- More Arrests soon after Woyome
… As Kick backs @ Castle,
… Ghana Int. Airlines,
… Bamba Gate,
… Sekyi Hughes thievery,
… Ghana @ 50 ‘chop-chop,’
GARGUANTUAN CRIMES UNDER JAK
… MV Benjamin Cocaine & Asabee scandals to come alive
By: Prosper Agbenyega
Members of the Opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) are beginning to quiver as the Woyome saga deepens, characterizing by his arrest and prosecution. Information gathered by this paper is that there are brewing uncertainties in the NPP camp with majority of former officials of the erstwhile Kufuor administration in great fear as more arrests are going to follow Alfred Agbesi Woyome’s arrest.
There is no gainsaying that under the past Kufuor administration, lots of gargantuan scandals rocked the government with majority of NPP officials engaging in illegal activities which in one way or the other brought huge financial loss to the state.
The Ghanaian Trust has gathered that, NPP gurus including Former President John Agyekum Kufuor, Mr. Stephen Asamoah Boateng, Ebenezer B. Sekyi Hughes, Alhaji Muctar Bamba, Kwadwo Okyere Mpiani former Chief of Staff, George Gyan-Baffour, Dr. Charles Wereko-Brobby, Richard Winfred Anane, former Minister of Transport, Anthony Akoto-Osei, former Minister of State at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, Kennedy Agyapong and Samuel Crabbe, former Greater Accra Regional Chairman of NPP will soon be facing possible arrest and prosecution.
This paper has been following situation as far as Woyomegate Scandal is concern, and snippets of information reaching it is that all the gargantuan scandals perpetrated under the NPP regime will be revisited, and that plans are underway to haul the aforementioned personalities before relevant institutions for investigations.
The people of Ghana can recall that in 2005, the NPP was caught in heavy corrupt scandals where corrupt deals were reported to have been orchestrated by Former President Kufuor, who was then described as the chief collector of kickbacks, collecting them “Waa, Waa, Waa,” in the Castle by their own party Chairman, Harona Esseku. The then Chief of Staff Kwadwo Mpiani, was also the only Chief of Staff in the history of this nation on record to have been collecting kick backs (in the castle).
Former Information Minister under the NPP, Kofi Asamoah Boateng’s case is also expected to be revived. It is indeed a known fact that he signed a letter on behalf of the Head of Civil Service, awarding a contract to Plexiform Ventures. It was also established that Asamoah Boateng was, at the time of signing the letter, when he was not in active service at the Civil Service.
Clearly, in the said case, Stephen Asamoah Boateng and seven others, including his wife, stood trial for allegedly contravening the Procurement Act by not following due processes in awarding the contract amounting to GH¢86,915.85 to Plexiform Ventures, for renovation work at the Ministry of Information.
The Former Speaker of Parliament, Ebenezer Sekyi Hughes this paper has gathered, will also be facing possible trial for “stealing” state property from his official residence as at the time of exiting office.
Also, Alhaji Moctar Bamba, the former deputy Minister for Presidential Affairs, was forced to resign in the wake of a major scandal of an allegations of corruption published against him. Evidence from official court records, judgements, together with Police memoranda indicated how deeply he abused his office at the Presidency and hi-jacked the auction business, which he controlled from his desk then, and succeeded in squashing a number of auctioneers, depriving them of their livelihood because they raised their voices against the massive corruption that was going on in the business between the years 2000 and 2002.
Alhaji Moctar Bamba had at the time confirmed allegations of abuse of impropriety and abuse of office levelled against him, while he was in charge of the auction of state properties. He will also not escape the law.
The collapse of the Ghana International Airline (GIAA) is one of the legacies the Kufuor administration left behind. It was clear that George Gyan-Baffour, former Deputy Minister of Finance and Economic Planning; together with others were prosecuted for causing financial loss to the State, in the Ghana International Airline Limited (GIAL) saga.
However, on March 31, three former Ministers of State and former Greater Accra Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) also appeared before the court to face a number of charges, including causing financial loss to the State.
The four are Richard Winfred Anane, former Minister of Transport; Anthony Akoto-Osei, former Minister of State at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning; Kwadwo Okyere Mpiani, former Chief of Staff and Samuel Crabbe, former Greater Accra Regional Chairman of NPP.
Actually Dr Anane’s action was believed to have led to the liquidation of Ghana Airways. It was established by the prosecution that Dr Anane declared that four companies had expressed interest in Ghana Airways and later presented a letter of intent, which was signed between the Government of Ghana and GIAL to form a new company called New Ghana Airways (NGA), although GIAL was at that time not in existence.
Although management of PriceWaterhouseCoopers had rated NGA, which had signed an agreement with the Government to form GIAL, third after KLM and Ghanair, two other companies which had submitted their bids to take over Ghana Airways, NGA won the bid.
But, Akoto-Osei signed a loan agreement committing the Government to a financial obligation of paying GH¢ 15 million from the Social Security and National Insurance Trust to GIAL.
Talking about Ghana @ 50, Former Chief of Staff and Minister for Presidential Affairs, Mr. Kwadwo Okyere Mpiani, who was the Chairman of the National Planning Committee (NPC) of the Ghana@50 celebrations and his brother-in law, Dr. Charles Wereko-Brobby, Chief Executive Officer of the defunct Ghana@50 Secretariat, and Mr. Sandy Osei Agyemang, Managing Director of United Africa Management Limited (UAML), were to refund an amount of $360,000 (¢5.1Billion) in connection with the rental of Largus Forte Hotel during the Ghana @50 celebrations.
Mr. Mpiani and Dr. Wereko-Brobby, in addition to the refund, were to be prosecuted for causing financial loss to the state in accordance with the Criminal Offences Act 1960 (Act 29).
It is however true that the Kufuor administration was the most corrupt government ever in the history of Ghana.
It was unthinkable and beat ones imagination that at the reign of President Kufuor, and at the time when people were finding it difficult to pay school fees for their wards, when our taps have dried up in some instances for a year or two, and when an announced (load shedding) was carried out, President Kufuor was busily lavishing and spending $ 1.4 million on medals that do not in any way address the bread and butter issues that faced the ordinary people in this country.
It was also clear that when it comes to profligacy and personal aggrandisement, President Kufuor has no peer in any of the country’s former leaders.
