An aide to the embattled Minister of Special Development Initiative, Nana Owusu Acheampong has risen to the defence of Madam Hawa Koomson who has come under a barrage of criticisms over a bloated budget submitted and approved by parliament.
Nana Owusu Acheampong who together with Mr Joseph Dome Chognuru, Acting Chief Director of the Ministry, Dr Manful Saka, Technical Advisor, Mr Eric Kwasi Baah, Principal Budget Analyst, Mrs Doris Agyepong, Deputy Director Finance and Administration and Mr Yusif Geofrey, Senior Accountant who accompanied the head of cost centre submitted the budget to the Finance Committee of Parliament has made some clarifications.
In a page response to the tongue-lashing by the public he said:” Having taken time to listen to the brouhaha on the budget of the Ministry of Special Development Initiative’s for 2018, it is imperative that below facts are put across, for the purpose of informing the good people of Ghana:
1. The Ministry has the mandate to oversee the Three Development Authorities; Coastal Development Authority, Middle Belt Development Authority, Northern Development Authority.
2. The entire budget estimates cover the three development authorities and the Ministry; the budget includes the development authorities because they are not fully set up. All funds allocated to the authorities will be managed by them. The allocation will be done pro-rata.
3. GHS 800,000 for the website development was an error. The figure was corrected as GHS 80,000 before the appropriation was passed. This amount will be used for development of four (4) websites for the three authorities and the ministry.
4. 20 vehicles estimated in the budget are to be shared amongst the three authorities and the Ministry. The ministry is not using all the 20 vehicles
5. The projects budgeted for are the outcome of assessed needs across the 275 constituencies.
6. The projects will be implemented by the development authorities when they become fully operational.
7. The Ministry is not just drilling ordinary boreholes, as being put across. But a sophisticated community based water system. Solar mechanised with reservoir tank, 10000 ltrs capacity, with a number of distribution points, amongst others. This system is capable of serving about 2400 people in a community per day. Completely different from the NDC/PURC boreholes, which can only serve a little over 1000 people per day.
8. UNICEF did similar projects, in 2016 at a cost of GHS167,000. MSDI estimates to spend about GHS 132,000. This is indeed protection of public purse.
9. The projects will be awarded through the competitive tendering process to ensure value for money. This may further push the cost down. Note that NDC /PURC sole sourced the 2012 boreholes.
10. The 10-seater institutional water closet toilet facility will have a
a. mechanised borehole
b. solar powered lighting system
c. water tank
d. Environmentally friendly bio-digester waste storage, which can generate bio-gas for domestic and other use.
Source: Ghana Web
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did you have to bring NDC into this? That wasnt necessary.
No matter how anybody looks at things the NPP is better at running the country than the NDC.Those louts are just sitting there twiddling their thumbs, waiting for something to happen so they can gleefully bray"CORRUPTION' Even after clarifying that 4 institutions will have 4 websites at a cost of 80,000 some f001 is on this platform crying foul. Most NDC followers are either illiterate or they simply cannot read.Folks let us assume that in Ghana, all the parties are bad and one cannot say party A is better than party B. At least we could say party A is less bad than party B.The NDC is the worst thing that has ever happened on the Ghanaian political scene.
THE MINISTERS OF GOVERNMENT NEED TO BE VERY CAREFUL WITH STAFF AND DIRECTORS AT THE MINISTRIES. MANY OF THESE DIRECTORS AND STAFF HAVE WORKED AT THE PLACE FOR SO MANY YEARS AND THEY ARE THE CAUSE OF MAJOR CUPTION AT THE MINISTRIES. UNFORTUNATELY THE MINISTERS BECOME BLAMED FOR THEIR MISCHIEVOUS WORK. SOME MINISTERS ARE MPS AND BECOME VERY MUCH INVOLVED IN MANY SOCIAL AND CULTURAL EVENTS OF THE PEOPLE AND THEIR CONSTITUENCY. THEY CANNOT AFFORD TO SPEND LONG TIME IN THEIR OFFICES. CHIEF DIRECTORS MOSTLY SIT IN OFFICE TO MANAGE MINISTRIES BUSINESS. THE ERROR IN DETAILS OF SUCH CASES MUST NOT BE BLAMED ON MINISTERS BUT DIRECTORS AND STAFFS.UNTIL WE BEGIN TO HOLD THE VERY PEOPLE WHO COMMIT SUCH MISTAKES ACCOUNTABLE FOR THEIR FAULTS, THE PRACTICE SHALL ALWAYS CONTINUE TO EXIST AND GROW. CHIEF DIRECTORS AND STAFF WILL CONTINUE TO CREATE SUCH LOOP HOLES FOR CORRUPTION. IF THEY ARE NOT CAUGHT THEN THEY TAKE THE MONEY. IF THEY ARE CAUGHT THE PROBLEM IS SHIFTED TO MINISTERS. WHEN MINISTERS FIND THEM MISCHIEVOUS AND SABOTAGERS OR INCOMPETENT, THEN THE OPPOSITION CRY POLITICAL VENDETTA.
They still can not justify this cover up . How can you have 4 websites for one ministry for what. Hope one day we send all of you to Libya.
Is she a minister or hip-hop musician? Nana Addo pls appoint serious people to occupy ministerial positions. That will curb all these non***barred word***. Is she semi-illiterate (these days people acquire all the degrees and know nothing).
NPP should be careful with everything they are doing as opposition elements are ready to tag them as corrupt. They have done well so far and it is difficult to get any direct acts of criminality against them. So the perception issue would be brought up just to try and see if they would stick. They have to be careful, careful and very careful.
Thanks so much Mr. Acheampong for clearing the air on the wildly misconstrued budget of the SDI Ministry. Your explanation was brief & concise!
Mo maaame tw333 ooo mu Maame tw33.sit there and feel complacent.nana addo ya br3 wo
The Ghanaian of today is no longer the greenhorn who could not discern issues. The Ghanaian today knows and can differentiate a lie from a truth. The sad truth is that the politicians who have looted from Ghanaians have not realized that the Ghanaian has changed. They are still the same greed-filled lot. The 'new' Ghanaian cannot accept the explanation being bandied around for such blatant daylight ***barred word***! So stop trying to be clever because the new Ghanaian is cleverer!
NPP are better managers of the nations resources. This is a fact. No matter how the NDC will try hard to throw dust, the Ghanaian remembers that NDC Atta/Mahama myopia appointees who from university straight to deputy ministers without experienced and have corruptly amassed wealth to the detriment of the poor Ghanaian.