The Chairman of the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) Dr. Steve Manteaw has slammed the former deputy Power Minister John Jinapor for describing as false and ‘very misleading’ the committee’s report which claims that 50 percent of oil-money projects in 2016 are missing.
Dr. Manteaw Tuesday addressing a news conference in Accra said PIAC has compiled what it described as list of ‘Ghost projects’ and will soon call upon the Auditor General for further investigation.
According to him, an inspection by PIAC has revealed that oil funded projects in the three Northern Regions in 2016 are non-existent.
These projects, he said were inspected in the Upper East, Upper West and Northern regions “[and] the findings and observations were overwhelming with fifty percent of the projects being nonexistent.”
But in a reaction, Mr. Jinapor said, “nowhere can this claim be found in the 2016 Public Interest and Accountability Report which was subsequently laid before parliament.”
“It will therefore be erroneous to conclude that half of total petroleum revenues cannot be accounted for,” he added to the chagrin of Dr. Manteaw.
Reacting to the former deputy Power Minister’s dismissal of PIAC’s report on Starr Today Dr. Manteaw said: “He [Jinapor got it all wrong,” advising him to get a copy of the report “and read before he reacts to it.”
He said it was unfortunate for anyone including the former deputy Minister to suggest that making the report public was politically motivated.
“The only political interest I know PIAC serves is Ghana’s interest,” he stated disappointingly, stressing that the Committee stands by what it has put out and “we have the facts to support.”
“When they were in power, they treated us with disdain when we served them letters, and now that they are out of office they are responding to our reports,” he added.
Source: Ghana/Starrfmonline.com/103.5FM
