I’ll implement GYEEDA report – Mahama
President John Dramani has affirmed his resolve to implement the recommendations of the committee that probed the Ghana Youth Employment and Entrepreneurial Development Agency (GYEEDA).
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He said the findings of the P.V. Obeng review of the GYEEDA report were ready and indicated that he was prepared to work with the recommendations.
President Mahama made the pledge yesterday at a meeting with heads of civil society organisations (CSOs) at the Flagstaff House, Kanda in Accra.
The heads of 29 CSOs, including the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), the Institute for Democratic Governance (IDEG), the Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII), CCD-Ghana and Imani Ghana, were present at the meeting.
The President said he would use the GYEEDA report as a test case to ensure sanity in the use of public funds.
''I will use it as a means of correcting the wrongs,'' he said.
He indicated that the GYEEDA report being circulated was not the final report and that it was rather a working report on which several changes were effected before the final report.
President Mahama gave an assurance that he would publish the final report for Ghanaians to see the true report, noting that his decision to publish the report was part of his desire to ensure transparency and accountability in governance.
''It is my intention to publish the report. What is being circulated is not the final report. It is work in progress. What we have is different from what is being circulated,'' he said.
Following allegations of a questionable partnership between GYEEDA and some service providers, the government set up a committee to investigate the operations of GYEEDA.
The committee has since presented its report to President Mahama.
Consequently, the President tasked his advisors to review the report and to advise him accordingly.
Although the government has not published the GYEEDA report, there is in circulation a report purported to be the GYEEDA report.
Following that, the government came under intense criticism from a section of the public which demanded the prosecution of persons cited for financial malpractice in the handling of some modules under the GYEEDA.
Touching on the Auditor-General's Report, President Mahama said the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice had set up a committee to look at the various Auditor-General's reports from 2006 till date.
He said the aim was to identify people who misappropriated state funds and prosecute them to serve as a deterrent to others.
''The committee will come up with a report on people who misused government money and recommend how to prosecute them,'' he said.
The President indicated the government's resolve to streamline public procurement to ensure transparency, adding that he had, for instance, given orders for a reduction in the number of procurement activities based on sole sourcing.
On CSOs, President Mahama stressed the need for them to be watchdogs and also see themselves as partners in development.
He said CSOs should be neutral and be guided by the national interest, not that of their funding institutions.
The President suggested that CSOs must take up issues for research and make proposals to the government and indicated that the government would be encouraged to take the proposals if they remained nonpartisan.
The Executive Director of the GII, Mr Vitus Azeem, asked the government to investigate all allegations of corruption against public officials.
He said after the investigations, it should publish the report and indicate areas of disagreeement.
The Executive Director of Imani Ghana, Mr Franklin Cudjoe, suggested to the President to consider the recommendation of a group that indicated that the government should discard its intention of building 10 teacher training colleges and channel the resources into expanding the existing colleges.
He again indicated that Imani Ghana was compiling a report in relation to the government’s proposal to construct 200 community senior high schools.
The Executive Director of IDEG, Dr Emmanuel Akwetey, indicated that CSOs in Ghana were doing a lot of work in various fields which had earned them international recognition.
By Musah Yahaya Jafaru/Daily Graphic/Ghana