Kanawu Radio number 1 news portal
Spokesperson for Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia says a list suggesting that Ghana sent the biggest delegation to the 2017 United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) conference in Geneva is not accurate.
Dr Gideon Boako is quoted as saying that the UN agency has even admitted it made an error in the list published on its website.
“UNCTAD have admitted that they made an error by adding persons based permanently in Geneva who did not travel with the Vice President…Our Vice President was invited as the special guest for the UNCTAD,” he said.
“Prof Amoako Tuffuor and I were in Zurich and not Geneva on a separate mission, something to do with the IMF so we were not officially with the delegation. An official photographer, official cameraman and official security were necessary for the Vice President’s trip,” he said in an interview with Accra-based Citi FM, Thursday.
Background
The link to the list surfaced on social media this week and it shows the Vice President, Dr Bawumia, led a 20member delegation to the 2017 United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
Many, especially persons from the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), have condemned the government for sending a bloated number to a delegation that many countries sent up to five delegates.
Government sources say Dr Bawumia sent 16 delegates and not 21, but that has also been criticised as excessive and a waste of scarce tax funds.
When Myjoyonline.com accessed the UNCTAD website earlier today, we found the names below listed as the delegation Ghana brought to the conference.
UNCTAD-2017-delegation
However, a few hours later the same link brought up ‘404 – Page not Found’ notice.
UNCTAD, a UN agency, supports developing countries to access the benefits of a globalised economy more fairly and effectively.
The agency also equips developing countries to deal with the potential drawbacks of greater economic integration by providing analysis, facilitating consensus-building, and offering technical assistance.
UNCTAD hopes that its intervention helps developing countries to use trade, investment, finance, and technology as vehicles for inclusive and sustainable development.
