Govt Operates Special Secret Account – Bagbin

The Minority Leader in Parliament, Alban Bagbin, has stated that the declaration of zero tolerance for corruption and the crusade against indiscipline will continue to be a mirage because the exponents are themselves guilty of both unacceptable behaviours.

Bagbin said that there was gross indiscipline within the financial administration of Kufuor’s government. He alleged that while Kufuor’s administration criticised the NDC for corruption and mismanagement, “it is operating a ‘Special Imprest Account’ where huge sums of money both in cedis and dollars, were withdrawn weekly for purposes not known to the people of Ghana.”

Bagbin stated this at a meeting with members of the Upper West branch of the Tertiary Educational Institutions Network (TEIN) of the NDC. He alleged that about 43.7m cedis and $50,000 were being drawn from the “Special Imprest Account” operated and managed by the Minister of Finance, Yaw Osafo Maafo.

The Minority Leader produced Photostat copies of Letters of Request for the maintenance of the account, expenditure authorization and payment vouchers purported to have been processed and passed by the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department to buttress his claim.

Bagbin alleged that as at June last year, a colossal amount of 44.5bn cedis had been withdrawn from the “Special Imprest Account." He further alleged that the “Special Imprest Account” was different and separate from the “Urgent Security Account” under the Office of the President.

Bagbin told the TEIN members that the much talked about transparency and openness by Kufuor’s Administration were political gimmicks and that there was nothing real or practical.

Bagbin urged TEIN members to intensify their educational campaign and crusade to win more people to the NDC’s fold to enable the party to recapture power in election 2004 because the NPP had woefully failed Ghanaians.

The members of TEIN expressed dissatisfaction about what they described as “the Minority giving the NPP too much breathing space.”

They were of the view that the NDC should have led a public demonstration against the government for deceiving Ghanaians about the IFC loan disaster was more serious than the increase in VAT, which the NPP led a demonstration against the NDC.

TEIN called on the Upper West Parliamentary caucus to interact frequently with the people to rekindle their enthusiasm to enhance the victory of the party in the region in the next election.