Minister for Information Kojo Oppong Nkrumah who is mired in a Covid-19 Scandal has said the amount of money flagged by Auditors is a “small compensation” compared to the huge risk his outfit faced in the pandemic.
The Auditor General’s Report said the Oppong Nkrumah—led ministry allegedly squandered some Ghc151,500 as Covid allowances.
The Auditor General believes these monies need to be refunded by the Management and staff of the Information Ministry who were beneficiaries.
But Oppong Nkrumah’s ministry claims the amount is only a “small compensation”.
“It would also be recalled that during the lockdown period, most staff of MDAS were made to sit at home as a way of curbing the spread of the disease whilst staff of the Ministry of Information were required to come to work by virtue of the special assignment given to the ministry by the President when he directed that the Ministry of Information should be the lead in risk communication and community engagement.
“Additionally, the ministry set up a 24-hour information desk at the digital centre, close to the Kwame Nkrumah Circle in Accra where the general public was given an opportunity to call in and report COVID- 19 related cases and also seek information in respect of the prevention and management of COVID-19 cases,” the memo continued.
“The centre also served as a link between critically ill COVID-19 patients and the ambulance service for quick pick-ups. Management needed to whip up the interest of the desk officers and the supervisors to ensure that the centre continues to provide services to the public 24 hours of the day,” the memo concluded.