Audio Attachment:Listen to Kwesi Pratt Jnr. |
Managing Editor of the Insight Newspaper, Kwesi Pratt Jnr., has sought to �defend� the alleged multimillion dollar edifice said to be the new ultra-modern headquarters of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) saying it is no secret that the NDC plans erecting a new office complex because they (NDC) had earlier organized a fundraising dinner dance towards the project.
According to him, inasmuch as every political party is a public institution and anybody can raise issues of propriety, it is no big deal if the NDC decides to put up a new national headquarters.
The Alliance for Accountable Governance (AFAG) on Monday raised alarm about the erection of a multimillion dollar edifice at Adabraka, a suburb of Accra by the NDC as the party headquarters, questioning the source of funding.
In a press statement issued by the group, AFAG expressed disquiet about the source of funding for the edifice, since some few years ago, the NDC claim they could not submit their audited accounts because of lack of adequate financial resources to hire external auditors.
AFAG said, it is therefore worrisome to see to the near completion of this modern office which the group estimates at $20 Million (300 billion old Ghana Cedis).
But commenting on the issue on Peace FM�s Kokrokoo Morning Show, Mr. Pratt pointed out that �the NDC has never hidden its desire to build a new party headquarters and even went to the extent of showing an artist impression of how the building will look like so it is no secret�AFAG is just making it look too sinister�.
He questioned how AFAG came by the 20million dollars estimate as cost of the project, and wondered if one could just arrive at the cost of the construction of a building by simply observing it.
��for AFAG to be credible (regarding cost of the building), they should have contacted an expert or a quantity surveyor on the building before coming out to make a mountain out of a molehill,� he said.
To him, since there are so many ways of securing funds for a building project, either through a loan or a mortgage, AFAG should have conducted checks about the financial arrangement of the supposed ultra-modern NDC headquarters before raising red flags.
��one cannot posit that it is improbable for the NDC to raise the amount quoted (to erect an office)�because political parties such as the NDC or NPP spend more than 20million dollars during their campaign,� he said.
The seasoned journalist rubbished claims of possible corruption on the part of government simply because the Chinese company constructing the NDC edifice is said to be involved in executing other government projects. He also rejected reports of conflict of interest, saying �government is different from party� adding that the allegations must be properly investigated before any conclusions are drawn.
��the fact that the same company is working on a government project is no guarantee or evidence of corruption not unless there is reasonable cause for suspicion,� he added.
Source: Beatrice Adepa Frempong/Peacefmonline.com
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