The President of the New Ghana Social Justice Forum (NGSJF), Mr. Yahaya Alhassan, has appealed to the International Movement Fund (IMF) to end Ex-gratia.
In a press release, Mr Alhassan said, as Ghana heads to IMF, the organization, NGSJF, stand on behalf of the voiceless populace to implore IMF to end the awarded lump sum as Ex-gratia payment for Parliamentarians, Ministers of state, and others every four years in Ghana.
He said, ‘’It’s an elite payment, backed and protected by the elite’s system making it difficult for the ordinary to question this compromised fraud, extortion, loot and share by the leaders with exception of Togbe Afede XIV who deemed it inappropriate by returning his GH¢365.392.6 ex-gratia to state coffers’’.
He added that the GH¢365.392, that was given to Togbe Afedo XIV, can save 5000 street girls on the streets.
According to Mr. Alhassan, Ghana is corrupt, which is more compounded by the visible and vicious culture of highest bidder bribed by MPs to party executives before getting the nod to represent a political party enhanced corruption. Ex-gratia, he said, ‘’emboldens and funds the on-going bribery scandal by parliamentarians’’.
The release said, his organization is encouraged to petition IMF, because, IMF recognizes the interest of laypeople or small organization like the new Ghana , to make a petition to shape policies for equitable distribution of resources.
The Founder of the NGSJF, Mr Alhassan, said, his organization would like IMF to precondition Ghana to divert the National cathedral project to construct a vocational and housing unit to accommodate and provide training for the needy in our society.
‘’There are countless lives found in our big cities and God/Allah would prefer shelter for these homeless nursing mothers, girls, children and orphans than a cathedral’’, he added.
He noted that the appeal is in congruence with the existential NPP promised manifesto to provide accommodation for kayayei girls at Tudu, Agbogloshie ,Tema Station etc locations , which to him, are very close to the cathedral project .
‘’The cathedral cost, totaling about 350million USD can build and transform lives, solve the catastrophic kayayei phenomenon, poor drinking water, school kids under trees, poor roads, underpaid lecturers and other pressing issues at a time Ghanaians are squeezed and forced to pay taxes through e-levy’.
‘’The public shall be grateful should the IMF heed to our plea and act accordingly’’, he stressed.
Source: Newsghana.com.gh