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Minority cries foul over proper accountability of COVID-19 expenditure by government
Accountability is an obligation or willingness to accept responsibility or account for one’s actions. It is often used in the context of individuals taking responsibility for their actions. An example is when an employee admits an error he or she made on a particular project.
IMPORTANCE OF ACCOUNTABILITY
Accountability is so important because it eliminates the time and effort spent on distracting activities and other unproductive behaviour. When you make people accountable for their actions, it means you are effectively teaching them to value their work. For leaders to be accountable, they need to be committed to the business and its people. They must regard their role as leaders of people and build trust among team members. Leaders who are accountable, clearly communicate their goals and objectives and foster alignment and team focus.
Having stated what accountability connotes and how a leader is supposed to adopt and apply it to advance the course of progress, I am inclined to dwell on the recent development in our country where the Minority group in Parliament is crying foul over how moneys set aside by the government for the management of the deadly Corona Virus pandemic (COVID-19) were expended since 2020.
ACCOUNTABILITY OF COVID-19 FUNDS
Within the last few weeks, proceedings in parliament had not been smooth sailing between the Majority and the Minority caucuses in what looked like a war of words over this particular issue of expenditure of COVID-19 funds. The Minority has not been comfortable with the figures at their disposal and, therefore requested the Speaker, Mr. Alban Kingsford Sumani Bagbin to summon the Finance Minister, Mr. Ken Ofori-Atta,to appear before the House to answer questions relating to the issue.
For a number of weeks after the Speaker had issued the invitation to the Finance Minister to appear before the Legislature, he failed to be present citing reasons such as engagement with other government businesses and that he needed more time to put together his answers to how the expenditure was conducted by the various agencies.
SPEAKER’S SUMMONS TO FINANCE MINISTER
Not appeared to be happy with the continued absence of the Minister to the Chamber, the Speaker directed the Finance Committee to suspend all deliberations on the 75 million Euro facility for a COVID-19 response programme currently before the House for consideration. Hear him; “Until we go through the accountability process, we will not take that motion. Today, he has another request before us. That will also be affected. Until he comes to respond to the questions and to submit the statement giving an explanation as to how the money has been applied, we will not entertain any business from the ministry.”
The Speaker, we are told, gave the ruling despite admitting that there had been communication through the Majority Leader by the Finance Minister about his non-availability to appear before the House. That was after he (Speaker) had held a meeting with the leadership of the House. According to him when questions were asked of ministers, the House expected them to come and answer them and quoted Standing Order 61 of Parliament to buttress his point.
To refresh the minds of my readers and patrons, Standing Order 61 states that, “Ministers shall by order of the House be requested to attend to sittings of the House to answer questions asked them.” The Speaker further cited Standing Order 60 (3) which also states that, “A minister shall not take more than three weeks to respond to questions of the House.” He indicated that based on the Standing Order of Parliament, the Business Committee of the House was given the opportunity to do the allotment and, thus, allotted June 16, for the Finance Minister to come and answer some questions that stood in the name of his ministry.
EXCUSES FROM FINANCE MINISTER NOT TO APPEAR IN PARLIAMENT
“The Finance Minister told us that he would not be available today and before today. I gave a directive to the effect that the Minister appears before this house to accept money that we approved for him to use to lead the country in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. A lot of questions have been raised, so we expected the Minister to come and account as to how state resources had been applied to the benefit of the people. I just indicated that until that was done, a motion requesting for approval of the House for money to be given to the Ministry of Finance for the purpose of COVID-19 will be on hold,” said the Speaker.
Before the Speaker gave his ruling, the Minority had expressed its displeasure over the Minister’s inability to honour the invitation. The Deputy Minority Chief Whip, Ahmed Ibrahim, we are told, expressed misgiving about the attitude of the minister saying that it looked as if he was taking Parliament for granted, adding that the oversight responsibility of the House was not to be taken lightly at all. He warned that his side (Minority), was not ready to take any motion relating to the Ministry of Finance until the minister appeared before the House, adding that the minister’s failure to appear before the House meant he was avoiding accountability.
