The former Chief Executive of the Ghana@50 Secretariat, Dr. Charles Wereko-Brobbey, has stated that Ghana's golden jubilee celebration would have been a fiasco but for his personal intervention.

He said he had to pre-finance the project while awaiting parliamentary approval for the budgetary allocation earmarked for the celebration.

Dr. Wereko-Brobbey said he sought the approval of the National Planning Committee (NPC) to pre-finance the celebration with GH¢200,000 from his personal accounts to furnish the office, pay salaries of workers, acquire computers and other logistics to get the project going, adding, "If I had not done that, there would have been no celebration."

Speaking to the Times in Accra yesterday, the former CEO of Ghana@50 explained that the committee took the decision in anticipation of the normal delays associated with the release of funds by government.

"This covered the period from January to December 2006 when the government reimbursed me," he added.

As to why he had to use his own money for the project, the man known in political circles as "Tarzan", said it was a national service to ensure that the event was celebrated on schedule.

He said "having worked for almost 40 years, I was in a position to assist with that amount of money at that critical moment when the nation needed my assistance.

"I did not do this for profit because it was an essential step that had to be taken towards the event. In the process, the secretariat ensured that the right things were done," he added.

Dr Wereko-Brobbey said during that period, the secretariat was able to oversee the rehabilitation and construction of bungalows, parks and other projects intended for the celebration in the following year.

While expressing his reservation about the parliamentary approval for loans, Dr. Wereko-Brobbey welcomed the outcome of the Auditor-General's report on the secretariat, contending that the report erred by saying that only one of the 25 toilets earmarked for construction was completed. He explained that substantial work was done on all of them although none of them was fully completed.

He expressed his readiness to appear before the Public Accounts' Committee of Parliament to clarify any outstanding issue and dared those who alleged that he had embezzled funds to submit their claims to the committee and the Presidential Commission of Enquiry.

"Let all those making allegations go to the Commission and substantiate them," he threw the challenge.

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