A former Health Minister, Alex Segbefia, has questioned government over the striking absence of the National Cathedral in the recently unveiled performance tracker.
Contributing to the topic on JoyNews’ PM Express, Mr Segbefia pointed out significant discrepancies and omissions in the document, highlighting what he deemed as a lack of accuracy and transparency.
While acknowledging the importance of accountability in governance, Mr Segbefia 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.
The former Minister stressed that the performance tracker exhibited inconsistencies, suggesting a lack of thoroughness in its compilation.
Nonetheless, he attributed these discrepancies to laziness.
“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.
He criticised its failure to capture key indicators such as the Press Freedom Index and the Corruption Index, which he deemed essential for a holistic understanding of the country’s performance.
“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.