The Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII) has painted the distribution of outboard motors to fishermen in the Western Region by the flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), President John Mahama, as worse than vote buying.

Executive Director of GII, Linda Ofori Kwarfo said the distribution of the outboard motors is “more than vote buying” in an interview with Joy FM Wednesday.

“We have two aspects of abuse of incumbency; coercive abuse and corrupt abuse and corrupt abuse, is using state resources to fuel or fund such activities, she explained.

The spokesperson for the NDC campaign team,Joyce Bawa Mogtari, denied the charge, saying the move is part of government intervention.

“It is something we have been engaged in for quite some time. The president has made these donations across the country specifically targeting fishing communities across Ghana,” she said.

However, Mrs Kwafo responded saying the NDC campaign team made it known the president was embarking on a campaign to renew his mandate.

She wondered why the party was using state resources to purchase gifts Mrs Mogtari refers to as “donations.”

“If the president told the whole nation that he is embarking on a campaign, then how on earth is the party using state resources to buy such gifts which the woman referred to as donations,” she said.

She stressed that the president should be able to draw a line between his duties as president and presidential candidate.

The issue of vote buying sprung up after pictures popped up on social media showing president Mahama distributing outboard motors to some fishermen in the Western Region.