GII ACCUSES NDC OF VOTE BUYING

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Thursday, August 18, 2016

Anti-corruption body, Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII), has accused President John Mahama and his National Democratic Congress (NDC) government of engaging in serious vote-buying ahead of the December 7, general election.

The GII, which is the local chapter of Transparency International (TI), also said President Mahama is abusing his incumbency.

According to the organization, the distribution of outboard motors to fishermen and other assorted items to the public by President Mahama in the Western Region is worse than vote buying and said it was akin to abuse of office.

Vote Buying In Disguise

Executive Director of GII, Linda Ofori Kwafo, told Joy FM in Accra yesterday that the distribution of such items which the NDC claims is part of the government’s social intervention programmes, had actually been disguised for votes.

She said if the items were bought with state resources and they are being distributed on a campaign trail, then it amounts to abuse of incumbency. “We have two aspects of abuse of incumbency - coercive abuse and corrupt abuse - using state resources to fuel or fund such activities.

“If the president told the whole nation that he is embarking on a campaign, then how on earth is the party using state resources to buy such donations?” she queried.

NDC Counter-Claim

However, spokesperson for the NDC Campaign, Joyce Bawa Mogtari, who is a deputy Minister of Transport, parried the accusations of the GII saying that the presentation of outboard motors was part of the government’s social interventions and not intended to buy votes.

She admitted that the outboard motors were purchased with state funds and distributed by President Mahama who was performing his duties as a president and not as a candidate.

“It is something we have been engaged in for quite some time. The president has made these donations across the country specifically targeting fishing communities across Ghana,” she explained.

GII Replies

The NDC spokesperson’s explanation did not convince the GII boss who shot back saying, ““If they are receiving them at this time then it means you are using state resources to buy votes and we don’t do that.

“If you do that you don’t create a level playing field in an election and it is not going to amount to free and fair elections,” Mrs. Kwafo said.

She added that regardless of the clarification by the NDC, the president presented the items in his capacity as president, and that had the potential to confuse the electorate due to the time in which the donations were being made.

She said the president should be able to draw a line between his official duties and his duty as presidential candidate noting, “Your opponents will not be able to get the same resources.”

First Lady Factor

The opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) waded into the incumbency abuse claims and said the first lady, Lordina Mahama, was on a ‘vote buying spree’ and called for full disclosure of the source of funding of the goodies being distributed.

At a news conference in Accra yesterday, NPP acting General Secretary John Boadu said President Mahama’s wife might be spending millions of Ghanaian taxpayers’ money on gifts which he claimed she was dashing out for votes.

Mr John Boadu was not happy about the lavish gifts Mrs Mahama was giving out countrywide, including sewing machines, hairdryers, outboard motors, cloth, cash, among others.

“The wife of the President of the Republic is going around the country with a fleet of trucks-load of goodies, which she is sharing for votes. These run into millions of dollars," Mr. Boadu said.

Full Disclosure

"Ghanaians deserve to know. How much is being spent? Who is paying for it? Where is the money coming from?” he asked.

"The NPP is all for charity work, but Ghanaians also have the right to question the timing of the escalation of the first lady’s gifts-sharing expedition and the volume and costs of the gifts being shared," the acting General Secretary underscored.

According to Mr. Boadu, the party was concerned about President Mahama’s silence on the source of funding for the first lady and said it was adding to the perception that “the root and head of the corruption overwhelming the country is indeed the first family.”

NDC Precedence

Mr. Boadu reminded Ghanaians of what happened in 2012, where the NDC ‘broke the bank,’ built a record 12% deficit from which the nation still hasn't recovered, just to get Mr. Mahama elected.

“In 2012, we saw how over the last four months to the polls, some $4 billion dollars that was not budgeted for was taken out of state coffers and spent in a desperate and reckless attempt for Mahama to hold on to power. We all remember the stories of GYEEDA, SADA, Woyome, etc," he recounted.

“The president is silent on why babies are dying in our hospitals because there are no incubators or oxygen. The president did not explain why students in boarding schools are left to starve, whiles his wife, the first lady, can find money to travel across the country giving away election year goodies," Mr Boadu expressed worry.