Thursday, January 27, 2011

DEMONSTRATORS CALL FOR PROBE INTO TOR DEBT RECOVERY FUND (SPREAD, JAN 27, 2011)

About 1,500 people took to the streets of Kumasi yesterday in a demonstration to back their demand for investigations into how the TOR Debt Recovery Fund was utilised under the erstwhile NPP government.
Organised by the Movement for Better Ghana Agenda in Kumasi, the demonstration, dubbed “Hwe hwe mu”, to wit, “Investigate it”, was also used to show support for the government for the able manner it has handled the affairs of the nation.
At about 6.30 a.m., busloads of people, mostly the youth, had started arriving at the Centre for National Culture where the event took off.
The demonstrators began to move out to the streets at about 9 a.m., accompanied by brass band music.
They went through Pampaso, the Central Police Station, the Prempeh II Street, the Asafo Interchange and ended at the Jubilee Park where the leaders addressed the gathering.
Wearing red armbands, the demonstrators carried placards, some of which read, “TOR cash for cocaine”, “Prez, hwe hwe mu yie”, “AFAG is bogus”, “Petrol price — who cause am?” and “Prez, apply the law”.
The organisers said the demonstration was not to counter the AFAG demonstration in Accra but show to the good people of the country the hypocrisy of the AFAG members.
About 20 policemen were detailed to provide security for the demonstrators and everything went on peacefully.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic, the Communications Director of the Movement for Better Ghana, Mr Francis Dodovi, described the NPP government as the worst government Ghana had ever had.
“If any demonstration should go on against high fuel prices today, it should rather be against the NPP which mismanaged the economy and the funds meant to energise the oil industry,” he said.
He attributed the challenges in the energy sector today to the corrupt practices that engulfed the sector during the NPP administration.
He, therefore, appealed to the government to do everything possible to bring all those who mismanaged funds from the TOR Recovery Levy to book.
Mr Dodovi stated that there was every indication of corruption in the manner in which the money transferred from the Petroleum Debt Recovery Account to the Ministry of Information was used.

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