A group affiliated to the New Patriotic Party (NPP), National Federation of NPP Youth (NFNPPY), has called on the party’s 2016 flag-bearer, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, to intervene to put on hold a fundraising event of the party scheduled for this weekend in the Ashanti region, claiming the event “is clouded with fraud.”
The Ashanti regional executives of NPP intend to raise funds to finance the party’s 2016 campaign.
The event, slated for Saturday, January 16, 2016 in Kumasi, the regional capital, is expected to attract several party members and sympathisers as tickets to the event are said to have been highly patronised.
However, the NFNPPY has raised alarm that the monies to be realised from the fundraiser may end up in individual pockets rather than go to bolster the party’s coffers.
The group alleged that proceeds from a similar fundraiser by the regional executives in the past were unaccounted for as it did not reach the intended beneficiary constituencies in the Ashanti region.
In a statement issued yesterday and signed by three executive members of the NFNPPY, Okuma Kwaku Gyan, Ahmed Frimpong and Ransford Obeng Bio, the group said “the-yet-to-be organised fundraising event at the Baba Yara Stadium is a fraud and it is being conducted without following due process or the involvement of the Regional Finance Committee, Regional Treasurer, Regional Financial Secretary and other Regional Executives of the party.”
They said the accounts to which all proceeds that would be realised from the fundraising is a new bank account opened with the name, NPP ASHANTI FUNDRAISING at Unibank, Kumasi branch, which “account is operated by Chairman Wuntumi and Dr. Richard Amoako Baah, as the sole signatories without the knowledge and involvement of the Regional Treasurer and Financial Secretary.”
“This is a brazen disregard for financial rules and regulations governing the financial operations and conduct of the party,” the statement added, claiming the Regional Finance Committee, Regional Treasurer and Regional Financial Secretary have no financial role to play in this event even though the fundraising is being organised by the Regional party.
The group stated that financial institution said to be in charge of the fundraising, Westwood Financial Service, was alleged to be owned by Dr. Richard Amoako Baah.
It further claimed the financial institution in question was reported to have duped its unsuspecting clients to the extent that the issue was currently under investigation and in court.
It said its checks with the Bank of Ghana revealed that the financial institution was not duly registered with them and had, therefore, no license to operate any kind of financial service in Ghana.
It said it was intriguing why the party’s stamp was not at the back of the tickets for the occasion but rather that of the financial institution.
“It simply means that those behind this fraudulent fundraising are pushing the money to be realised from the event beyond the reach of the party structures in order to avoid any queries or accountability.”
According to the group, “the Ashanti Regional Party somewhere last year organised a fundraising event at Georgia Hotel in Kumasi, however, till date, not even a pesewa has been accounted to the Regional Executive Committee.”
It said the Regional Party realised an amount of GHC65,000.00 from the said fundraising event, “however, in a rather bizarre circumstance, only GHC30,000,00 was at a later date declared to other regional executive members. Sadly, the constituencies whom the fundraising was raised for have not received a penny.”
“It is important for us as true patriots of the party to demand accountability from our leadership. The party is at the verge of a crucial election and therefore, its scarce resources must be put to good use for its collective good and not into the sinking pockets of some political entrepreneurs in leadership.
The constituency and polling station officers of our party who are the frontline soldiers must no longer be starved with funding that will enable them prosecute the important task of securing power in 2016. It is such actions of self-seeking political entrepreneurs that have continually stagnated us in opposition. Never again shall we members of the National Federation of NPP Youth allow our party’s resources to be misappropriated or embezzled at the detriment of the party’s goal.”
To this end, the NFNPPY called on Nana Akufo-Addo and the party hierarchies to put on hold the impending fundraising event.
It said all the funds that will be raised before the November polls should be properly accounted for and put to judicious use.
It insisted that the previous funds raised by the Ashanti Regional party at its earlier fund raising event must be retrieved and placed into the party’s original account whilst the officers found culpable for any act of financial malfeasance or irregularity must be subjected to disciplinary actions.
“The fight against corruption must begin within our party in order to build the confidence of the Ghanaian people that the NPP is not just ready to govern, but, capable of dealing decisively with corruption for the growth of the country,” it added.
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