Minority Kicks Against Gh¢1.5 Billion Budgetary Allocation to Ministry of Special Devt Initiatives

By Julius Yao Petetsi

THE Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, has served notice that his side of the House would not be part of the approval of the GH¢1.5 billion budgetary allocations to the Ministry of Special Development Initiatives.

According to the Tamale South lawmaker, the Ministry was in serious administrative conflict with statutorily acknowledged development agencies and that was affecting development at the local level.

"I am serving a strong notice that we on this (Minority) side will not support any budgetary allocation or appropriation to that ministry.

"We will not because the creation of that ministry pursuant to the poverty reduction policies in the NPP manifesto is breeding conflict with the established development authorities of the President like the Northern, Middle Belt and Coastal Development Authorities and or the Zongo Development."

Mr Iddrisu gave this indication in Parliament yesterday when he took his turn to debate the 2019 budget statement and fiscal policy of the government.

The Special Development Ministry was one of 10 ministries created by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to lead the execution of his flagship programmes through the Infrastructure for Poverty Eradication Programme (IPEP).

The Ministry has since come under scrutiny by Civil Society Group, Imani Ghana and some development experts who hold the view that the mandate of the Ministry could have been executed by the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies and called for it to be scrapped.

Stressing that they were not against the development of the country, Mr Iddrisu said the Ministry has been a failure since its creation because the US$1 million a year pledged every constituency had not been released two years on.

"The promised US$1 million per constituency must not be expended by a Minister sitting at the Flagstaff House in the name of Special Development Initiatives," Mr Iddrisu stated.

This, he said, must not continue and "we think that this conflict must be resolved and the President must at best recycle that portfolio and add it to the Ministry of Monitoring and Evaluation.

"You can use your numbers to do so but we won't be part of it," Mr Iddrisu emphasised.

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