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$65m GARID fund was misapplied – Ato Forson
The Minority Leader, Cassiel Ato Forson, has alleged that $65 million of the $200 million allocated for the Greater Accra Resilient and Integrated Development Project (GARID) was misused.
Despite the Minority’s strong opposition, Parliament approved an additional $150 million loan facility from the World Bank for the GARID project on Friday, May 17, 2024.
In an interview with Bernard Avle on The Point of View on Citi TV, Dr. Forson stated that the funds earmarked for COVID-19 expenditure were misappropriated.
The Minority Leader criticised the Ministry of Works and Housing for failing to provide a detailed account of the expenditure to Parliament.
“Someone somewhere is trying to distort the facts, but there’s the need for us to correct the records. And let Ghanaians be aware of what exactly the situation is. So far, they have drawn down almost $180 million out of the $200 million loan. Unfortunately, even though they had drawn down almost $180 million, the amount has been misappropriated or misapplied,” he said.
The minority leader said, “For example, $65 million of the GARID loan that was supposed to be used for the purposes of killing the floods was misapplied for the purposes of COVID-19 expenditure.”
“Yet, we don’t have the breakdown of the COVID-19 expenditure. We were told that unlike a typical World Bank facility, where a project implementation unit would have been established, and payments made directly to the contractors, in this case, the amount was paid into the Ministry of Works and Housing’s account, and the Ministry has failed to account to Parliament how much money that they have spent from that account,” he noted.
He recalled how some individuals sent to the Odaw River reported no work done at the site after they were informed that $32 million was used for dredging.
“Only $32 million was the only amount they could account for, which for us, was concerning. Another $43m was supposedly used to dredge the Odaw River. When our guys went to the site, it was obvious that nothing of the sort had been done. And some of the contractors our guys spoke to at the site said they were asked to be at the site just last week. Even though they have paid for mobilisation years ago,” he said.
He noted “We had serious concerns until we got the government or Ministry to account for what they have used the money for, there was no way we were going to approve additional loan.”
Emmanuel Kwasi Bedzrah, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ho West, and the Minority Leader have called for a forensic audit of the World Bank’s country office and the GARID project.
They argued that the project should have been implemented in phases rather than its current compounded manner.
On Monday, May 20, the Ministry issued a statement stating that it has responsibly managed the $200 million allocated for its operations.
The Ministry disclosed that as of March 2024, $127.12 million had been utilised, with $65 million allocated to support COVID-19 related expenses under the Contingent Emergency Response Component (CERC), a component agreed upon with the World Bank and included in the Project Appraisal Document.
Source : Citinewsroom.com
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Prof Alidu Seidu files nomination for Tamale Central seat
The newly elected parliamentary candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) for Tamale Central, Prof Alidu Seidu, has submitted his nomination forms to the Electoral Commission.
As of 10:00 a.m. today, he was the only person who had filed to contest the seat.
Nomination of candidates will close at the end of the day.
Associate Professor and Head of the Political Science Department at the University of Ghana Legon, Prof. Alidu Seidu won the National Democratic Congress (NDC) parliamentary primaries in the Tamale Central constituency with a landslide victory.
The elections, supervised by the party’s Elections and IT Directorate in the Northern Region, saw Prof. Seidu poll 840 votes out of the total valid ballots cast.
His closest contender, Lawyer Hanan Gundadow Abdul-Rahaman, secured 536 votes.
The other aspirants could not make significant gains, with Dr. Seidu Fiter obtaining 44 votes, Aliu Abdul-Hamid 23 votes, and the rest recording fewer than 10 votes each.
In all, 1,500 ballots were cast, with 6 ballots rejected and 7 spoilt ballots recorded.
The results were signed and declared by Dr. Arnold Mashud Abukari, NDC Northern Regional Director of Elections and IT.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) held parliamentary primaries in Tamale Central to choose a candidate for the upcoming by-election following the death of the sitting Member of Parliament, Dr. Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed. Dr. Mohammed, who also served as Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, tragically died in a military helicopter crash in the Adansi Akrofuom District on August 6, 2025, alongside seven others.
His passing left the Tamale Central seat vacant, as required by Ghana’s 1992 Constitution.
The Electoral Commission has scheduled the by-election for September 30, 2025. While the NDC moved quickly to open nominations and vet aspirants, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) announced it would not contest the seat, citing the need to respect the somber circumstances and promote national unity.
By: Jacob Aggrey
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Ghana to locally refine its gold starting October 2025 – Sammy Gyamfi
The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Gold Board, Sammy Gyamfi, has announced that plans are far advanced for the establishment of a state-owned gold refinery in the country.
Speaking at the 2025 Minerals and Mining Convention, Mr Gyamfi said the refinery will process locally mined gold into bullion instead of exporting it in its raw state.
According to him, it is unacceptable that Ghana, despite being a leading gold producer in Africa, continues to export raw gold known as dore.
He explained that the Gold Board, working with the Bank of Ghana and local refineries, will from October 2025 begin refining gold locally.
He also disclosed that an ultramodern assay laboratory will be built to ensure international standards in testing gold quality.
Mr Gyamfi noted that the refinery will be wholly state-owned and will help Ghana move away from raw mineral exports to value addition.
This, he said, will boost foreign exchange earnings, create jobs, and position Ghana as a hub for gold refining and jewellery production in Africa.
The CEO stressed that the project forms part of government’s strategy to ensure the country benefits fully from its natural resources and to transform the mining sector into a driver of economic growth.
By: Jacob Aggrey
