Minority MPs want Kan-Dapaah to answer for expenses of president
Adib Saani says the government must account to the people
A security analyst, Adib Saani, has described comments by Bryan Acheampong, the Member of Parliament for Abetifi on the President’s travels as irresponsible.
The MP, who is also the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of Parliament, had urged the National Security Minister, Albert Kan-Dapaah to keep as ‘top secret’ details about President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s foreign trips, for security reasons.
According to him, this is to prevent people from tracking the president’s movement, adding that not every information is supposed to be revealed to the public.
“I have advised the Minister for National Security to continue to keep the information on presidential travel a secret and if we may, lift it to top-secret, because it is not every information that can be divulged to the public,” he said.
But Adib Saani, said that it is irresponsible talk for anyone to think that all activities of the president should be kept secret.
Speaking in an interview with GhanaWeb, he explained that such a request should be considered accountability on the part of the presidency, to the taxpayer.
“For Bryan Acheampong to think that the best way for it is to keep secret all presidential travels, I think that it is an irresponsible statement to make and cannot be accepted by the people
“That is why it is imperative that even a president’s travel should not be a secret thing as it is fully funded by the taxpayer, unless it is on a national duty that demands some level of secrecy because it is not everything people need to know primarily because you wouldn’t want to cause fear and panic and when you wouldn’t want to expose the president either directly or indirectly because a lot of things happen behind the scenes that we are not aware of all in the interest of the security of the state,” he said.
Members of Parliament on November 23, 2021, commenced debate on the 2022 budget statement after the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, presented it to parliament, on the 17th of November 2021.
Among the policies expected to be implemented in the coming year is the Electronic levy (E-levy), which involves the introduction of taxes on electronic transactions such as mobile money (momo) transactions in the country.
Fees and charges of government services have also been increased by 15%.
Meanwhile, the minority in parliament has vowed not to approve the 2022 budget as they claim it will worsen the plight of Ghanaians.
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