Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia’s campaign team has responded to what it calls misinformation about some branded vehicles in the Vice President’s image that hit social media a few days ago.
Speaking on The Pulse on JoyNews, a member of the campaign team, Kofi Tonto, said contrary to claims that the vehicles were funded by the government, they were donated by persons who support Dr Bawumia’s ambition to become the flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
“There is misinformation that there are about 300 pickups, it is not true. There are just six pickups. Another misinformation is that we used the IMF money to buy the pickups, which is quite laughable. It can’t be possible, it is not true,” Mr Tonto said.
“The pickups were cars that were donated by people who believe in the course…As it stands now, they have given it to us as a gift to support the campaign, the vehicles are being transported to other parts of the country.”
Earlier in the week, a video of a convoy of pickup trucks displaying the picture of Vice President, Dr Bawumia went viral on social media.
The footage displays the MG T60 pickup trucks, branded with Dr Bawumia’s campaign logo, moving through the streets of the capital.
The video has resulted in a mixed bag of reactions on the internet, with some of the Vice President’s supporters expressing enthusiasm about his readiness for the flagbearership race, while others have harshly criticized him for securing the vehicles for his campaign amidst the current economic difficulties.
Following this, Ho West Member of Parliament, Emmanuel Bedzrah, called for a probe into branded vehicles bearing the image of Dr. Bawumia.
According to Mr Bedzrah, former president John Mahama’s controversial GHS40 allocated to delegates was donated openly to his party.
In a bid to promote transparency in political party financing, the member of the AU Parliamentary caucus against corruption also wants the government to initiate a political finance bill that will put a stop to dubious funding of political activities.
However, Mr Tonto explained that as a team they are also cautious about who they receive donations from explaining that a background check is done to ensure that the individuals are responsible persons in society with no incriminating past.
“The donation comes in different forms. In the instance where we have asked people to donate through for example a short code, we will not be able to ascertain every person’s background, but for people who bring quantifiable and verifiable items, we will do our due diligence. We have a duty to the people of this country to not only govern but before you even come into government you have a duty to make sure you are engaging the right people.”
Mr Tonto noted that the team adopted an optimised approach where several campaign designs have been made for different merchandise thus, when people call to support the team with merchandise they provide the corresponding design.
“So what happens is if Kofi Tonto says he wants to contribute 300 shirts of this type and quality, we will send you the design and all the other requirements associated. Then you can go to print them and donate them, that was precisely what transpired,” he noted.
He stated that “a few individuals who are volunteers and believe in the course, reached out and said they want to support the campaign with some vehicles. They told us what vehicles, we gave them the design and they went off to do their design that is it, that is simply what transpired.”
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