MAJORITY AND MINORITY LEADERS’ REACTIONS
On his part, the Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, made it clear that his side was demanding accountability in the interest of Ghanaians. He said the minister needed to come and account for an amount of GH¢9.7 billion COVID-19 expenses.
However, the Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah Bonsu, refuted the claim that the minister was running away from accountability, explaining that he needed some information from the technocrats concerning the expenses on COVID-19 for which he would need time to read through before facing the House. He said the minister wanted Parliament to reschedule his appearance to Wednesday, June 22, 2022, to enable him to come before the House and answer questions on all expenses on COVID-19.
FINANCE MINISTER FINALLY REPORT TO THE HOUSE
True to his words and assurance, the Finance Minister made an appearance on the stipulated date to respond to the various questions from the parliamentarians.
According to the minister, the government had been transparent and prudent in the management of the COVID-19 funds and that all expenses were provided for in the last budget. Giving details, the minister said out of the GH¢18.19 billion the government mobilised from the various sources of funds in 2020, out of the programmed GH¢19.3 billion, GH¢12 billion was spent. He gave a total breakdown of how the moneys were received and expended which I do not intend to bore my readers with for lack of space.
SPEAKER ORDERS PROBE INTO COVID-19 EXPENDITURE
However, the Minority realised the inconsistencies in the figures as compared to what was contained in the President’s State of the Nation Address and called on the Speaker to institute an enquiry into the matter. It appears the Speaker has agreed to the Minority’s request and has directed the Committees of Finance and Health to investigate the expenditure and report to the House the first week of the next meeting of the House in October this year. It is the hope of Ghanaians that the committees will work diligently to ensure a vivid accountability of moneys so far invested in the management of the deadly COVID-19 pandemic which still rages on. Failure to do a good job will enable the international community which provided some of the funds to mitigate the situation during that period to lose confidence in us.
VIBRANCY AND POTENCY OF THE LEGISLATURE
It is now becoming increasingly clear that this particular parliament is no more the rubber stamp that it used to be in the past when things were done haphazardly or sometimes swept under the carpet. Parliament of today is indeed, biting because of the very nature of composition and the fact that the Speaker is coming from the major opposition party (NDC). The hung nature of parliament, with the Majority having the same numerical strength with the Minority,137-137 with one independent MP aligning to the majority side has instilled vibrancy in the Legislature and encourages dialogue and consensus building on various issues. So far, the Minority has been resolute and putting the Majority side on check. The Speaker has also stood firmly on his grounds making proceedings in the house very attractive and interesting. It is significant to recall an issue like the passage of the E-Levy, which went through some form of hectic moments because of the Minority’s stance on the issue before it was finally passed into law.
Judging from what is unfolding in our legislative arm of government, where issues are debated with clear minds and conscience by our parliamentarians under the effective guidance of the Speaker, it appears that the country is making a significant progress in our democratic experiment. This is a sign that if we continue on that path, we will surely and eventually make progress within the shortest possible time.
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By Charles Neequaye
THE state of feeling rejected, could be a terrifying experience especially for those who have become used to fame. If not properly addressed, it could lead to depression and the consequences, could be disastrous.
When you are on top of your game in whatever profession you find yourself such that you become famous, a lot of people try to associate with you. The phone never ceases to ring and one is tempted to feel loved and very important.
When a disaster strikes and the fame or the money which was the source of the attraction fades away, the circle of friends and fans begin to shrink and the phone will start to stop ringing until the call stops voting completely.
You will be shocked at how people you considered friends, will no longer be calling you or pay casual visits as they used to. You will begin to notice that messages you leave after calling them and not getting a response are not replied to and that is when you begin to know who your true friends are.
One of the most popular movie stars was an actress called Sharon Stone. In an interview with one of the media houses that was published, she spoke about how people who should have come around to encourage her in her moment of depression, shunned her. The calls stopped coming.
This is what the Bible admonishes that the arm of flesh will fail you and therefore we should put our trust in God. It could be a very frightening experience and can easily lead to depression.
Human nature being what it is, people will want to get close if things are okay. Everybody wants to associate themselves with interesting things, famous people, rich people etc for mainly selfish reasons.
