NDC CHASES MUNTAKA OVER AYARIGA BRIBE

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Tuesday, January 31, 2017

The Minority Chief Whip, Muntaka Mohammed Mubarak, is being pursued by his colleague National Democratic Congress (NDC) Members of Parliament (MPs) over a bribe allegation made by his colleague MP, Mahama Ayariga.He denied ever sharing envelopes containing GH¢3,000 each to members of the Appointments Committee of the House to approve the nomination of Boakye Agyarko as Minister of Energy; and this appears to have incensed his fellow party members.

After Mahama Ayariga, MP for Bawku Central, had gone on pro-NDC Radio Gold to make the wild allegation on Friday, Alhaji Muntaka shot the issue down the following day when he denied flatly ever giving money to the minority members on the committee, which is vetting ministers nominated by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to serve in the NPP government.

Nii Lantey Vanderpuye, a minority member of the committee, is also said to have said on Montie Fm, a sister station of Radio Gold, that he didn’t know anything about the alleged bribe, even though he was supposed to have benefitted. 

According to Ayariga, Muntaka had said that the money was given to him by the Chairman of the Appointments Committee, Joe Osei-Owusu - who is also the First Deputy Speaker and insisted later that Mr. Osei-Owusu had confirmed to him (Ayariga) that the money came from Mr. Agyarko.

Outright Denial

The wild allegation was flatly denied by Mr. Osei-Owusu and Alhaji Muntaka as well as Boakye Agyarko.

DAILY GUIDE learnt that the whole bribery scandal is also aimed at testing the leadership of Haruna Iddrisu, the Minority Leader, as some people are allegedly trying to undermine him.

Haruna Iddrisu, the NDC MP for Tamale South, has broken his silence and said he supports full-scale investigation into the bribery allegation as Majority Leader Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu had earlier called for.

Full Scale Investigation

Haruna Iddrisu said during the vetting of the Minister-designate for Monitoring and Evaluation, Dr Anthony Akoto-Osei that he was in support of a full-scale investigation into the bribery scandal that has rocked the Appointments Committee, saying the scandal has the potential to undermine the integrity of parliament.

Apart from Mahama Ayariga, a number of NDC MPs have come out to claim that Muntaka gave them money which they were emphatic was coming from Mr. Agyarko and virtually called him (Muntaka) a liar.

MPs like Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa (North Tongu) and Alhassan Suhuyini (Tamale North) have variously claimed that indeed they were given envelopes.

Inusah Fuseini

Tamale Central MP, Inusah Fuseini, was on Joy FM saying that “Alhaji Muntaka is not being candid.”

He said he had spoken to the key actors in the scandal and could say on authority that the Minority Chief Whip lied when he said he did not give any money to Mahama Ayariga.

"When I spoke to him, I realized he was worried. He feels that the integrity of parliament is more important than uncovering the rot," Fuseini said adding, "He places the integrity of parliament higher and would rather cover up."

He wondered why Muntaka would swear by ‘Allah’ on the matter and suggested it was not necessary.

According to Inusah Fuseini, all the minority members on the Appointments Committee were each called and paid the amount and added that at the point of receipt they all knew it was not the sitting allowance because allowances are only paid quarterly, contrary to the claim by Ayariga that they received the money initially believing it was their sitting allowance.

He also revealed that it was Samson Ahi, NDC MP for Bodi, who later told the minority MPs that the money came from the Energy Minister-designate - something that might have forced them to return the money.

Ablakwa’s Angle

Okudzeto Ablakwa also entered the fray, saying that Alhaji Muntaka lied when he said the minority members were never given any amount of money.

“Truly, we were given money…I was shocked when Muntaka denied the bribery allegation. Someone called to inform me but I was shocked until later in the day when I heard the tape…I must say I wasn’t surprised, I was shocked…,” he said.

“Initially, we thought the money was our allowances because the previous day, the minority leader said he had raised a memo to demand our allowances, but we started hearing rumours that the money was coming from Agyarko…Samson Ahi, Eric Opoku, Mahama Ayariga went to the minority leader to ask if indeed it was coming from one of the nominees - Boakye Agyarko - and he confirmed it,” he added.

