A Financial Analyst, Sydney Casely-Hayford has warned government not to make any attempt to touch the Ghana Heritage Fund because it is incapable of effectively managing the money.
He also urged the National Democratic Congress’ (NDC) General Secretary, Johnson Asiedu Nketia, to stop dreaming about gaining access to the Heritage Fund.
“Johnson Asiedu Nketia should stop dreaming,” he said.
The Heritage Fund was set up by Parliament under the Petroleum Management Revenue Act 2010, to provide an endowment to support development for future generations when petroleum reserves have been depleted.
Mr. Nketia on Friday proposed that government should consider using the Ghana Heritage Fund to solve the economic challenges and also to undertake developmental projects for the benefits of the future generation.
His suggestion was however dismissed by a former Deputy Finance Minister under the Kufuor administration, Professor Gyan Baffour, who stated that the amount in the fund will not be enough to save the nation’s economy.
Mr. Casely-Hayford on Citi FM’s The Big Issue insisted, the basis on which the fund was created should be allowed to stand and materialize.
“The Heritage Fund belongs to the unborn children of the people of Ghana. It’s the future generation’s money and those of us who are here today should forget about touching it…let’s leave it alone, let it sit there.”
He also mentioned he does not trust the NDC government to effectively manage the money from the Fund because so far, “this has been the worst managed economy in the whole of this country.”
“There is no way that the people of Ghana are going to relinquish the Heritage Fund to be spent by the NDC government; to be used to provide modules under GYEEDA[Ghana Youth Employment and Entrepreneurial Development Agency], SADA [Savannah Accelerated Development Authority] and all other things we don’t have a clue where the money went,” he explained.
The Financial Analyst opined that things are getting “a little ridiculous…and for the life of me, I do not understand why Mr. Asiedu Nketia should even think that we will even attempt to relinquish the Heritage Fund for this NDC government to use.”
A leading member of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), Edward Kareweh on his part said, it is unwise to allow the nation’s resources “to be mismanaged today just as some of them were mismanaged in the past to the disadvantage of the future.”
He described the proposal by Mr. Nketia as “unacceptable” and advised that the Heritage Fund should be kept and preserved while government considers other solutions to the problem.
By: Efua Idan Osam/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @osamidan