I'm yet to refund YEA money - Haruna Iddrisu admits

The Minister of Employment and Labour relations, Haruna Iddrisu has admitted the ministry is yet to refund GH₵129,089 borrowed from the Youth Employment Agency in March, 2015.

The Minister requested the said amount and an additional GH₵900,7545.68 to enable him lead two separate international conferences - four-member government delegation to ILO meetings in Geneva, Switzerland on March 12, 2015 and second delegation in May 2015.

“The Ministry undertakes to reimburse you with the funds as soon as Bank of Ghana honours our request for payment through the GIFMIS platform, and for this transaction I provide my personal assurance,” the Minister’s letter to the YEA dated March 17, 2015 promised.

However, Haruna Iddrisu told Evans Mensah on Joy FM’s Newsnite that he was yet to honour that pledge.

He explained the money will be "reimbursed subject to payment and release by the Ministry of Finance.”

The Minister also rejected claims by former chief executive of YEA Vincent Kuagbenu who lamented about the “excessive demands” by the Employment Ministry. Mr. Kuagbenu had described the continuous financial demands were becoming “challenging” and “very difficult” to meet.

“With only half of the year gone, the Administrative expenditure of the Agency is already far in excess of 5% of the funds of the Agency allowed by the Act”.

Haruna Iddrisu, however told Evans Monday evening that what the Ministry requested from YEA’s account could not be more that 3 percent of what it is entitled.

He had earlier, on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show Monday, said there was “nothing wrong with the Minister relying on funds of its agencies”.

Under Section 24 of the Act passed in February 2015, the funds of the agency shall be applied in five areas.

- To support youth development through skills training, entrepreneurship and internship

- For the payment of allowances of the beneficiaries on the internship modules

- For the training of a beneficiary in a trade or vocation

- For the payment of service providers who are contracted by the Agency….

- For administrative expenses of the Agency and oversight supervision by the Ministry which shall in any case not exceed five percent of the funds of the Agency.

Asked whether the travel which costed some 900 million cedis was an act of supervision of the Agency, the minister responded in the affirmative saying it was an obligation on the part of the president to attend but due to the June 3rd disaster he delegated him with other heads of state institutions to attend.