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275 buses saga: Freddie Blay should tell us his source of income - Sammy Gyamfi

General News 275 buses saga: Freddie Blay should tell us his source of income - Sammy Gyamfi
JUL 13, 2018 LISTEN

A Communications team member of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Sammy Gyamfi has called on the newly elected National Chairman of the ruling NPP, Freddie Blay to tell Ghanaians his source of income he got to purchase the 275 mini busses for his party.

About 6,000 delegates from across the 275 Constituencies gathered at the Koforidua Technical University on Saturday, July 7, 2018 to elect new national officers to lead the party in the next four years and Freddie Blay emerged victorious in the chairmanship race.

This comes amid allegations of vote buying levelled against Mr. Blay ahead of him emerging winner in the keenly contested national chairmanship race of the NPP.

275 buses saga
Ahead of the conference, Mr. Blay was widely criticized for personally procuring some 275 buses for all NPP constituency offices across the country.

The issue had generated controversy with the opposition political parties and civil society organizations, including his closest contender, Stephen Ntim describing it as vote-buying.

According to reports, Mr. Blay as a guarantor, paid 3 million dollars which constitutes 30% of the total cost of 11.4 million dollars and has taken delivery of the first 100 minibuses.

Freddie Blay’s spokesperson, Richard Nyamah, subsequently explained that Freddie Blay contracted a loan facility from the Universal Merchant Bank (UMB) to procure the 275 buses and that the constituencies will pay for the bus over a two-year period.

Richard Nyamah also revealed that the NPP was behind the acting Chairman’s decision to purchase a bus for each of the party’s 275 constituencies.

Mr. Nyamah said discussions were held with the NPP and that the party “agreed and okayed the deal.”

But in a statement signed by the outspoken NDC communication team member, Sammy Gyamfi and copied to GhanaWeb, asked where Freddie Blay got the money to buy the 275 buses.

He wondered how Freddie Blay could get $11 million less than two years as a Board Chairman for Ghana National Petroleum Cooperation (GNPC).

"It was at this point that all, including the media and Civil Society began to realize that we are dealing with dangerous folks who are capable of carrying out every 'threat' of showmanship. But need we ask questions ​of Mr. Blay's source of wealth for financing the greatest Political Showboating​ of our time? Of course not! He is the Board Chairman of GNPC, which oversees Ghana's oil, and his wife is Ghana's Ambassador to Germany. So Mr. Blay has made a fortune within less than two years of power, which he intends to 'generously' give back to the people who gave him the power", the statement emphasized.

He opined that political watchers and some Ghanaians have been worried about the levels of profligacy and reckless wastage of the purse under the leadership of President Akufo-Addo.

"From naming an oversized team of 110 Ministers, capped with a humongous 1000 Presidential Staffers, Ghanaians have witnessed other acts of wanton defalcation of the public purse under this government", he lamented.

He added, "Indeed, this weekend was the climax to the contest of showboating politicians, who converged to exhibit their prowess in displaying the wealth they have fleeced from the hardworking Ghanaian people".

He was on the view that Ghanaians are patiently waiting for 2020 general elections to kick the Akufo-Addo led administration out of power.

Below is the full statement
THE "UNDIPLOMATIC" BRITISH DIPLOMAT AND THE SHOWBOATING NPP DELEGATES CONFERENCE

Political watchers have been worried about the levels of profligacy and reckless wastage of the public purse under the watch of President Akufo-Addo. From naming an oversized team of 110 Ministers, capped with a humongous 1000 Presidential Staffers, Ghanaians have witnessed other acts of wanton defalcation of the public purse under this government.

Just as the Ghanaian people thought they had seen enough of ostentation under the aegis of Akufo-Addo, events leading up to the NPP National Delegates Conference over the weekend left many trembling and gasping for breath. As a stock in trade of the NPP, from day one, the campaign​ has not been one of ideas and competence, but the key highlight has been who can outwit his contender in a game of ostentation.

Indeed, this weekend was the climax to the contest of showboating politicians, who converged to exhibit their prowess in displaying the wealth they have fleeced from the hardworking Ghanaian people.

Of all the wanton profligacy witnessed, there is no gainsaying that the jaw-breaking exploits of Freddy Blay (now Chairman-elect) of the NPP left many awe-stricken. Here is a man whose quest to lead a Political party in it's highest office, a party he had barely joined a little under a decade ago, led him to make an audacious pledge of supplying a brand new bus each to every single Constituency in Ghana. Some of us initially saw this as one of the braggadocios talks of a politician eager to impress. However, to our shock and disbelief, three days to the much-awaited Delegates Conference, Mr. Blay crystallized his promise by taking delivery of a first consignment of 100 out of the 275 buses he promised.

It was at this point that all, including the media and Civil Society began to realize that we are dealing with dangerous folks who are capable of carrying out every 'threat' of showmanship. But need we ask questions ​of Mr. Blay's source of wealth for financing the greatest Political Showboating​ of our time? Of course not! He is the Board Chairman of GNPC, which oversees Ghana's oil, and his wife is Ghana's Ambassador to Germany. So Mr. Blay has made a fortune within less than two years of power, which he intends to 'generously' give back to the people who gave him the power.

So wanton was the reckless display of opulence at the just-ended Conference, that when the Representative of the UK Conservative party, Dr. John Hayward got to the Conference venue at the Koforidua Technical University, he got the shock of his life at what he had witnessed. Such was his disbelief, that when he mounted the podium to address the Delegates, the Diplomat threw his diplomacy to the dogs and yelled out "... is this the best use of our resources?". The man could not simply fathom how he saw so many posters, banners and giant billboards, much more than delegates. I dare say the Diplomat would have collapsed upon seeing Blay's buses and the elegantly customized Cedi Notes that exchanged hands at the venue! John Hayward may have been asking himself, have these people learned anything at all after over 60 years of Independence?

Many of us, like the British Diplomat, are still recovering from the callous dissipation of the public purse we have witnessed, and we are dreading the fact that the worse is yet to come. This is a Government that has made highfaluting and grandiose campaign promises to the people of Ghana, many of which have become castles in the sand. Today, in place of one Constituency, $1million promised the people, the NPP has successfully delivered 275 brand new buses to their party cronies. In place of an all-inclusive government, President Akufo-Addo has successfully operationalized the concept of Government for family, friends, 'concubines' and cronies. In place of protecting the public purse, President Akufo Addo and his NPP have redefined corruption and given it it's true meaning!

I have no doubt that the Ghanaian people are patiently expecting this government to come to understand politics as the call to service it is meant to be. Some of us have lost hope in the ability of this Government to successfully drive the Ghana Project. However, in our sorrow and grief, we still have faith in the Ghanaian people to punish showboating​ politicians and save the soul of our nation in 2020.

God Bless our Homeland Ghana.
Signed!
Sammy Gyamfi, NDC National Communications Team Member

Source: Daniel Kaku

Daniel Kaku
Daniel Kaku

Western Regional ContributorPage: DanielKaku

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