By Albert Futukpor
Tamale, July 11, GNA
– NORSAAC has called for a probe into the acquisition of the first 100 buses
out of a total 275 by the Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to help
generate income for the party.
NORSAAC, in a
statement issued on Wednesday signed by its Executive Director, Mr Alhassan
Mohammed Awal and copied to GNA in Tamale on Wednesday, said “This procurement
within two years of assumption of power coupled with the strategic position of
the NPP Chairman as the Board Chairman of the Ghana National Petroleum
Corporation call for public interest.”
On the eve of the
NPP’s Delegates Conference to elect national executives in Koforidua over the
weekend, the then Acting Chairman of NPP, Mr Freddie Blay, who is now the
elected Chairman, true to his promise, procured the first 100 buses out of the
275 he promised to distribute to all constituencies of the party to use to
generate revenue to manage party activities.
This whole
transaction is said to cost 11.4 million dollars.
The statement,
therefore, asked the Special Prosecutor and the Commission on Human Rights and
Administrative Justice to respond with urgency to petitions before them calling
for investigations into the matter.
It said the
monetization of political activities never ensured inclusiveness adding the
practice “Weakens the foundation of democracies and we must tread with
caution.”
It said “We see
resourcing of political parties as one of the significant steps in building a
stable and progressive democratic culture but this should be done with
transparency and expressed within the confines of our laws.”
The statement said
“We have consistently expressed worry over how resources are wasted in both
intra and inter-party activities” adding “NORSAAC has observed that our leaders
are prioritizing party activities over bread and butter issues of citizens, who
can undertake actions whose consequences will be too precarious to bear.”
It said “It is our
belief that the action of the Chairman of NPP over the procurement of the 275
buses and display of same ahead of the recently held election does not ensure
fair contest and set bad precedence.”
It said “NORSAAC,
which is an empowerment for change organization and contributes to deepening
the democratic space of the country, condemns this opulence and asks political
parties to reverse the trend.”
The statement called
on key stakeholders in governance to revisit the discussion on political party
financing and enforcement of laws that regulate them.”
It also called on
the media and civil society organizations to explore appropriate platforms to
provide practical and evidence-based alternatives on resourcing political party
structures in a transparent manner.
GNA