Thursday, 28 March

No-bed syndrome killing patients yet you say, 'OK, I'm aware but I'm building a cathedral for God' – KKD

General News
Media and fashion star Kwasi Kyei Darkwa, alias His Royal Blackness

Kwasi Kyei Darkwa has wondered why President Nana Akufo-Addo is building a cathedral for God to redeem a personal pledge when patients are dying because there are no beds in hospitals.

Expressing his frustration on the AM Show hosted by Benjamin Akakpo, the cultural icon said leaders are not elected into office to do what they want but to serve.

"These people are elected public servants. We have given them all the perks so they will live well with their families so they will do right by the people; so they can speed through traffic so they would be safe and nobody can attack them; so they would have a policeman looking after them so nobody can attack them; pay them well so they can also pay their domestics well, and how do they serve us?" he noted.

He said: "When people's fathers go to the hospital and they say, 'There's no bed', and they die, and you [the president] say, 'OK, I'm aware of that but I'm building a cathedral because I made a promise to my God. So, what next?"

"Somebody else comes and says, 'I worship stones; I'm going to Afadjato and commission that whole area and make it a stone grove and also develop it into something with whatever money'. No, we don't bring you into power to come and do what you want," he noted.

In his view, some leaders package their personal and selfish desires as national interests just to justify such pursuit.

'... People will tell you that this is the public interest when, in actual fact, they are only doing their selfish desires', he quoted.

Meanwhile, anti-cathedral crusader Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has described as "outrageous" the Secretariat's request for US$100 million to import steel to continue the construction of the edifice.

According to him, previous public funds unconstitutionally released for the project have not been accounted for, thus, he wonders what would become of the latest request.

In an exposè, the opposition MP said, "Ghanaians will be shocked to discover this morning that out of the US$58.14 million of public funds unconstitutionally withdrawn without parliamentary approval for Akufo-Addo’s cathedral project, only a fraction of US$22.07 million went to the contractors, RIBADE JV for actual construction."

"This really means that out of the US$58.14 million of taxpayer funds wrongfully released for Akufo-Addo’s cathedral, more than US$36 million was expended on other items other than their core function of construction," he alleged.

He added: "Instead of the outrageous demand for US$100million to import steel, the Board of Trustees should be explaining to Ghanaians why only a measly 37.9% of taxpayer funds went into actual construction much against industry best practice; they should be rendering full account of how all the categories of funds raised locally and internationally have been used; and how they still managed to create the world’s most expensive pit."

Source: classfmonline.com