Money swine!!! $20M NDC OFFICE TAKES SHAPE

By : Daniel Nonor
At the blind side of most Ghanaians consumed by the Woyome GHc51 million scandal and name calling over Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia’s expose on the economic malaise facing the nation, controversial $20 million ultra modern office complex of the ruling National Democratic Congress, located at Adabraka in Accra, is taking shape.
A visit by The Chronicle to the construction site yesterday indicated that work on the all-white glitzy edifice is in its advanced stage and barring any unforeseen hitches, the party  will make good the promise to its members by unveiling the office complex in June as scheduled..
From outside, expertly fitted glass windows cast their glittering reflections across the open skies while the all white painting distinguishes it from its environment. As someone observed the other day, ‘money swine.’
Completing the ultra- modern edifice which has been estimated to cost a whooping 20 Million United States Dollars or more. In cedi terms, it is nearing the budget of a whole ministry considering the free fall of the local currency in recent times. The complex was promised NDC party faithful at their FORNKAR GAME at Sunyani in July last year.
At the Sunyani congress, the party’s general Secretary, Mr Johnson Asiedu Nketia, the man who prefers to be called General Mosquito kept hopes of members of his party alive promising to deliver an office complex befitting the status of the NDC by June this year.
“Fellow Akatamansonians, ladies and gentlemen,” General Mosquito thundered into the mid-morning sky in Sunyani “among the many new initiatives we alluded to in Tamale was the headquarters building…We had also told you that given an opportunity, the party would want to acquire its own headquarters building. I am happy to announce to you that the party has acquired its own land and is putting up an ultramodern national party headquarters. Work is at an advanced stage and it is our expectation that the office would be ready for occupation by the middle of next year (2012).”
Surprisingly when it later came to public notice that a massive construction underway in Adabraka was the one Mr Aseidu –Nketia had referred to in his statement, the party initially vehemently denied owning the edifice.
But conflicting accounts by key members of the NDC party in their bid to offer some answers to probing questions concerning the building in questions gave a clearer indication that the party had something to hide.
A publication in the NDC newsletter, ‘NDC Frontline News’, however gave credence to a widely held view that the party indeed owned the office building.
In its July 2011, issue number 18, page 2 of the NDC frontline newsletter, edited by Mr. Akwasi Sarpong, a research officer of the ruling National Democratic Congress, and presented at the party’s July Congress, Mr Aseidu Nkekia  stated categorically that “two sites have been acquired for building a befitting national headquarters. One is at Adabraka in Accra, which is being developed into a four-storey edifice that will eventually serve regional uses.”
The publication further provided a photograph of the said edifice under construction, which looked similar to the one that was vehemently denied by top echelons of the NDC party.
The editor of the newsletter, confirmed to the Chronicle during that period that the building really belonged to the party, and that he indeed, sent his photographer to take the shots, which was used for the publication.
“If you had read it [newsletter] or listened to the General Secretary’s report, you cannot deny the story, because the General Secretary himself mentioned it,” he affirmed.
The Alliance for Accountable Governance (AFAG), however mounted pressure on the party to come clean on the issue and disclose the source of funding for the office building and further petitioned the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) to investigate the matter.
AFAG maintained that the NDC party which has over the years touted their belief in probity and accountability cannot remain dumb when Ghanaians demand of them those virtues.
But the dust seem to have settled on the matter of the building when the greatest scandal yet hit the ruling NDC with the payment of the controversial 51 million to businessman Alfred Agbesi Woyome.
But while Ghanaians grapple with the thought of how such colossal sum could be dolled out to an individual when basic necessities such as potable water and electricity remain a commodity for the privileged few, the NDC has been busy with work on a cozy office complex.

Short URL: http://thechronicle.com.gh/?p=44291