I DON’T LIKE AMERICAN CARS – SAYS MAHAMA

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Friday, June 24, 2016

President John Mahama has responded cheekily to those accusing him of taking a car gift which many have said is tantamount to corruption saying, “I don’t like American cars.”

In 2010 a contractor from Burkina Faso,  Djibril Kanazoe, sent a Ford Expedition car gift believed to be worth $100,000 to his friend, President Mahama, through the Ghana Embassy in Ouagadougou.

Curiously, Djibril Kanazoe has since been awarded juicy government contracts and was behind the construction of the $650,000 Ghana Embassy fence wall in Burkina Faso, apart from other multimillion-dollar contracts since his encounter with the president in 2010, according to journalist Manasseh Awuni Azure who broke the news.

Prior to meeting Ghana’s president, Kanazoe said he had tried winning contracts in Ghana from 2003 unsuccessfully until Mahama opened his doors for him.

President Mahama has since been under pressure from sections of the public about his conduct and the Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII) has asked him to return the controversial $100,000 car gift because, according to the anti-graft body, his action “breaches the state’s anti-corruption code.”

The president said in Ashaiman on Wednesday during his ‘accounting to the people’ tour that the allegations were ‘baseless’ and politically motivated.

He parried the allegation of possible conflict of interest once again yesterday when he held a breakfast meeting at the Flagstaff House with some selected clergy.

“I don’t use Ford, I don’t like American cars. I use Japanese cars. Toyota is my car,” he told the clergy and went on to say that the vehicle was not even for his personal use.

He explained that since he received the vehicle, he had always been under the impression that it was presented to the state, adding, “It has never been used for my personal comfort.”

The opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) has called for a bipartisan investigation into the matter while the Progressive People’s Party (PPP) has threatened to drag the president to the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) if he (Mr Mahama) does not come clean on the scandal.

However, the Convention People’s Party (CPP) and a private citizen have already petitioned CHRAJ to probe the matter and the commission is currently assessing the petitions to establish if there is a prima facie case against the president.

With the latest development, President Mahama said his responses to the matter were ready and promised to make them public at the right time, saying, “We will respond to it.”

Mahama Is Unrepentant!

Reacting to the president’s comments, the Progressive People’s party of Dr Paa Kwesi Nduom said Mr Mahama has taken Ghanaians for granted.

“Mr John Dramani Mahama has attempted to respond to allegations of bribe-taking by accepting the Ford Expedition from his Burkinabe contractor friend. The president has said, ‘I don’t use Ford; I don’t like American cars. I use Japanese cars. Toyota is my car.’  He also said yesterday that ‘If you believe I have involved myself in corruption, you have the constitutional means to do whatever you want to do.’

“We believe that the president’s comment is a blow to the fight against corruption. He adopted his usual attitude of passing of the buck in matters that needed his direct intervention. His Excellency has demonstrated a lack of commitment to the principle of accepting responsibility for his own actions and that of his government. President Mahama has no remorse and is unrepentant,” a statement issued in Accra and signed by Kofi Asamoah-Siaw, Policy Advisor, said.

The PPP believes that the president was emboldened by the absence of strong state institutions with the capacity and willingness to deal with infractions occasioned by members of the executive.

“In this instance, the Parliament of Ghana or some Members of Parliament are refusing to undertake their constitutional duty to initiate or support the call for impeachment proceedings against the president for gross misconduct and a violation of Article 284. The Parliament of Ghana is empowered under Article 69 of the Constitution to initiate impeachment proceedings against the president.

“We expect Members of Parliament to live up to their responsibilities and establish timeless principles in our governance processes. The PPP will organise a demonstration to Parliament House if the impeachment process is not activated shortly,” the statement said.