Member of Parliament (MP) for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has described as “laughable” and “insulting government propaganda’, explanations by some supporters that the termination of the Power Distribution Services(PDS) deal, which resulted in the withdrawal of $190 million the United States government had pledged to Ghana, shows that President Akufo-Addo is a strong leader able to stand up to America.
For him, it is surprising that no government official has been punished yet for the botched deal which he says has done enormous damage to Ghana’s image abroad.
“It remains shocking that as at yet, no official in the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia Government has been sanctioned for the colossal damage done to Ghana’s image abroad. This is what the people of Ghana want to see and not the intimidation of diplomats who speak out against corruption; neither are we falling for that laughable, but, insulting government propaganda of a macho President standing up to almighty America. How about using all that macho to stand up against corruption, Mr. President!” he said through social media yesterday.
He blamed the Akufo-Addo administration for tainting the image of Ghana which was clean under former Presidents Kufuor, Atta Mills, and Mahama, under whom Ghana enjoyed the support of the United States of America without the controversy created under President Akufo-Addo.
“We have always known that the fundamental criteria for qualifying and remaining eligible for assistance under the United States’ Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) program is: “just and democratic governance.”
How tragic that Ghana’s unblemished reputation under President John Agyekum Kufuor of the NPP; subsequently President John Evans Atta Mills and President John Dramani Mahama both of the NDC when they superintended similar Compacts will now be so terribly and embarrassingly sullied,” he argued.
The United States government following the termination of the concessionaire agreement with PDS withdrew $190 million dollars it had allocated to Ghana in support of the agreement.
According to the government of Ghana, it terminated the contract due mainly to fraud on the part of PDS for which it had been earlier suspended.
