Acting national chairman of the New Patriotic Party Freddie Blay has made a U-turn on his bus promise, saying he never said he was going to buy 275 buses for the party in each constituency in the country.
Mr. Blay last week announced he would personally procure buses for the party at each of the 275 constituencies for them to run it commercially to generate revenue to aid in the party’s operations.
“I am supplying buses to all the constituency branches of the NPP. Each constituency will receive a bus from me personally for commercial purposes just to raise money for party activities,” he told Asempa FM.
The buses, he said, would be delivered before the scheduled National Delegates Congress of the Party in Koforidua in the Eastern Region on July 2018.
His statement has since generated hue and cry among a section of Ghanaians with some anti-graft agencies who are demanding the sources of funding for the buses among other issues.
But speaking to Media General’s journalist Kwakye Afreh-Nuamah in a pre-recorded interview aired on TV3 Thursday, Mr. Blay denied stating that he would personally finance the buses.
According to him, there has been “a lot of misinformation” about what he said.
“I have not said that I Freddie Blay, I’m buying vehicles for the constituencies. I’m saying that I want to help empower the party at the constituency level,” he claimed
“Some of the challenges critically are how to finance the party, how to make sure that each constituency will have a few motor bicycles, a few or one or two pickups to campaign with, to get in touch with the base,” he added.
Mr. Blay said the party should find a way of financing the buses, indicating that they would seek a bank facility among others to fund it.
“The party can find the ways or means and therefore not Freddie Blay going to buy from my own pocket. We’re going to find a facility, find some financial institution, depending on the proposal that you give which could make it possible for you to acquire the buses so we run them commercially,” he explained.
Asked how much it will cost the party to procure the buses, he responded, “I wouldn’t tell you now. I’m saying that we are working around the facility; we’re even negotiating about it, how much it will cost”.
