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Former Deputy Trades Minister in the immediate past administration has responded to the Vice President’s criticisms of ex-President Mahama in the controversial GPS system.
Murtala Mohammed said he empathises with Dr Bawumia as he “has still not found the transition between a Vice President and a running mate. As a matter of fact, he is an apology of a Vice President.”
According to him, the Veep failed to provide any congent defence in his response to Mahama’s allegation of paying $2.5 million for an App that was free on Google.
“He could not even explain, what we have simply been saying is what he reintroduced, all the features he is talking about are on Google Map,” he told Gifty Andoh Appiah on The Pulse, Monday.
Launched on October 18 by President Nana Akufo-Addo, the National Digital Property Addressing System (NDPAS) is a key component of formalising the economy to improve financial and socio-economic inclusion and tax collection.
Some Ghanaians branded the app as unspectacular and ineffective. Some have wondered what problem that app exactly tries to solve. The government has been explaining the app’s usefulness.
But it has taken a political jab from the former President to invite Dr. Bawumia to come out to give Mr. Mahama a personal explanation in a 4-page statement which begins by explaining the functions, uniqueness and cost involved in the National Digital Property Addressing System.
Dr Bawumia suggested the ex-Preisdent has confused the GhanaPostGPS app as the NDPAS. He said the app is a component and not the entire project.
The Vice-President explained that the advantage of GhanaPostGPS app over Google is that google maps cannot confirm an address.
He said the app cannot be cost-free because among others, intellectual property rights are involved while there is also the cost of training for a nation-wide sensitization on the use of the app.
But Mr Mohammed said the Vice President told a palpable lie by indicating that all landed properties will be accounted for which is not the case with the App.
“He has no shame in lying through his teeth. When they launcehd this he told us that it [App] will be more sopshiscated than that of America and Europe, now we want to find out how was the contract awarded?
“Was it restrictive tendering? If it was, there are conditions that govern that, so we want to find out how it was done. This is a Vice President when he was a running mate claimed he asked 100 questions, yet when you ask him one question he is not only condescending but he simply insulting,” he said.
On the issue of prosecuting members of the erstwhile government, he said the Woyome and Abuga Pele prosecution started under former Presdient Mahama indicating how the president was committed to fighting corruption.
Related: Mahama has no clue about Digital Address System – Bawumia comes for his favourite target
Other issues
The former Deputy Trades Minister said regarding the bus branding criticisms, the Mahama administration indicated that the money has been paid but if Dr Bawumia doubts that he is now in power so he must check.
“Why is Dr Bawumia not making noise about the Circle interchange after he made a lot of noise about it? Why are they silent about the Kasoa interchange?
“If you have the evidence to prosecute the people go ahead and do so. What they are doing is prosecution in the realm of propaganda,” he said.
Referring to a public statement by President Akufo-Addo’s which suggested that people kept talking about corruption but had no evidence to back them Murtala challenged the president to “go to court with evidence and it will be supported by law.”
The former Nantong MP said every government must be interested in prosecuting wrongdoing, but their silence on the $2.5 billion bond involving the Finance Minister does not do justice to their anti corruption stance.
“Are they interested in investigating and prosecuting what happened at BOST and the Agric Minister spent over ¢16 million fighting Armyworms out of which ¢8 million was said to have been used for media sensentisation. The last time I checked there was no media ads on it.
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