Gov�t Rejects Ken Agyapong�s Donation�In Aid Of Haiti

Government has rejected a donation made by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament for Assin North, Hon. Kennedy Agyapong, in aid of the Haitian victims, in the recent earthquake on January 12. A deputy Minister of Information, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwah, who disclosed this in an interview on Peace FM�s �Kokrokoo� and Adomfm, said the action was not deliberate, as government wanted to create a fair ground for all Ghanaians who wished to contribute. According to him, government wanted to quickly mobilize and send funds to the Haitian victims as early as possible. This, he said, has prompted the government to refrain from mobilizing funds from the general public since it would delay the donation which government wanted to make. He told PEACE FM that though the government appreciates and commends the effort by the MP, it has directed him to donate the amount personally to the World Vision International, a humanitarian organization on behalf of the United Nations, to be given to the Haitians. �We did not want to create the impression that government was discriminating by collecting donations from some persons and directing others to the World Vision International,� he said. He said, it was a laid down principle to be followed, and not meant to frighten anyone. However, he said the �government of Ghana had pledged to donate a cash amount of $3million alongside assorted items from our resources, to our brothers and sisters in Haiti, after that devastating earthquake they suffered on January 12, this year.� According to him, the President, in his solidalitary message to the President of Haiti promised him that within the shortest possible time, the country�s humble donation will be made known to him in fulfillment of that earlier pledge he made. �And there is a second component of relief items, which NADMO is putting together which will largely contain items like; Milk, Milo, Blankets, Mattresses and other things,� he stated. He said the $3milion cash donation will be sent latest by tomorrow whiles the items will be put in a container and airlifted to the Haitian people, adding that the final donation package was arrived at after the country looked at its capacity as a relatively small country, and also its rich history of contributing to global efforts. Right from the days of Ghana�s first Prime Minister, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana has not been left out when it comes to international support. The country has made humble donations to Guinea and other African countries in the Pan-African struggle, not excluding ex-president Kufuor�s relief effort to help New Orleans, when Hurricane Katherine hit them.