Gov't Pays Whooping Sums To 11 Companies For No Work Done...Ghana Is "Sweet" - Ace Ankomah

Private Legal practitioner and founding member of Occupy Ghana, Ace Ankomah has expressed disappointment in critics making strenuous attempts to pin down Occupy Ghana and its members as a partisan group.

According to him, those critics who have made it their game to run down members of Occupy Ghana are "feeble-minded".

Speaking in an exclusive interview with host Kwami Sefa Kayi on PeaceFM's "Kokrokoo", Ace Ankomah stressed that the prime duty of Occupy Ghana is to investigate national issues and ensure that Ghana becomes a beneficiary of the practices of government.

He disclosed on Peace FM's Morning Show that per the investigations by Occupy Ghana through the Auditor General's department, Ghana is nowhere near poverty.

To him, Ghana is indeed rich, looking at the whopping amounts of money that have been dispensed to some companies.

He revealed that from the Auditor General's account, about 11 companies have benefited from public funds yet they failed to carry out their duties.

Among the 11 companies, he mentioned, were Asongtaba Cottage Industry Limited, Zeera Group Company, RLG, Ghana Youth Employment and Entrepreneurial Development Agency (GYEEDA) and several others.

He further divulged proofs of these companies receiving huge sums from the Government of Ghana apparently for doing no work.

Asongtaba Cottage Industry Limited, he stated, was engaged by government to train the youth in northern part of Ghana.

On "three transactions; it was paid 7.1 million cedis to train 10000 youth in dress making, beads making, drum making and carving in Northern Ghana. It trained only 7000. It claims it trained 7000, this should even be investigated. This means there should be a surplus...on the 3000 that it didn’t train. Such money never came back to the government. So, it was paid before the contract took effect and it did what it could do. But it failed to make a refund of the money."

The company was further contracted to train 17000 youth in smock making, tie and dye, soap making among others but failed to deliver on its promise; yet it was freely paid 25.6 million cedis, he revealed.

"It appears Asongtaba knows how to do everything in the world. It’s left with writing/translating the Bible," Ace Ankomah rather sarcastically.

The same company was again illegitimately given a six-year interest free loan to a tune of 42.3 million cedis by the Ministry of Youth and Sports.

According to Article 181 of the 1992 constitution, “public funds can only be given as loans in two conditions. 1) It must be by the government. 2) There must be approval of a majority of all the members of Parliament…So you must get a majority of the votes of all Members of Parliament before you can give a loan from public funds" but the renowned legal practitioner claims this procedure was not duly followed during the government's transaction with Asongtaba Cottage Industry Limited.

He further noted that Zeera Group Company was supposed to be paid GHC 8.5 million for working for the Government of Ghana but later found in its account a sum of GHC 11 million..."Ghana is sweet!"

Ace Ankomah concluded by assuring Ghanaians of the good course that Occupy Ghana has taken up to make government accountable and transparent with Ghanaians.

"...if in the process, Ghana benefits; who cares who did what work? It doesn’t matter whether Ace Ankomah or George Andah or Sydney Casely-Hayford did the work, Ghana is the beneficiary. As long as Occupy Ghana exists to take on these fights to make money for Ghana, who cares who did what work? If we hadn’t taken up this challenge; who would have?” he quizzed.