Member of Parliament for Tamale North Alhassan Suhuyini has described Ghana as a crime scene due to happenings such as the payment of the $2 million to the investors for the Sky Train deal when feasibility studies had not been done.
Suhuyini indicated that these are hard times for all Ghanains, therefore, state funds should not be thrown away in this manner.
Speaking on the Big Issue on TV3 Tuesday, July 18, he said “These are hard times for Ghanaians, the mid-year budget is coming and we are told to expect an increase in taxes and the introduction of new taxes because our country needs more revenue. More revenue for what? For these kinds of transactions? $ 2 million here, hundreds of millions of Ghana Cedis there without any benefits to us.
“If for nothing at all the Attorney-General must up his game, these are the things that the Attorney-General must concern himself with.”
He stressed “Clearly, the Attorney-General must be busy with things like these in saving the state money and retrieving these lost funds to the state at a time the state badly needs money to pay picketing pensioner bondholders, to pay food suppliers and uniform suppliers.
“The uniform suppliers is another kettle of fish. How do you give a contract for school uniforms to one person who goes to China to print them and come and determine the price for all to buy, that is another discussion.
“This country is a crime scene with this government in place. I am happy that the leadership of the Minority has taken up this particular matter and is demanding action from Attorney-General for this money to be retrieved.”
The Minority in Parliament has been demanding answers from the government regarding the $2 million investment with
It is recalled that the report of the Auditor-General on the Public Accounts of Ghana- Public Boards, Corporations and other Statutory Institutions for 2021 stated that the Ai Sky Train Consortium Holdings which is the special purpose vehicle was yet to obtain a license in the country.
Feasibility studies had equally not been undertaken yet the payment was made, according to the Minority.
Addressing the press in Parliament on Monday, July 17, Member of Parliament for Adaklu Kwame Agbodza said “In 2019, we all saw this picture from South Africa where the President, the Finance Minister the Minister for Railways, Honourable Joe Ghartey. The first time we heard it was when they issued a statement that Accra to get Sky Train and they called a huge amount of money even before Parliament was aware.
“When they returned to Ghana they started adding the pieces together and it turned out that the Government of Ghana encouraged an investor from South Africa to set up a Special Purpose Vehicle in Mauritius and before the company actually even starts to do feasibility studies someone in the government has decided to pay 2million dollars to this entity.
“Then this year January, the former Minister for Railway Honorable Joe Gharty gave an interview where he suggested that he never said that the Skytrain project was going to be funded by the government.
“If the government was not the one funding the Sky Train, what was the 2 million Dollars meant for? But the important question is this, when you have a situation where the Minister says in 2023 that he always believes that before the project takes off there should be a cabinet approval, there should be a parliamentary approval, PPA approval, since none of these things, in fact, the Auditor General report suggested that the company did not even have the license to operate this system they wanted to operate, so the question is, what was the reason for the government to act in the way to give out 2 million dollars? Who actually took the decision to pay this entity in Mauritius? Was Dr Bawumia, the chairman of the economic management team aware that without any recourse to the Public Procurement Act, it was wrong for any government entity to pay that kind of amount? Who authorized the payment of the 2 million Dollars in terms of the so-called feasibility? Which normal decision-maker pays out 2 million Dollars for feasibility to determine whether the project is bankable? This thing will only happen when it is an organized crime., when people are careless.”
