We shall demand accountability and transparency from government — Kwabena Agyepong
The General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Kwabena Agyepong, has assured Ghanaians that the party will ensure that there is transparency and accountability in the financial management of the country.
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“We shall hold their feet to the fire and make sure Ghanaians are aware of how the country’s resources are being used,” he added.
Mr Agyepong made the remarks during an interview with AdomTV to assess the performance of the six years’ administration of the National Democratic Congress(NDC) government.
Statutory payments
‘’The government has refused to make statutory payments to the healthcare authorities. Other statutory payments such as the district assembly common funds and GETFund are all in arrears even though citizens continue to pay their taxes”.
He noted with concern that pro-poor policies such as the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) and the Free Maternal Healthcare which began under the erstwhile NPP administration were on the verge of collapse.
He stressed that, “During the festive season, about 27 women were held at the maternity ward of the Korle Bu Teaching hospital and the La-Polyclinic for three weeks for non-payment of bills. A private company had to come to their rescue by paying their bills to ensure their release. We expected that the NHIS and Free Maternal Healthcare which began under the NPP administration would have been strengthened six years into the NDC administration; however, the reverse seems to be the case. Without money, people cannot access free and quality medical care.”
Corruption
He expressed his dissatisfaction with the $29 million which the government claimed to have used for the rehabilitation of the Kumasi Airport. He added that, “ It is not possible for the government to use $29 million for the resurfacing of the runway. As an engineer, I have done civil works at the airport and I know what goes into it. The NPP is going to write and request the details of the project. Ghanaians demand value for money and not to be short-changed”.
Failed promises
“In 2009, President John Mahama led a team to South Korea to negotiate with STX Korea to build 200,000 units of houses for the security agencies and other public sector workers. However, till date, not a single house can be shown for that. This notwithstanding, the country had to pay for insurance and commitment fee for the loan it negotiated for the STX housing project”.
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According to him, the government lied about the one-time health insurance premium promise they made to Ghanaians, adding that no country in the world had been able to implement such an insurance policy.
Mr Agyepong urged the President to sit up and work for the good of Ghanaians and also stop the wasting of public funds.
He expressed confidence that the NPP would win the 2016 general election and form the next government.