Donor pushed Mills to investigate Woyome

The Woyome scandal might have taken over discussions in the country over the last three months, but the repercussions of the whole saga on Ghana’s access to donor support from her development partners is lurking to hit raw nerves.

This is based on the fact that accountable and judicious use of a country’s resources is a pre-requisite requirement for support from our development partners, and the Woyome scandal might just be a case which these partners will simply not keep their eyes off.

Sharing a thought on the implications on the Woyome case, Prof. Mike Oquaye, a legal luminary and Deputy Speaker of Parliament, is least enthused about the President’s handling of the issue, and warns of dire international consequences.

According to him, the President’s action was a partial response from development partners, who have been on the neck of the castle, demanding full disclosure, and action to be taken in the Woyome scandal.

“This has placed some of the country’s expectations, in terms of funding, in danger, and we clearly now see how Woyome’s action is affecting the welfare of Ghanaians.”

He added that the budget support given to Ghana – the School Feeding programme, the National Health Insurance programme, and other social interventions are at a great risk.

His argument was based on the fact that good governance was a condition, which Ghana must meet, in order to access funding from development partners, and that donors were abandoning corrupt nations which do not meet this basic condition.

He noted that the recent Amnesty International ratings showed clearly that corruption continues to get worse in Ghana, and this has become a matter of concern to the donor partners. “It should be remembered that the Millennium Challenge Account money of half a billion dollars, which President Kufuor secured from the United States of America, was a reward for good governance.”

He contended that this government continues to benefit from this money, and that if we are not careful, all such assistance will not be forthcoming in the future.

He cited a confidential report which states that Ghana’s development partners were unhappy with the way and manner the government doled-out whopping sums of money to a single individual.

He advised that in the interest of the people of Ghana, the government should institute a full scale enquiry, both by parliament and a neutral body, to conduct public hearing on the issue.

According to him, this was an important step to getting to the bottom of the whole saga, as the issue has now assumed international dimensions.