Alex Segbefia asks: Where is the National Cathedral in the Performance Tracker?
Alexander Percival Segbefia, a stalwart of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has questioned the government on the whereabouts of the National Cathedral it its recently launched Performance Tracker.
In his observation of some discrepancies in the Tracker, he concluded that it lacked accuracy and transparency.
The former Health Minister, despite acknowledging the importance of accountability in governance, emphasised the necessity for accuracy in such documents.
“… Even on infrastructure, the biggest omission is the National Cathedral. Where is it? Government money has been invested into the national cathedral, so why is it not on the performance tracker?” he quizzed Monday, April 16, 2024 on Accra-based JoyNews.
According to Mr. Segbefia, many of the items listed on the Tracker are too petty to be there, whilst others are projects established by NGOs and other alumni without costing the government a dime.
“There are things there that should never have been there because they are non-existent. And there is the issue of projects that were not done by the government. They were done by NGOs, private companies, and alumni but they are in the performance tracker even though it didn’t cost the government a dime.
“Then we have things the NPP sees as commendable but we think are just too petty. So if you give out jerseys or build a speed ramp, we don’t expect to see this. So when you look at them, you realise that the tracker sways towards more politics than governance,” he said on Monday.
To arrive at a holistic understanding of the real performance of the economy, Alex Segbefia noted that key indicators such as the Press Freedom Index and the Corruption Perceptions Index should have been included.
“It didn’t capture the Corruption Index even though it was a campaign tool the NPP used heavily when they were in opposition to get into power. If you are tracking, track everything that is happening in the country holistically. If it is just on infrastructure issues then let us know,” he said.
Responding to the Minister, a Presidential Staffer, Dennis Miracles Aboagye admitted the flaws of the tracker.
He indicated that it is a work in progress and all feedback is welcomed and will be addressed accordingly.
“This is a tracker, which means it is a living document, it is updated by the minute, hour, and day. There is absolutely nothing wrong if he thinks there is something that should be in the tracker that isn’t, it can be considered.
“We shouldn’t make it look like it is a big deal if someone identifies that the cathedral or something is not on the tracker. It can be worked on,” he stated.