Ablakwa continued, “We held a minority caucus meeting and we agreed that we cannot accept any money from the nominee…I returned my money to Hon Muntaka, and I have a witness, that day; Nii Lante Vanderpuiye was in his office and he can confirm that I returned my envelope.”

Okudzeto Ablakwa disclosed that he personally handed the money over to Muntaka in the latter’s office in the presence of the Odododiodioo MP, Edwin Nii Lante Vanderpuiye, and had since been shocked to hear his leader denying he distributed monies to the minority MPS.

“I returned my money and that of Mahama Ayariga to Muntaka in his office. Hon Nii Lante Vanderpuye was in his office when I returned it. He said to me that ‘you have brought your money and that is good;’ some have brought theirs and I am waiting to collect all of them and return them…,” he said.

The MP also said that he has no issues against Boakye Agyarko, hence won’t tell a lie against him.

“I don’t have any issue with anybody because I have gone through this vetting twice and the NPP minority then didn’t do this to me so why would I want to cook this story against anybody? There were fourteen people so why would we want to tell a lie about just him, knowing very well that the Bible says ‘don’t bear false witness against your neighbor,’” he posited.

FDA BOSS SACKED

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Tuesday, January 31, 2017

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), Hudu Mogtari, has been relieved of his post by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo with immediate effect.

The decision to remove him from office was communicated to him last week from the presidency.

Mr. Mogtari took over from Dr. Stephen Kwabena Opuni, whose alleged reign of terror crippled the pharmaceutical industry after owners of companies he suspected were not sympathetic to the cause of the then ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) were targeted and victimised.

Pharmaceutical companies that purportedly suffered serious victimisation in the hands of Dr. Opuni were Tobinco, Kingdom and Kinapharma.

One of his purported cronies, a certain Delese Mimi Darko - who is said be an NDC woman - is currently lobbying to be appointed FDA boss and is believed to be using her father’s connections.

Her father is said to be an NPP man, but DAILY GUIDE learnt that her appointment can only be a perpetuation of Opuni’s regime.  

Other people Dr Opuni allegedly used to harass the pharmaceutical companies are believed to be Amedzro, Nathaniel Nkrumah and Asante Boateng.

Dr Opuni, upon assumption of office as the FDA boss, allegedly cleared all the top people in management positions and planted his favourites.

For instance, Ben Botwe, a deputy CEO, was sent to the Narcotics Control Board (NACOB) and finally sent home and Akrasi Sarpong came to replace him; and one Rev Martey was also reported to have been relieved of his post by Opuni.

The outgoing FDA boss, Hudu Mogtari, is the husband of Joyce Bawa-Mogtari, a former deputy Minister of Transport, who was also the Communication Director of the John Mahama 2016 electioneering campaign team of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

MP COMMENDS NANA’S APPOINTMENTS

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Member of Parliament for Sefwi Akontombra Constituency in the Western Region, Djornubuah Alex Tetteh has commended President Akufo-Addo highly for the quality of appointees he has assembled to help transform Ghana.

He said the caliber of personalities put together by the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia NPP administration will accelerate Ghana’s development since the appointees were ‘top-class’.

He told DAILY GUIDE on Friday that President Akufo-Addo was very much aware of the daunting task ahead and had therefore selected people who he thought could deliver and build a very stable economy where wealth creation will be for all.

Apart from the ministers of state, the MP said, the other big names appointed to head state institutions were also people with proven track record who were determined to move the country forward.

He particularly mentioned the appointment of Alfred Obeng Boateng, a successful entrepreneur who is the MD for a publishing firm, Approachers’ Series, as the CEO for the Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company Limited.

He described Mr. Obeng Boateng as an “experienced strategic management businessman who is capable of helping the government to revitalize fuel distribution in the country.”

“I believe strongly that the NPP has the men and women that can quickly turn around the fortunes of our country and put it on the road to progress and prosperity,” adding “they have reposed confidence in the appointees and all those who matter in government and I am optimistic this government will not let us down.”

