Akufo Addo Blows GHC 70 million on Foreign Trips in 9 Months

Whatsup News has intercepted details of the Chief of Staff’s expenditure returns presented to Parliament showing that President Akufo Addo has splashed a whopping GHC 70 million on travel expenses alone, between January and September 2019.

In the breakdown of the expenses, the Presidency spent GHC 63 million on foreign travels, while it blew GHC 6 million on hotels and GHC 2 million on refreshments within nine months this year.

In total, the Chief of Staff Frema Opare outlined a total of GHC 169 million spent on administration at the Presidency from January to September 2019.

The amount, according to the Minority spokesperson on finance in Parliament, Cassiel Ato Forson reveals a wasteful lifestyle at the Presidency which has promised to be prudent in its spendings.

The lawmaker who was today, December 19, 2019, commenting on the revealing expenditure said the August house will force the Chief of Staff to properly breakdown what exact items went into the ballooned expenditure.

The amount has consequently drawn angst from the Minority in Parliament who wants the Chief of Staff to provide a detailed breakdown of how she expended the amounts approved by Parliament in 2019 for the purpose.

Mr Forson told Accra based Class 91.3FM that: “Within the last nine months, it will surprise you to note that his Excellency the President has spent almost GHS63 million on foreign travels”.

“It will surprise you to know that apart from the foreign travel cost, for domestic or local accommodation, he spent GHS5.8 million in accommodation. Which is in excess of $1 million, ” he said.

The Akufo Addo Administration has been called out for living beyond its means with an unprecedented number of ministers and presidential staffers, despite the fact that it claimed it was going to manage a prudent government.