AFAG DARES GOV’T

Alliance for Accountable Governance (AFAG), a pressure group, has called on government to immediately institute investigations into the activities of the Forestry Commission (FC) to salvage it from complete collapse.

The group, in a press statement issued in Accra on Tuesday, accused the Commission of “sponsoring massive financial loss to the state” and insisted that it would only take investigations to unravel the financial malfeasance at the Commission.

“The Alliance for Accountable Governance (AFAG) wishes to bring to the fore, conscious efforts, taken by the Forestry Commission and three other companies, to deprive the state of 8 million dollars invested in a mass afforestation exercise commissioned by His Excellency John Evans Atta-Mills on 24th July, 2009 at Yefri in the Kintampo South District of the Brong-Ahafo region,” the statement said.According to the statement, the FC, per its constitutional mandate (Act 269), is tasked with the oversight responsibilities of seeing to the successful implementation of the “Green Ghana project” which was launched by the government after the Global conference in Copenhagen on Global warming, but has woefully failed to supervise the successful implementation of the project. AFAG said the procurement procedure of the implementation of the project has been shrouded in secrecy with several officials of the Commission taking advantage to enrich themselves.

“Quite strangely the FC and its board of directors have totally disregarded the laid-down rules of procurement under sole sourcing, and in a bizarre twist, handed a juicy contract worth GH¢3, 000,000 cedis plus (Thirty Billion Old Ghana Cedis) to a two-month old company with no previous industry experience,” the group alleged.The situation, according to AFAG, has led to the incapacitation of the Forestry Services Division (FSD) of the FC, to execute the aforementioned project as scheduled.

The statement added: “The actions of the FC have led to an unprecedented looting and unbridled corruption at the Commission.” Continuing, the group described the development as a “major setback” to the fight against corruption promised by the current government.
Against that background AFAG demanded for the immediate resignation of the board chairman of the Commission.
“AFAG will use every legitimate means to fight these cancerous cells in our state institutions and will make no distinction between the conspirators and those who support them,” the statement averred.