The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), has described as abysmal, the performance of the Akufo-Addo government in its first six months, calling the President “alien” who hardly stays in the country, due to his numerous trips abroad.
The party demands the President to makes public his travelling allowances.
According to the NDC, the NPP, has failed on many fronts, especially in the fight against corruption, since it assumed office on January 7.
National Chairman, Kofi Porturphy, told journalists at the party’s Headquarters in Accra, Thursday that “We are demanding a full disclosure of how much money he takes as per diem for his numerous travels. Is it 4000 dollars or 5000 dollars as it is being rumoured?
Adding, the President’s frequent foreign trips, are becoming a swell on the state coffers.
Addressing a press conference in response to the President’s press encounter yesterday, the National Chairman of the NDC, said the government had simply failed to live up to its promises, adding “arrogance, lies and dishonesty have become visible trademarks of the Akufo-Addo-Bawumia government.”
Flanked by other executive members of the party, the Chairman, said the President had become “alien” to the worries of Ghanaians, because he hardly spends time in the country and is unaware of the pain borne by the very people who voted him into office.
“The true verdict of the majority of Ghanaians is that Akufo Addo and Bawumia, have failed woefully as managers of all affairs of state..Most definitely, President Akuffo Addo is turning out to become like Kweku Ananse, because in our Ghanaian folklore, Kweku Ananse always begins as the most intelligent and shrewdest person, but ends up hiding his embarrassment in his web. The embarrassment that is engulfing the Akufo Addo, Bawumia government is becoming too much.”
The NDC Chairman, also accused President Akufo Addo of superintending over corruption.
Mr. Porturphy, said the President, was acting contrary to the promises he and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) made to Ghanaians in the lead up to the 2016 elections.
He said: “Contrary to the NPP’s promises to protect the public purse; president Akufo-Addo, has done exactly the opposite.”
He sounded caution that the NDC “shall not sit and watch this dear nation of ours be destroyed” by an “embarrassing” NPP administration adding, “The least Akufo-Addo can do is to allow Ghanaians to suffer in peace and not in turmoil.”
Mr. Porturphy, accused the president of presiding over stinking corruption, insisting the government was “sinking in the quick sands of corruption” within his six-months in office.
He cited the recent sale of contaminated fuel to a private company, Movingpiina, by the management of the Bulk Oil Storage and Transport Company (BOST) to back his claim.
He said, the decision by the President, to endorse “the ridiculous, cooked-up BNI [Beurau of National Investigation] report into the matter, was evidence of his lack of commitment to fighting corruption.”
“President Akufo Addo and the NPP, flew into power on the wings of mostly false allegations of corruption against the NDC government in opposition.
Akufo Addo, styled himself as an avid fighter against corruption. As things stand now, the NPP government is sinking in sands of corruption and the President is looking on with gaping helplessness. Now that Akufo Addo is President, he is only making unacceptable excuses to pull a veil over the massive corruption and blatant thievery that is taking place right under his nose. The President’s endorsement of ridiculous cooked up BNI reports and the contaminated oil scandal involving Alfred Boateng who is Managing Director of BOST is a clear indication that the President cannot be relied upon to wage a meaningful war against corruption,” he said.
Mr. Portuphy’s comments, come in the wake of a major corruption scandal uncovered at BOST.
BOST, came under the spotlight when it was revealed that it had sold 5 million litres of contaminated products to unlicensed companies in a deal that several observers claim cost the nation millions of cedis.
A BNI and National Security report, subsequently cleared the current CEO of BOST of any wrongdoing in the matter, and those comments were echoed by Boakye Agyarko at a press conference.
There have been suggestions from the Minority that, the BNI report was done to cover up the illegalities that had gone on at BOST and that the Energy Minister’s decision to exonerate the MD, might have been influenced by orders from senior figures in government.
The Member of Parliament (MP) for Bongo, Edward Bawa said on Citi FM’s The Big Issue: “Listening to the voice of the Minister and knowing who he is, I know he made the announcement with a lot of reluctance. [He made it] under duress. Obviously, it’s not a junior official who’ll put pressure on him to make the decision. I feel that the man believe in the process he had put in place. He believed in the fact that the Committee he had set up had the capacity to unravel the mystery surrounding this whole transaction.”
“The Minister of Energy set up a Committee to investigate the matter based on institutional representation. I was one of the people who commented the setup of the Committee. It had someone from TOR, people from Ghana Standards Board because of standards requirements the BDCs, Civil Society and the BNI. We felt the composition of the Committee was good.”