We need to develop the habit of putting our trust in God and relying less on human beings. The lesson we have to take along in life is that, no one marries his or her enemy so how come people who took vows that they will love each other become so hostile to each other that they want to go their separate ways in life? Such is the reality of life.
It is therefore prudent for people to recognise that, life is full of uncertainties and so there is the need to prepare your mind for uncertainties so that when they occur, they do not disorganise your mental sanity.
A lot of people have experienced situations where people who they could have sworn will never betray their trust have disappointed them when they were through challenging moments.
If there is one thing famous people should desire, it should be the ability to identify who are true friends are. Countless stories abound regarding incidence of celebrities who have lost their shine and their wives divorcing them soon after.
It is sometimes useful as a famous or rich person to sign a prenuptial agreement before marriage to safeguard or protect yourself from any future unpleasant surprises.
People can be very pretentious these days, it goes both ways. There is this real life story where a man married a divorced wealthy woman and convinced her to sell her house so they could build a new one together, with the excuse that people are gossiping that he is being housed by a woman.
The woman agreed and they put up a new building. After a few years the man asked for a divorce, only for the woman to realise that the land on which the building was situated, was bought in the man’s name.
This can drive a person insane, if you are not mentally tough and this happens to you. When people hear that you are homeless, a lot of your so-called friends will stop calling, so that you do not become a burden on them.
By Laud Kissi-Mensah
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‘But, er …. I don’t even know your name’.
‘Paul. Paul Allotey. I’m Sarah, by the way. Paul, why don’t you leave me here, since this is the last important thing I’m doing today’.
‘Okay. Now Sarah. I was just thinking. You will be here at the cafe for about an hour. By then it will be about twelve thirty. Then, you would be thinking of buying yourself some lunch, to eat here or to take home. So if you would please allow me, I will take you to one of the nicest eating places in town, and after you have sorted that one out, then I can drop you home. Just that one errand, then I won’t bother you again’.
‘You are not bothering me at all. You are being very kind to me. And I just realised you are a mind reader too. The last item on my agenda was lunch’.
‘I’m so glad I appeared at your doorstep, just in time’.
‘Okay. Now Paul, since you say the cafe is a comfortable place, let’s go in together, and you can do your work while I get my application done’.
‘Okay, Sarah. Thanks. Let’s go’.
We got back in the car at eleven forty-five.
‘So where are we going, Paul?’
‘To Royalty restaurant. It’s a twenty minute drive away’.
‘So, do you enjoy your job?’
‘Most certainly. I won’t change it, not even to be President. And am I right to say that you are preparing to enter the university?’
‘That’s my plan. I hope it works’.
‘It will, if you are determined, and disciplined. You look very much like a disciplined person’.
‘Thank you very much’.
We arrived at Royalty in twenty-five minutes, ‘You are joining me for lunch, Paul’.
‘Thanks for the honour, Sarah. But the bill is on me’.
‘Aren’t you taking on too much for one day?’
‘I never do anything that is bigger than me, Sarah’.
Over the next hour and a half, we discussed fashion, local and international politics, and sports, as we ate and relaxed. Finally, he drove me to the shop.
‘I will never forget you, Paul’.
‘I’m glad to have been helpful. But if you don’t mind, I’ll say it again, your husband is extremely lucky. You are really beautiful’.
‘Thanks again. But do you mind if I call you sometime in the future?’
‘Certainly not. Let me write it here. I will not ask for your number, for obvious reasons. But I will be looking forward to hearing from you. And hopefully, I will see you next month, when I call to drop your bill’.
‘Okay Paul. See you then’. What a lovely day, I said to myself as I opened the front door. I closed the shop and got home by seven. I went straight to the bedroom, stood in the mirror and took a good look at myself. ‘You are a very beautiful woman, Sarah. Never forget that’. I will not forget that, again.
Over the next several weeks, Martin and I had very little to do with each other. In the morning he ate his breakfast and after a shabby ‘I’m going’, he left. He came home around eight at the earliest, ate his dinner and, already soaked in beer, went off to sleep.
