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TUDEC celebrates Eid-al-Adha with the needy
• Some of the beneficiaries in Accra taking their parcels of meat
TUDEC Development Centre (TUDEC), a non-governmental organisation (NGO) for scientific, cultural, charitable and educational purposes, celebrated this year’s Eid-al-Adha with thousands of needy Ghanaians across the country.
The celebration was marked as part of TUDEC’s corporate social responsibility.
The organisation, which is well known for this yearly act of humanitarianism, slaughtered about 480 cattle for the needy.
Mr. G. Abdulhamid, a representative of TUDEC, said the meat slaughtering exercise was not only done in Accra but extended to Kumasi, Cape Coast, Tamale, Takoradi and its surroundings.
During Eid-al-Adha, Muslims across the globe show compassion and good neighbourliness. They slaughter cattle according to Islamic tradition and share it with all and sundry.
The festival ensures that even those who can’t afford meat get plenty of it at least once a year.
Mr. Abdulhamid said over the years, the organisation had engaged in various humanitarianism activities across the country, because it was built on the principle of love, tolerance and peaceful co-existence.
The celebration was done in collaboration with Time to Help e.V, a non-profit organisation based in Germany.
The recipients of the meat were happy and encouraged the organisers to continue reaching out to others.
By Spectator Reporter
Deputy Minister of Finance, Thomas Nyarko Ampem has today revealed in Parliament that special audit has uncovered over payments for transportation of grains in respect of the dry spell expenditure.
According to the Deputy Minister, Under the Farmer Food Relief and Recovery Programme, a transportation company was contracted to transport 134,000 metric tonnes of maize and rice to farmers across the country at a contract sum of GH¢115.2 million.
Even though the company transported only 35,000 metric tonnes which should have costed GH¢30.9 million, the company was paid GH¢50 million.
In addition to this payment, the company was given 7,311 metric tonnes of rice equivalent to 14,622 bags of 50kg rice, which amounts to GH¢11.7 million in lieu of cash for no work done. This brings total payment to GH¢61.7 million.
As a result, the Auditor-General accordingly rejected an amount of GH¢65.2 million that was requested by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture as additional payment to the said transport company.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
Deputy Minister for Finance, Thomas Ampem Nyarko, has revealed that thousands of tonnes of food supplied under government’s 2024 dry spell intervention cannot be accounted for after a special audit.
According to him, the audit found discrepancies in the supply of rice and maize purchased by the Government of Ghana to support farmers and vulnerable communities affected by the dry spell.
He explained that government paid for 34,000 metric tonnes of rice to help address the impact of the dry spell. However, records from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture show that only 24,000 metric tonnes were received and distributed.
He noted that about 10,000 metric tonnes of rice remain unaccounted for even though the full quantity had already been paid for by the state.
The deputy minister also disclosed that government had contracted a company to supply 100,000 metric tonnes of maize as part of the intervention.
He said the Ministry of Food and Agriculture submitted Stores Receipt Advice as proof that the full quantity of maize valued at GH¢771.2 million had been delivered. The document was presented to the Ministry of Finance to facilitate payment.
However, the audit revealed that only 11,900 metric tonnes of maize were actually supplied and distributed.
He further stated that the Stores Receipt Advice used to support the payment was accompanied by a checklist certified by the internal auditor of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture.
The findings form part of a special audit conducted to review government expenditure related to the dry spell response in 2024.
By Jacob Aggrey
