General News of Wednesday, 14 August 2013

Source: joyonline

Ghana is bleeding to death - Sammy Awuku

A Deputy Communication Director of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), Sammy Awuku, believes high levels of corruption and misappropriation of taxes under the current administration is gradually killing the country.

Sammy Awuku is certain the Ghana Youth Employment and Entrepreneurial Development Agency (GYEEDA) investigative report and the subsequent P.V. Obeng-led committee are just charades to confuse the public.

The NPP stalwart has predicted the report on GYEEDA will come to a naught because it will "be another long battle".

He foresees the setting up of another committee by the president after the P.V. Obeng-led committee. This according to him will be an attempt to delay the process of bringing indicted individuals and companies to book.

Venting his distaste at the revelations of corrupt dealings and financial malfeasance in the leaked draft GYEEDA investigative report on Peace FM's Kokrokoo on Tuesday August 13, Sammy Awuku said government alone must take the blame for the rot uncovered in the report.

Mr Awuku believes it is the government that must ensure contractors do not rip off the country since every business is poised to make gains where there are lapses.

"Ghana is bleeding to death" the NPP-man stressed.

However, the Youth and Sports Minister has said President John Dramani Mahama should not be stampeded into implementing the recommendations by the committee.

Elvis Afriyie Ankrah says the president must be allowed to assess the investigative report and implement its recommendations having regard to the political and social consequences.

He said the public must recognise that “if for instance the committee recommends that they should sack everybody in GYEEDA, it has political ramifications, it has economic ramifications, it has social ramifications so before the president will come out and implement the recommendations, all these things need to be analysed.”

The president has also stated that people reading the draft report must be cautious since the draft was "work in progress" and is likely to be different from the final report - which was presented by the 5-member committee a month ago.