<<Print>>

Former Chief Executive Officer of the Youth Employment Agency (YEA), Vincent Kuabgenu has threatened to petition President John Dramani Mahama on series of fabricated stories leveled against him by the Employment Minister, Haruna Iddrisu if he does not back his claims with evidence.

Haruna Iddrisu stated that it was through his policy intervention that physically challenged persons were employed.

He said the Employment Minister had never made any policy directive for the engagement of any 14 disabled persons to the Board of YEA when he was Chief Executive, insisting, "that is the incredible fabrication of a minister who had taken an oath."

Apart from accusing Mr Kuagbenu of denying 14 physically challenged persons an opportunity to be employed at YEA, Haruna Iddrisu also accused the sacked YEA boss of leaking official documents to Manasseh.

In an interview with JOY FM news, he said it is a disgrace and an incredible fabrication on the side of a Minister who has sworn a public oath, to use issues of disability to score cheap political points.

He said he may be forced to petition the president over the allegations made by Haruna Iddrisu adding, he had throughout his tenure worked with people with disabilities.

He expressed his grievances of petitioning the President; “I have thrown a challenge to the Minister of Employment to provide evidence of that policy he claims directed to my office to work on before I petition the President on this because it touches on his integrity.”

Haruna Iddrisu made allegations against the former Chief Executive on JOY FM news saying, the former Chief Executive of the Youth Employment Agency has fascinated an official state document belonging to the agency, which gave him the go ahead to use GHc900,000.00 for a single foreign trip.

Information from leaked documents suggests that the Ministry of Employment and Labour relations had borrowed over GHc1 million cedis from the YEA on travels for an international conference organized by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in Geneva, Switzerland.

This was after earlier reports which indicated that the Minister had allegedly requested an amount of GH₵129,089 from the YEA on 17th March 2015 and GH₵900, 7545.68 on 12 May 2015 for travels to ILO meetings in Geneva, Switzerland.

In response, the Ministry has clarified that the Two Hundred and thirty Thousand nine hundred and sixty US Dollars, forty three cents ($230,960.43) borrowed from YEA had Fifty Percent of it used for the payment of subscription arrears owed ILO, amounting to One Hundred and Forty Four thousand and Fifty Swiss Francs, Fifty Cents (SFR 144,052.50) and that of the African Regional Labour Administration Centre (ARLAC) which amounted to Sixty nine thousand seven hundred and six US Dollars ($69,706). 

This the Ministry said is pending reimbursement by the Ministry of Finance, which was outstanding and in arrears.

The Ministry also clarified that the rest of the amount was spent to cover travel expenses of Sixteen (16) members of the Ghanaian delegation comprising staff of the Ministry, Agencies of the Ministry, some members of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Employment and other Social partners (Tripartite) per ILO requirements.