Call for Minister’s ‘head’… An exercise in futility

General News of Thursday, 5 March 2015

Source: The Informer

Last week, The Informer, once again became the toast of all radio talk shows, following some startling revelations put forward, with regards to how some administrative instructions were flouted in payments to service providers under the Ghana Youth and Entrepreneurial Development Agency (GYEEDA)-now Youth Employment Agency (YEA).

In stating the other side of the story, without passing judgment, this paper uncovered how directives, through the then Chief Director at the Ministry of Youth and Sports, Mr. Abdulai Yakubu to institutions under GYEEDA were ignored.

Bruised badly by the findings of The Informer, detractors of Mr. Clement Humado, the then sector Minister of Youth and Sports, have decided to use the 2013 Auditor General’s report as fertile grounds to call for his “head” (prosecutions), without paying attention to details as captured by the said report.

Latest to join the crusade is the Member of Parliament (MP) for New Juaben South Constituency in the Eastern Region, Dr. Mark Assibey-Yeboah, who is also a member of the Finance Committee of the nation’s legislature.

According to him, government should prosecute Mr. Humado, for his involvement in the financial mismanagement at GYEEDA; citing the 2013 report by the Auditor General as the basis for his call.

Exposing his lack of understanding of the report under discussion, Dr. Mark Assibey-Yeboah, was reported as saying that the Minister (Humado), even against the advice of the regional Coordinators of the programme, went ahead to sign the contract which caused the country to lose millions of Ghana cedis, when he should have taken the pain to cross-check the facts as captured in the report.

Well, as it has always been the track record of The Informer, we have critically examine and analyzed the report and have the following observations to share with Dr. Mark Assibey-Yeboah, the media and all concerned for proper debate of the report (2013 Auditor General’s report).

1. The report is a consolidated audit report covering all key MDAs in the country. However, criticism of the report seems to be centered only on GYEEDA. It appears that some criticisms from some persons and the media cannot be found in the body of the report. The allegation by Dr. Assibey that the audit report indicated that the “Minister even against the advice of the regional coordinators of the programme went ahead and signed the contract thus causing the country to lose millions of cedis” cannot be found in the audit report; and one wonders whether Mark Assibey-Yeboah has his version of the report.
2. Nowhere in the report was the name of Hon Clement Kofi Humado mentioned, apart from reference made to Minister or Ministers as well as the National Programme Coordinator.
3. Issues presented covered among others contracts of service providers contracted, manner of procurement, performance and amounts owed as at the end of 2013.
4. Other key areas of the report are lapses in the day to day management of GYEEDA at National, Regional and District levels The Informer has analyzed the service providers mentioned in the report and has attempted to present further information on them below and, if the blame game must continue.

With this little insight, one will say with prejudice that the call for the ‘head’ of Mr. Kofi Humado by persons like Mark Assibey-Yeboah, using the 2013 Auditor General’s report, is an exercise in futility when the basic details of the report have been ignored .

In fact, this Paper well noted for its principled position, will be the last to shield any public official of corrupt doings, but what we detest are attempts by commentators to skew discussions as they pursue an agenda towards those leveled with allegations to have engaged in any form of corrupt practice.

We are for “nothing but the truth” and will reveal what the earth fails to throw out in our quest to help build a Better Ghana!