Government to spend US$48m as operational expenses on 13th African Games – Ablakwa alleges

The Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has alleged that government is planning to spend an amount of US$48m on the 13th African Games scheduled to take place in Accra from March 5 to 23, 2024.

This is contained in a post on his social media pages.

Please read full post below:

1. Even before the dust settles on the US$8.5million AFCON budget brouhaha; unimpeachable, unassailable and incontrovertible intercepted documents in my possession reveal for the first time that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and his appointees at the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Local Organising Committee (LOC) have shockingly agreed to spend an elephantine US$48million on so-called “operational expenses” for the 13th African Games to be hosted in Ghana between the period — March 5 to March 23, 2024. [Refer to intercepted documents attached].

2. It must be noted that this staggering US$48million is an entirely different amount from the mega US$195million (GHS2.4billion) already spent on infrastructure for the games.

3. At the prevailing exchange rate, US$48million is equivalent to a colossal GHS602million.

4. A careful reading of the intercepted February 13, 2024 letter signed by the LOC Executive Chairman, Dr. Kwaku Ofosu-Asare confirms that this ginormous US$48million (GHS602million) will be spent in less than a three week period (18 days). This translates into a 6-day weekly expenditure on “operational expenses” of a mind boggling GHS200.6million, and an even more incredible daily “operational expenses” of GHS33.4million.

5. It is most instructive to note that apart from the blatant profligacy and reckless wastefulness by the leader of a bankrupt, debt-distress IMF bailout country; President Akufo-Addo’s conduct is absolutely wrong because Parliament approved GHS100million.

6. The intercepted documents confirm that despite Parliament’s approval of only GHS100million, President Akufo-Addo instructed the LOC to send out official request letters as recent as February 13, 2024 in which they defy Parliament and communicate their outlandish, unlawful and unjustifiable US$48million (GHS602million).

7. It is regrettable to note that instead of President Akufo-Addo and his appointees at the Sports Ministry and LOC acknowledging Ghana’s current economic crisis and slashing their ostentatious US$48million (GHS602million) “operational expenses” budget, he rather proceeded to personally chair fundraising meetings on the 6th and 7th of November, 2023 at the Jubilee House with an objective of raising the US$48million (GHS602million).

8. A number of top executives who have received the Akufo-Addo-inspired US$48million (GHS602million) shocking request letter are outraged about the quantum for a broke country and the deliberate refusal to transparently present a breakdown.

9. Careful analysis of the entities President Akufo-Addo met during his now infamous fundraising engagements show that the President is mainly interested in public funds either by targeting SOEs such as GNPC, Ghana Gas, BOST and GOIL; or by targeting private companies such as MacDan, Zoomlion, MODEC and Kosmos all noted for executing huge government contracts.

10. Additionally, the President’s conduct raises fundamental ethical questions: how did the President select these companies? What promises did President Akufo-Addo make to these CEOs? How can other companies compete fairly with these “presidential companies” in any competitive bidding process, particularly considering the current single-source procurement epidemic?