Minister fails to account for C150 Million

...but, he denies it
The NDC minority caucus in parliament is demanding the interdiction and prosecution of Information Minister, Jake Obetsebi Lamptey for failing to account for an amount of 150 million cedis from the funds meant for the Castle renovation works. A statement signed by the Minority Leader Alban Bagbin claimed that Mr. Obetsebi Lamptey by a Memorandum, collected the money in two installments of 100 and 50 million cedis when he was Chief of Staff.

The statement said the payment of the monies to Mr. Obetsebi- Lamptey was illegal under the financial administration regulations because he is not one of the contractors working on the renovation project.

Mr. Bagbin accused the Information Minister of failing to respond to queries from the acting Chief Director of the Works and Housing ministry to account for the money. The NDC minority group says it has evidence to support the allegations against Mr. Obetsebi Lamptey.

In demanding his prosecution for causing financial loss to the state, the minority said it would ensure the Kufuor government’s adherence to the policy of zero tolerance for corruption by deed and not paying lip service.

...Information Minister Challenges Minority NDC

Information Minister, Jake Obetsebi Lamptey has challenged the Minority National Democratic Congress (NDC) caucus in Parliament to prove allegations that he has failed to account for an amount of 150 million cedis from funds meant for renovation works at the Castle, the seat of government. The Minority NDC caucus in Parliament has demanded the interdiction and prosecution of the Information Minister over the said amount.

They also accused the Minister of failing to respond to enquiries by the acting Chief Director of the Ministry of Works and Housing on the matter.

But Mr. Obetsebi Lamptey told JOY FM that he has never been contacted by the Chief Director of the Ministry as being alleged by the Minority. Describing the allegations as a lie, he noted that the only time he was contacted on the renovation works at the Castle was when the Deputy Works and Housing Minister, Theresa Tagoe called him to enquire about monies that had been transferred to the Chief of Staff’s accounts for the works. “I referred her to the Chief of Staff and cashier at that office. The necessary papers were issued and the matter has been cleared up.”

“I don’t know of this particular matter, all I know is that they say I have collected money but I say that is a lie. The second thing is that they say payments were made to me as if I’m a contractor and I say that is a lie. The third one is a statement by Chief Director of the Ministry that I’ve refused to respond to his enquiries for a year and I say it is a lie. I’m not aware of any audit report. If Bagbin has any evidence he should come forward and prove it.”