Gov’t Didn’t Pay for Presidential Diaries – Presidency

The Director of Communications at the Presidency, Eugene Arhin has said that the government did not spend state funds on printing 2017 and 2018 diaries.

According to him, the cost was borne by private companies that sourced funds to finance the printing.

“I can state on authority that not even a pesewa of state resources went into the production of presidential diaries in 2017 and in 2018. I’m stating that emphatically. The printing of the diaries was undertaken by private companies who went around sourcing funds from corporate institutions across the length and breadth of the country and they undertook that printing themselves,” Eugene Arhin said on Eyewitness News on Friday.

Eugene Arhin responded to the demands by a former Presidential staffer and Member of Parliament for Builsa South, Dr Clement Apaak that the government must disclose the cost of printing the diaries.

Dr Apaak in an interview with Citi News suggested that the printing of the diaries could be an avenue to steal state money hence the need for the government to give full disclosure on its expenses with regards to the publication.

“When we were in power, and we produced presidential diaries, the then NPP and Akuffo Addo had issues with that. Akuffo Addo alleged that we had spent 10 million dollars to produce presidential diaries and since he has taken over the reins of this country, this is the second one they are producing. They produced one for 2017 and 2018.

“So the question is how much did it cost them 10 million to produce? Which copies were produced? Was there competitive tendering and if yes how many copies were produced? These are simple questions I want to ask the presidency because it is not proper to accuse your predecessors of an offence you could not justify and then you go on and also produce a diary, so we want him to come clear and let the people of Ghana know how much it cost to produce 2017 and 2018 diaries,” he said.

But Eugene Arhin noted that the state did not use its resources in the project. He said although he could not state how the private companies who sourced funding to print the stationery could recoup their investment, he believed that advertisement of their companies in the diaries gave them enough mileage for their contribution.