Member of Parliament for Adaklu, Kwame Agbodza has claimed that he saw New Patriotic Party (NPP) executives sharing funds that were meant for the fight against Covid-19, in his constituency during the 2020 elections.
He said on the New Day show on TV3, Monday with Johnnie Hughes that he personally saw the executives of the governing party involved in the money sharing.
“I saw it in Adaklu, [NPP] were distributing the money,” he stressed.
But the Member of Parliament for Sekondi, Andrew Egyapa Mercer denied the claims saying no such thing happened as far as he is concerned.
He explained that due to the impact of the coronavirus, loans were made available to small businesses to enable them keep their enterprises afloat.
This, he said, is probably, being misconstrued by the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) to be money sharing for votes.
“We just came out of pandemic,” he said, adding that ” facilities were given to private businesses due to the impact of the Covid on their businesses.”
However, Mr Agbodza challenged that assertion again, asking “Does National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI) give money to businesses due to party affiliations?”
“The money was not meant for businesses they were meant for the NPP to chop,” he stressed.
Meanwhile, the Minority in Parliament has said President Nana Akufo-Addo must authorize a probe into Covid -19 spending if he has respect for the Constitution.
Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu while addressing the press in Parliament on Tuesday May 31 said the 1992 Constitution was premised on probity and accountability.
To that end, he said, the President must explain how the funds were utilized if he has respect for the Constitution.
“If president Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has any respect for the tenets and values of accountability and transparency, then he should to authorize a pubic probe or inquiry into how the over ¢19bn Covid monies were disbursed.”
“We are further scandalized and we are calling on president Nana Akufo-Addo and reminding him that the 1992 Constitution is premised on probity and accountability and that if he has nay respect for the values and integrity let him probe Covid spending,” he added.
It is recalled that Former President John Dramani Mahama also dared the government to challenge his claim of misappropriation of Covid-19 funds by allowing an independent forensic audit into how Covid-19 funds were used.
He had accused the government of diverting funds, during a public lecture he gave at the Harvard Business School .
He said “…to make matters worse a pandemic windfall in excess of Ghs33bn which could’ve cushioned the economy remain unaudited and it is believed to have been used largely in a quest to win election 2020 at all cost” he told participants.
Mr Mahama who was the main speaker at the 4th summit of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Professionals Forum in Kumasi stated he maintained his claim and challenged the government to prove him wrong with a forensic audit.
“The only way you can prove me wrong and say that that money was not used for election 2020 is to allow an independent forensic audit into how the money was used,” he said.
But Presidential Advisor on Health, Dr Anthony Nsiah Asare dismissed Mr Mahama’s claims.
Speaking in interview with TV3, Dr Nsiah Asare said “For anybody especially the Former Head of State who has been in government before, who has been the leader of this country before, should say this thing at an international forum, to me it is something that should be condemned.
“If you get international fora and you are speaking about about your country, it is the time for you to let people know what Ghana has done so far as Covid -19 is concerned.”
