The controversy surrounding the alleged $20 million National Democratic Congress (NDC) headquarters building seems to be lingering on as the Managing Editor of the New Crusading Guide, Kweku Baako Jnr., has raised further concerns on the matter.
Kweku Baako says the information that the party is building a headquarters that will be ready for occupation next year, lends credence to the allegation.
Speaking on Joy FM's current affairs programme Newsfile on Saturday, Mr. Baako said, during the July Congress of the NDC to elect a flagbearer, “Asiedu Nketia indicated that their party headquarters was at an advanced stage of construction and that it will be ready for occupation late next year.”
Kweku Baako stated that per the revelation of Asiedu Nketia, the party must have a building that is nearing completion even though he is aware that the said $20 million building located in Adabraka does not belong to the party.
To him, unless the General Secretary was deceiving congress, the party should be able to show evidence of the building that is at an 'advanced stage'.
He said preliminary checks, nonetheless, reveal that “a certain broadcasting enterprise, rightly perceived to be pro-NDC might have something to do with that outfit and perhaps it appears that somewhere along the line there was an intention to give the party some section of that edifice.”
He said the decision to give part of the building to the NDC may not happen now because of the ambiguous responses from various party members.
“I see absolutely nothing wrong with a legally registered political party mobilizing resources and funds to put up an office or offices, on the national level, on the regional level and the district level. It is important that we have effective administrations as well as organizations,” adding “on principle, what is the big deal?”
He said there is a history behind the suspicion of political party property ownership in the country right from the time when the CPP built the Information Ministry as its party office.
Kweku Baako however said he suspects the quest to ensure probity and accountability drove the AFAG to raise such concerns as this involved a ruling party, which has been in power for just a little of two years.
He said the NDC ironically bellows the principle of probity and accountability and that if people are asking such questions about an alleged property, “I think it is fair deal.”
Blaming the NDC for failing to handle the issue with finesse, he said “what we needed were responsible responses, accurate [responses] from the NDC… They ought to have given us accurate, factual, responsible, unambiguous responses [and] the matter would have died.”
But a deputy General Secretary of the NDC, Kofi Adams, who was also a panelist on the programme, said members of AFAG must of necessity prove their allegation and stop the "mediocrity", stressing that “there is no such thing that the NDC owns a building like that.”
He blamed the party's communication structure for the differences in the response of party members.
“People wake up in the morning. Something they don't know of, they don't know executive position; they have not sat for any discussions. [Journalists] call them - 'Yes I want to talk' – because they think that by talking on radio it makes them popular,” he lamented.
Touching on the speech by Asiedu Nketia on the said building, Kofi Adams said, his boss's report to Congress in July was about the acquisition of land for the construction of the party headquarters:
“We have a building project committee headed by one of our lawyers. I don't know the stage of development as far as the Oyibi parcel of land and facility is concerned.”
He said the party raised funds nationally for the building project and at the appropriate time the committee in charge of the project will make their report available to the party.
He urged civil society groups to rather encourage the political parties to submit their audited accounts regularly to the Electoral Commission “ so that through [this] we can track and know what is going on.”
