedral fiasco and the US$222.7million BoG Head Office all commenced during the electioneering campaign of 2020.
The Akufo-Addo/Bawumia single-source-procurement-regime will be planning similar “lootocratic” schemes ahead of the December 7 elections — it is our patriotic duty to stop them in their tracks.
May God help us.
For God and Country.
Ghana First 🇬🇭