He spent the greater part of the weekends at the club house with his friends, playing tennis and partying. My mind was focused on furthering my education, so I didn’t complain to him, and didn’t bother to inform my parents about what was happening. I had decided that I would only take action if he lifted his hand against me again. I spent my free time reading all manner of interesting stuff on the internet, and chatting with my sister on WhatsApp.
One evening, he came home at about eight, rushed to the bedroom and rushed out. An envelope, obviously containing money, dropped out of his pocket, and I picked it up and followed him. I was going to call him and give it to him, but I noticed that there was a young woman in the car, so I went back in, counted it and put it in a drawer in the hall. He came back after some ten minutes.
‘Excuse me, I dropped an envelope containing money. You must have seen it’.
‘Yes, I saw it. Actually, I followed you, and was about to call you and hand it over to you when I realised that there was a woman in the car, so I came back in. I counted it. One thousand cedis.
‘Well let me have it. I have to be going’.
‘I will let you have it if you will tell me who the woman in the car is, and why you are going to give her that amount of money’.
‘Listen, if you waste my time, I will teach you a lesson you will never forget. Give me the money now!’
‘Here’s what we will do, Martin. I know you will give money to her anyway, so I will give it to you, if you will withdraw the threat you just issued. But I want you to know that I will be taking some steps from tomorrow. Things are getting out of hand’.
‘Okay, I’m sorry I threatened you. Can you please give me the money’. I handed it over to him, and he ran out’.
The following morning, I waited for him to finish having breakfast, and told him I wanted to have a word with him urgently.
‘You better be quick. You know I’m going to work’.
‘Well, I want to inform you that I will inform my parents, and your parents, about the situation in this house. As I said yesterday, things are getting out of hand. You spend most of your time drinking. You get drunk every evening, and through the weekend. And you are also spending your time and money on a prostitute’.
‘How dare you? One more stupid word from you …’
‘Am I lying, Martin? You have just started life, yet you are behaving like a rich, elderly man who has already seen his children through university, and can afford a life of fun. As I said, I’m going to inform our parents. Maybe your parents can straighten you out before it is too late’.
‘Look, we can talk this evening. It’s nothing like what you are saying’. He walked away, shocked.
That evening, I was expecting to have a meaningful discussion with him, but his mother called early in the evening to offer me some ‘advice’. Her son had called to say that certain developments at home were disturbing him so much that they were beginning to affect his work.
And, ‘as a loving mother to her daughter’, she was advising me to submit to my husband, and support him in prayer, and not ‘drive him from home’. Men would always be men, and she was telling me ‘from experience’ that no matter how much time Martin stayed away from home, he would always come home to me.
She had been a young wife before, so she understood the challenges I was facing. So I could be assured that if I followed her advice, all would be well. And, of course, she didn’t allow me to tell my side of the story.
Martin came home very late, and very drunk. And from the next morning, he carried on as before. With some hesitation, I called my dad and told him all that had gone on.
‘Well, my daughter. I’m not going to say “I told you so”. I was only trying to protect you. So here’s what we’ll do. Continue doing the best you can, and try not to give him any excuse to harm you, but if things continue to deteriorate, I will take you back.
A couple of days later, my cousin Dinah arrived in Accra from Brussels, having completed her medical course. With Martin’s agreement, I went to Koforidua and spent a couple of days. I spent most of the time chatting about her experiences in the US, but we also discussed my relationship with Martin, and she endorsed Dad’s decision to take action if Martin’s behaviour did not change after two weeks Elaine informed Mom and Dad. We endorsed Dad’s decision to take action if there was no change in two weeks.
Dinah returned with me to Takoradi. Her plan was to spend a couple of weeks, and return to Accra to be posted. I called Paul Allotey, and asked if he would meet her for lunch and, if possible, show her some interesting spots. Delighted, he suggested that we meet at Royalty the next day.
I told Martin about it, to remove any possibility of future disagreement over ‘going out with men’.
‘It’s fine with me’, he said, ‘if, of all the people who could show your sister round this town, you chose a borla man. Doesn’t that indicate the kind of person you are?’
‘ First of all, Martin’, I’ve spoken to him a few times, and he comes across as a decent guy, so I think it is rather unfortunate that you are writing him off when you don’t know him’.
By Ekow de Heer
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