OccupyGhana reignites GYEEDA scandal; demands answers

Pressure group, OccupyGhana, is reigniting the GYEEDA scandal with a tall list of demands on the Ministry of Youth and Sports.

It says the investigative report on the scandal, occasioned by serialized Joy News reports exposing corruption, and plain stealing at the Agency, requested the ministry to take some steps.

OccupyGhana is asking the ministry to supply it with information regarding what steps it has taken since the release of the report in 2013.

The group wants five things: “A copy of the report of any investigation or inquiry that your Ministry has commissioned into these matters, among others; Copies of all Memoranda of Understanding or other written agreements, if any, entered into between NYEP/GYEEDA and the entities that are the subject matter of the specified portion of the Report; Details (including amounts and dates) of all public funds paid or given to the said entities; Details of any parliamentary approvals obtained above, specifically for the CST funds given directly to NYEP/GYEEDA by the Government, the budget overrun by GYEEDA, and the “loans” to the entities listed below, and Details (including amounts and dates) of all payments made by the said entities to date.”

The pressure group says it is concerned by various categories of financial impropriety identified by the investigators who compiled the report.

Under the first category, that is, use of public funds outside of the Consolidate Fund, OccupyGhana said a total of GH¢136,820,153.15 was disbursed to the Ghana Youth Employment and Entrepreneurial Agency (GYEEDA).

This disbursement, it argues was in contravention of the 1992 Constitution which states in part in Article 176 that all monies collected on behalf of the government shall be paid into a Consolidate Fund.

In spite of this provision the money was collected from the Communication Service Tax (CST) and paid directly to GYEEDA or its predecessor, National Youth Employment Programme.

OccupyGhana, which has been on the neck of a number of state institutions for various infractions, cited budget overruns in the operations of GYEEDA as one of its main concerns.

It said contrary to Article 178(2) of the constitution, GYEEDA spent extravagantly far above its budgetary allocation for 2012.

The provision states that “ No monies shall be withdrawn from any public fund, other than the Consolidated Fund and the Contingency Fund, unless the issue of those monies has been authorised by or under the authority of an Act of Parliament.”

However, “GYEEDA was provided with public funds in excess of its statutory budgetary provision of GH¢20,000,000 for 2012, to the tune of a colossal GH¢199,311,753 , released through your Ministry’s accounts,” a statement issued by the pressure group in Accra noted.

The group raised issues with what it called, Suspicious Business Transactions with Selected Organisations.

It cited “Asongtaba Cottage Industries Limited, RLG Communications Limited, Zeeera Group Company, Craftpro Limited, New Vision Consult, Ghana Young Artisans Movement, Jioogiwu Agriculture Training Centre, Centre for Development Partners, Ghallywood African Film Village, Goodwill International Group/MDPI, and Seiwa Engineering Works.”

The group listed staggering amounts of money which were paid to these companies for services not delivered at all or at best rendered partially.

Read the full statement as issued by OccupyGhana here .