General News of Friday, 20 January 2017
Source: Statesman
2017-01-20
SHOCKERS FROM TRANSITION REPORT
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Information available to the Daily Statesman, as well as documents sighted by the paper, show that Ghanaians in the coming days are going to be shocked to the marrow by the magnitude of harm done to the country by the immediate past Mahama-led National Democratic Congress government, as a result of gross ineptitude and corruption.
What appears to be clear from information the paper is privy to is that the Mahama government conducted the affairs of the country without any thought about the consequence of certain questionable decisions and activities.
For instance, the new Nana Akufo-Addo administration has had to immediately find ways to pay over 450 Muslims who were denied the opportunity to be part of the 2016 pilgrimage to Mecca even though they had fully met all their financial obligations to the government.
These people, with their receipts have started chasing the new government for a refund of the various sums of monies they had to pay for the journey they never embarked upon.
The most bizarre aspect of the organization of the 2016 pilgrimage to Mecca was how the Hajj Board managed to accumulate a whopping debt of GHC23 million, covering expenditures most of which were not supported by appropriate documentation.
The debt include amounts owned to Nas Air of Saudi Arabia for the lifting of the pilgrims to and from Saudi Arabia.
The 2016 Hajj was characterized by discrimination and favoritism. Those who got stranded at the Hajj Village in Accra, and eventually were denied the opportunity to travel, even though they had met their financial obligations, accused the Hajj Board of preferential treatment in the selection of people to enplane on the last flight to Mecca.
They alleged that the Board favoured NDC functionaries whose expenses had been taken care of by the state over others who paid on their own for the trip to Mecca.
As it stands now, Ghanaians will be demanding to know from the previous government why it failed to refund the monies it collected from the over 450 Muslims who were denied the opportunity to embark on the pilgrimage. They will also want explanation for the circumstances under which the debt of GHC23 million was accumulated without proper documentation.