Kwasi Pratt Junior. The Managing Editor of the Insight?newspaper,who went on countless demonstrations in the past against public officials for misusing public funds, has now? has seen the light.
Like a prostitute (Ashawo!) he is now expressing disgust at what he sees to be a desperate and meaningless attempt by the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) to politicize the private transactions of a businessman and to also mudsling President John Dramani Mahama.
The NPP, on Tuesday, launched a full-frontal assault on the Mahama-led NDC government, calling on the electorate not to renew the NDCs mandate saying a vote for the current administration is “a vote for corruption, lies and debts“.
Addressing a press conference in Accra, the NPP catalogued a litany of botched agreements involving President Mahama, and accused him of losing for the nation, huge sums of money in pursuit of those deals which the NPP described as questionable.
Deputy Communications Director of the NPP, Yaw BuabengAsamoah, also alleged that the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), has been forced by the President to use funds of suffering Ghanaian workers to retire a GH?57.2 million debt owed by his brother, Ibrahim Mahama, to struggling Ghanaian bank, Merchant Bank.
MrBuabengAsamoah explained that SSNIT, which held a 98% stake in the Merchant, in August this year, sold 75% of its stake to South African Bank, First Rand. At the time of the sale, Merchant Bank was reeling under some GH?330 million debt, with Ibrahim Mahama being the largest debtor, contributing 19.2% of Merchant Bank?s total indebtedness.
?What this deal, struck under President John Dramani Mahama means is that the suffering workers of Ghana have been forced to swallow the bad debts incurred by some business people so that those business people can go on enjoying their life of luxury, including flying around in their private jets?The pension of Ghanaian workers have been sacrificed to pay off debts that they knew nothing of so that some few people could continue having access to their privileged lives of comfort and opulence,? MrBuabengAsamoah noted.
But Mr Pratt considers the NPPs pronouncements at the press conference as not logical.
To him, he is not surprised that the NPP, in their desperation for power is picking up on President Mahama?s brother by bringing to the public eye his (Ibrahim?s) acquisition of a loan from Merchant Bank to keep his business running. He dismissed as falsehood, claims that Ibrahim Mahama secured the loans under the NDC and added that it is the NPP which should ?bow their heads in shame? since the facilitation of the loan occurred under their administration.
?Ibrahim obtained this loan under NPP and not NDC?I think the time has come for us to see business deals as business deals?If Ibrahim takes a loan from Merchant Bank and is not recovered and so on, there are procedures for dealing with this matter rather than this attempt to politicize it,? he stated.
The senior journalist argued that based on the facts put out by the NPP, Ghanaians need to halt the opposition party from going ahead with their ?cheap politicking? rather than allow them to disparage others.
Speaking on Metro TV?s Good Morning Ghana programme, Mr Pratt posited that it was farfetched for the NPP to tag President Mahama as corrupt for playing a role in the STX deal. He continued that it was unfortunate that there are calculated attempts by the NPP to throw ?mud and anything? to demean the integrity of their opponents.
?To say that because the STX didn?t go through the president is corrupt is farfetched?it is an indication of desperation. It shows clearly that they are desperate, they are clutching at straws, they want to throw mud, they want to throw anything they can get to in other to get to power and that is most unfortunate?it should not be tolerated in our politics. What is this? I?m so disgusted by this statement which was made yesterday?meaningless-baseless statements, just calculated to throw mud,? he fumed.
Source: Chris Joe Quaicoe/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana
SOURCE: NATIONAL REVIEW
RADIO GOLD USED FOR TRAFFICKING YOUNG GIRLS TO ITALY?
The New Free Press is calling on the National Security and the BNI to investigate the CEO of Radio Gold, Mr? KwesiSaintiBaffoe Bonnie for using Radio Gold to smuggle young women abroad to Italy for prostitution. The New Free Press has evidence that Mr Baffoe Bonnie, working with one Chief EmenikeNwakpa, a Nigerian businessman has since September 2010 been given references at the cost of 12,000 dollars each to young Ghanaian and Nigerian women who pose as journalists of Radio Gold? to attend? media courses at a school for journalism in Italy. These young women are given visas and end up in cities like Milan and Rome doing prostitution to pay back the monies used in assisting them to travel.
Our evidence shows that 27 girls have been trafficked since 2010 and currently the Italian police have detained 4 of these girls at Rome?s Identification and Expulsion centre Ponte Galeria, Italy?s largest detention and Migration centre due for deportation after they were picked up in a red light district .
We call on the security services to investigate the activities and goings on at Radio Gold, a station noted for its objective and high journalistic standards which now has become a transit point for trafficking young girls to Europe .
The New Free Press is also calling on the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs investigate the circumstances in which Mr Baffoe Bonnie was able to present Radio Gold as a media training institution when it has no licence to do so and how it was able with this chief EminekeNkwapa to procure visas for these women? to go to Italy.
SurajuMusah Mohammed
Managing Editor
The New Free Press
KotobabiAbavana Down
Accra
