The Minority members of Parliament on the Foreign Affairs Committee and at plenary on the night of Tuesday, December 20th 2022, scuttled plans by the government to demolish the Accra International Conference Centre (AICC) and construct a new one costing Ghc 1.3bn.
The minority members also stopped proposals for the government to construct new Ghanaian Embassies in Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago and Mexico.
Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, revealed the news with a post on social media.
He wrote: “NDC MPs both at the Foreign Affairs Committee & at plenary last night have effectively scuttled government’s 2023 plans to demolish the Accra International Conference Centre & construct a new one at a staggering €116million (GHS1.3billion).
“We also successfully blocked proposals to open new Ghanaian embassies in Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago & Mexico. Government cannot be defaulting on its loan obligations & imposing crude haircuts, particularly on pensions for the vulnerable aged & still be pursuing fanciful projects which can be deferred to better economic times in the future. Ghana First,”
The revelation comes after a similar move blocked the government’s plans to spend Ghc 80 on the National Cathedral in 2023.
The Trade, Industry and Tourism committee of parliament also rejected the GHS80 million budget allocated to the construction of the National Cathedral.
The minority side of the committee voted against the budget in an 11:10 majority decision.
A member of the committee, Mr Yussif Sulemana told journalists on Tuesday, 20 December 2022: “I can tell you on authority that at the end of the day, we had to vote and after the vote, the minority carried the day. We have voted against it and we are saying that this is not the time for us to be spending that huge sum of money on building a cathedral”.
Source: theGhanaianVoice.Com