A member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Anthony Nukpenu, has urged the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to allow the Auditor-General to scrutinise the procurement process used in the evacuation of Ghanaians from South Africa.
His comments follow demands from the NPP Minority for detailed information on the procurement process for the evacuation exercise.
Speaking on Adom TV Badwam, Mr Nukpenu questioned why the NPP was demanding detailed procurement information when, according to him, similar concerns arose during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Are they the ones talking now? When COVID came, were they able to account? Was COVID not an emergency situation? So today, they are talking about detailed procurement. They should go and give us the detailed COVID procurement first,” he stated.
He accused the NPP of applying different standards to procurement undertaken during emergency situations.
“The NPP should stop being hypocritical in this country. We are in government, and we are accountable to the people. The Auditor-General will audit the books in relation to what the Foreign Affairs Ministry did. Nothing will be shielded, so they should hold on,” he fumed.
Mr Nukpenu also cited the procurement of Sputnik V vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic, questioning the explanations given by the then Health Minister.
“Let the Auditor-General go through and come out with a report. But the details of what we were doing in this country when you procured Sputnik V vaccines, what did you tell us? Your Health Minister went to the committee and said he wasn’t thinking right at that time.”
He argued that while emergency situations may require authorities to act swiftly, the decisions and transactions involved must still be properly documented and independently verified.
“So when an emergency situation comes and people implement, the details are there. But it is the Auditor-General who can authenticate those details.”
Mr. Nukpenu, therefore, appealed to the NPP Minority to wait for the Auditor-General’s assessment before drawing conclusions about the procurement process.
“I will urge them to keep calm. The Auditor-General will go through it, and at the end of the day, we will all know what went here and there.”
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