Western Regional Minister and Member of Parliament (MP) for Takoradi, Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah, has taken a swipe at his fellow lawmaker and MP for Assin Central Kennedy Agyapong.
The minister accuses Agyapong, who is in the New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearership race of acting greedy and unfairly attacking government and a fellow contender in the NPP race, Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia.
Speaking in an interview on Takoradi-based Radio 360 on Monday (July 17), the minister shielded Bawumia from a scathing attack by Ken Agyapong who has recently blamed Bawumia for Ghana’s economic woes.
Darko-Mensah insisted that the economic slump was brought about by COVID and that fact has been established by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) which is currently giving Ghana a bailout.
“..we were all in the country when COVID broke. Were you the one who manufactured COVID? Even the IMF who are giving us a bailout said we (NPP) did not create the problem, as our economic challenges are as a result of COVID,” he stressed.
He also identified take-or-pay energy-sector contracts signed by the former government as one of the major factors for the econimic malaise, asking: “what has that got to do with either Dr Bawumia or myself or Ken Ofori-Atta taking us to the IMF?”.
On Kennedy Agyapong, he stated that the MP has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of government contracts over the years and that he might as well return those contracts and reject any new ones because of the economic squeeze.
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“Ghana is a member of the IMF and they have given us some assistance during COVID. Since Ghana went to the IMF the cedi is stabilising …what intrigues me however is, between you and I, we all know one of the biggest government contractors is the man you are talking about (Kennedy Agyapong).
“When things were bad and he was benefitting, that was right, but now that he wants to be a presidential candidate, he has forgotten about all those benefits he derived and wants us to forget about all that?
“Then he should reverse (sic) all those contracts he earned and hand it to others and say because Ghana is now back to the IMF, I will not take any government contract again. If he continues like that then technically you want to act like a greedy person who wants to benefit both ways.
“If he wants to find someone to blame for Ghana going to IMF, why won’t he also along the lines of equity say that he will not take any of the contracts he is taking during this IMF period? He is just misleading people and it needs to be straightened,” the minister added.