The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has disclosed that the erstwhile Power Distribution Services (PDS), which took over the assets and operations of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) between 1st March, 2019 and 18th October, 2019, collected a whopping GH¢1.5 billion from electricity consumers in the form of bills.
However, the NDC explained that till date, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government, led by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has not been able to bring to book persons who “perpetrated what government itself alleges to be fraud on the people of Ghana,” saying, they had all been left off the hook.
The party mentioned the names of some prominent personalities, who, according to them, “aided and facilitated this scam, which has occasioned the nation huge financial losses,” adding they had not been held to account for the roles they individually and jointly played in the scam.
Speaking at a press conference in Accra yesterday as part of what he described as ‘Corruption Tracker Series’, which, according to him, the NDC was using to track the status of the numerous corruption scandals that Ghanaians have witnessed and continue to witness under the Akufo-Addo government, Sammy Gyamfi, National Communications Officer of the party, said all calls on the President to cause an audit into the accounts of PDS had been ignored.
“Also, all calls for the accounts of PDS to be audited by an independent and internationally reputable audit firm have been ignored by President Akufo-Addo.
“And so, as we speak, Ghanaians do not even know how much was collected by PDS from electricity consumers within the duration of the concession, and whether those funds have been properly accounted for and audited,” Sammy Gyamfi explained.
He continued that it was clear that President Akufo-Addo has no intention to cause the prosecution of all those involved in the PDS scam, and the recovery of the millions of monies they collected from electricity consumers into the state coffers.
“We, in the NDC, are not in the least surprised at the nonchalant posture of President Akufo-Addo on this matter. We have always known that President Akufo-Addo can neither be trusted to punish the perpetrators, nor ensure that monies collected by PDS are refunded to the state, because he and his cronies are complicit and neck-deep in the scam,” he noted.
The NDC National Communications Officer explained that “never in the history of Ghana have we seen this level of corruption and naked thievery like we are witnessing under the reign of President Akufo-Addo in the last three and a half years.”
Continuing, Mr. Gyamfi said even though the President promised to protect the public purse, he has “supervised the biggest rape of the public pursue since he took office in 2017.”
“This has led to a sad situation, where millions of money, which should have gone into the provision of schools, hospitals, roads, potable drinking water, jobs and other critical investments in the productive sectors of the economy for the benefit of all Ghanaians, have been diverted into the pockets and bank accounts of a few selfish officials of the Akufo-Addo government, while the masses continue to suffer,” he alleged.
He called on Ghanaians not to forgive President Akufo-Addo for allowing his cronies to perpetrate this stinking PDS scam, which has caused the nation huge financial loss of over US$1.8 billion, and the numerous corruption scandals that has swallowed his government in the last three and a half years.
“We call on the good people of Ghana to kick out the corrupt Akufo-Addo regime and vote for the John & Jane ticket, come 7th December, 2020,” adding Ghana needs leaders such as John Mahama and Prof. Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, “who have dedicated themselves to serving this country with honour and integrity in all the positions they have individually served in.”
He pointed out that when given the mandate, President Mahama will wage a ruthless war against corruption in all sectors of the nation through a crusade he has christened “Operation Sting.”
“Ghanaians can be rest assured that under the ‘Operation Sting’ crusade, the next NDC/Mahama government shall ensure that all monies (over GH¢1.5 billion) collected by PDS from electricity consumers are properly accounted for, and ensure the retrieval of any amounts misappropriated by the company, their promoters and accomplices, for the state.
“Also, the next NDC/Mahama government shall ensure the arrest and criminal prosecution of all persons who directly or indirectly played a role in the stinking PDS scam, and the several other corruption scandals we have witnessed under the Akufo-Addo government,” he explained.
By Richard Kofi Attenkah
The post NDC: PDS collected over GH¢1.5b, but money not accounted for appeared first on The Chronicle Online.
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