A youth activist, Aaron Asiedu-Antwi, has raised concerns over reports of a proposed turkey berries production project, questioning the rationale behind committing millions of cedis to the initiative.
Speaking on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen, he argued that allocating about GH¢9 million to such a programme is questionable and called for clarity on whether due processes were followed.
He noted that under procurement regulations, projects of that nature require commitment authorisation from the Ministry of Finance, adding that the figures associated with the proposal raise concerns.
“The CEO shouldn’t set his own questions for us and then answer them. My concern is regarding the commitment authorisation outlined in the appendix, which specifies what they wanted to do. There was an amendment to the procurement Act that requires us to go to the Ministry of Finance for commitment authorisation.
“When I checked on the turkey berries, the amount was $9 million, which raises concerns. If the CEO claims it wasn’t approved, that’s fair enough, but it was something that was in the pipeline. Allocating $9 million is questionable,” he said.
However, the Youth Employment Agency has dismissed the claims, insisting no such project exists.
Chief Executive Officer, Malik Basintale, said although a proposal was presented to train youth to process turkey berries into various products, it was never approved or implemented, and no funds were disbursed.
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