By Benjamin A. Commey, GNA
Accra, Feb 19, GNA — The National Democratic Congress (NDC) says it’s next government will pursue and retrieve all funds lost through corruption activities, particularly the Agyapa Royalties deal, if voted into power come the December 7 elections.
It has also vowed to investigate the deal and bring all persons found to have engaged in any corruption and corruption related act to justice.
“The day of accountability is fast approaching, and no one found culpable will be left off the hook by the next NDC/Mahama government,” Mr Sammy Gyamfi, the National Communications Officer of the Party, said at a news conference, in Accra, on Monday.
The Agyapa Royalties deal was introduced in 2020 to raise funds through mineral royalties for infrastructure development.
However, Government, in 2021, suspended the deal after public outcry, to allow for more consultation.
At a recent Public Accounts Committee hearing, it was disclosed by the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF) that, an amount of $12m had, so far, been spent on the deal.
The expenditure was processes related to issuing the initial public offering on the London Stock Exchange before the suspension of the deal.
Mr Gyamfi said the revelations were not surprising as the NDC had long held the view that the deal was orchestrated to rip Ghanaians off.
However, he said, the NDC was appalled by the amount spent on the deal, describing it as “unconscionable, cruel and brazen abuse of the public purse.”
“This is very sad and disheartening, “ he added.
The National Communications Officer explained that the amount lost to the deal could have been used to address teething national needs, including supporting the revitalisation of the economy, covering the cost of months of treatments for kidney patients in the country and procuring textbooks for basic schools across the country.
“This colossal amount of money, could have been used to provide childhood vaccines to protect innocent babies from dying of childhood killer diseases due to shortage of essential vaccines,” he said, adding that the amount could have been used to “provide potable water, or several CHIP compounds or schools for thousands of Ghanaians in deprived communities of the country.”
Mr Gyamfi stressed that the deal, therefore, amounted to woefully causing financial loss to the state, and assured that the culprits would not go unpunished.
He urged Ghanaians to repose confidence in the NDC and its Flagbearer, John Dramani Mahama by voting for him, to pursue and retrieve for the State, public funds lost to looting schemes.
“We are absolutely confident that the good people of Ghana will rise to the occasion and reject corruption, nepotism, impunity, arrogance of power and economic mismanagement come 7th December, 2024,” he added.
GNA