General News of Tuesday, 17 April 2018
Source: rainbowradioonline.com
2018-04-17
Special Initiatives Minister, Hawa Koomson
Local governance expert, Amon Kotey, has said the claims by Special Initiatives Minister, Mrs. Hawa Koomson, that only 5 percent of the total budget allocation for the ministry and the three development authorities will go into administrative work, cannot be true.
The minister told Kwame Tutu on Frontline today [Monday] that, only 5 per cent of the total budget for the ministry will go into administration which would include office space and other administrative costs. However, the local governance expert reacting to the claims said: ‘’that cannot be true.
That cannot be true. The authorities cannot rent a chamber and hall and operate them as offices because the offices for the caliber of people appointed, will not be located in localities like Alajo or any third class area.
They want to be in the prime areas. These are issues and facts; they are already riding heavy cars and so are you going to take them into any kind of office and give him Tico or what? Amon Kotey, said the minister lied adding, when the various authorities officially start work, we will find out the cost involved.
He told Nyankonton Mu Nsem on Rainbow Radio 87.5Fm that, we have to sit down and study the whole new structure to see if it will suite the governance system.
The ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) he noted created the impression that, each constituency in the country was going to receive $1 million annually but after winning power, they have asked that, constituents should go and search for projects that would amount to $1 million before the money is distributed through the three development authorities.
He said, people started asking questions when the NPP made that promise to distribute $1 million per constituency because there were no administrative bodies in the constituencies. But they have now gone to the drawing table to develop the authorities.
He opined that, the move by government is a bit complex for every development student and quizzed whether existing structures, cannot be directed to distribute the funds than to create new authorities. ‘’These are questions we need to ask whoever is moving the agenda,’’ he added.