National Democratic Congress (NDC) member Anthony Nukpenu has accused the New Patriotic Party (NPP) of hypocrisy over its demand for detailed information on the procurement process for the GH¢49.7 million evacuation of Ghanaians from South Africa.

Mr Nukpenu said the NPP should allow the Auditor-General to scrutinise the procurement process and establish whether the transactions complied with the relevant rules.

His comments follow demands from the NPP Minority for a detailed breakdown of the procurement arrangements for the evacuation exercise.

Speaking on Adom TV’s Badwam, Mr Nukpenu questioned the NPP’s insistence on detailed procurement information, arguing that similar concerns arose during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Are they the ones talking now? When COVID came, were they able to account? Was COVID not an emergency situation? So today, they are talking about detailed procurement. They should go and give us the detailed COVID procurement first,” he said.

He accused the NPP of applying different standards to government procurement undertaken during emergencies.

“The NPP should stop being hypocritical in this country. We are in government, and we are accountable to the people. The Auditor-General will audit the books in relation to what the Foreign Affairs Ministry did. Nothing will be shielded, so they should hold on,” he said.

Nukpenu cites Sputnik V procurement

Mr Nukpenu also cited the procurement of Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccines, questioning explanations he attributed to the then Health Minister over the transaction.

“Let the Auditor-General go through and come out with a report. But the details of what we were doing in this country when you procured Sputnik V vaccines, what did you tell us? Your Health Minister went to the committee and said he wasn’t thinking right at that time.”

He maintained that although emergencies may require authorities to act swiftly, the decisions and transactions involved must still be properly documented and subjected to independent scrutiny.

“So when an emergency situation comes and people implement, the details are there. But it is the Auditor-General who can authenticate those details.”

‘Auditor-General will establish the facts’

Mr Nukpenu urged the NPP to wait for the outcome of the audit rather than draw conclusions about the evacuation expenditure.

“I will urge them [NPP] to keep calm. The Auditor-General will go through it, and at the end of the day, we will all know what went here and there,” he added.

The NPP Minority has been demanding greater transparency over the GH¢49.7 million cost of evacuating Ghanaians from South Africa following renewed xenophobic attacks targeting African migrants.

The Minority has called for details of the procurement process and expenditure to be made public.