Mr. Tetteh expressed optimism that President Akufo-Addo will lead an honest government saying that the people were already asking for honest governance and a government that would protect the public purse and ensure value for money in all public transactions which he said the President was capable of doing.

The MP also said the President and his vice needed the support and prayers of every Ghanaian to succeed.

AYARIGA HOT OVER MPs BRIBE

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu & Thomas Fosu Jnr.

Monday, January 30, 2017

Member of Parliament (MP) for Bawku Central, Mahama Ayariga, has landed himself in hot waters following a claim he made that MPs were given bribes to approve the nomination of then Minister-designate of Energy and Petroleum Resources, Boakye Agyarko.

Ayariga, who is the immediate-past Minister of Environment, Science and Technology, caused public uproar last weekend when he claimed on pro-National Democratic Congress (NDC) Radio Gold that his Minority Chief Whip, Muntaka Mohammed Mubarak, gave them (MPs) GH¢3,000 each to approve the nomination of Boakye Agyarko to become Minister of Energy.

 In the wake of the bribery allegation by Mahama Ayariga, the Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, has called for a thorough investigation into the matter to establish the truth or otherwise in order to preserve the image of the House.

He said leadership must treat this as an urgent matter since the allegation was put up by somebody who is a member of the Appointments Committee and comes from ‘within’ - in order to purge the institution of any wrongdoing.

According to the majority leader who is also the Minister-designate for Parliamentary Affairs, the veracity of the allegation has to be properly established since it has the potency to inflict ‘mortal wound’ on the reputation of the legislature, adding that it (allegation) must not be wished away because it could seriously dent the image of the Seventh Parliament if the truth is not established.

“It is not a child’s play for somebody to go about labeling people without any shred of evidence,” he charged.

Wild Allegation

According to Ayariga, the Minority Chief Whip had said that the money was given to him by Chairman of the Appointments Committee, Joe Osei Owusu, who is also the First Deputy Speaker, and insisted later that Mr. Osei-Owusu had confirmed to him (Ayariga) that the money came from Mr. Agyarko.

Mahama Ayariga then went on Radio Gold on Friday and said that the minority MPs outrightly rejected envelopes containing GH¢3,000 each when they found out from Mr. Osei-Owusu that the money was coming from Mr. Agyarko.

According to Mahama Ayariga, the minority MPs first accepted the money because they thought that it was their sitting allowance; but he claimed he became alarmed and decided to return the money after they heard that it was coming from Mr. Agyarko to bribe them to approve his nomination.

Radio Interview

“We were expecting our committee allowances from the chairman so when we were called by our leader to come and take our money we took it, knowing that that is our allowance,” he claimed on Radio Gold in an interview.

“So, as for the quantum, we cannot tell how much money he (Agyarko) might have given to the chairman (Joseph Osei Owusu) , so there are all sorts of speculations about what sort of quantum he is alleged to have given but what we know is what came to us as individuals, that is what we can bear testimony to: whether it’s GH¢1 or GH¢2, no matter how small it is, what we know is what was given to us and we found out later that it was coming from him (Agyarko) so as for the quantum, it’s not important.”

He continued, “For me, the most important thing is that we were expecting to be given our committee sitting allowances, and we were promised by our chairman that it would come very soon, and we were called to pick up money from our Whip (Muntaka). We picked it up and assumed that it was our allowances and then later we heard rumours in the house and we called our leader and asked him ‘where is the money coming from?’ He said it came from the chairman but the chairman said it was coming from Boakye Agyarko so that is where we realised that we (couldn’t) take money from Boakye Agyarko,” adding, “So we asked him to take his money back; we are not interested. The quantum is insignificant, even if he had brought GH¢1 million, we would still return it to him.”

Under Pressure

Mahama Ayariga is currently under pressure to substantiate the wild allegation following outright denials by Mr. Osei-Owusu,  Alhaji Muntaka and Boakye Agyarko.

On Saturday, Muntaka was on Joy FM swearing by ‘Allah’ that he never gave any money to Mahama Ayariga who is his best friend.

"I'm a Muslim and Ayariga is also a Muslim. I want to swear by Allah that, I've never given any money to Ayariga claiming that it's from Hon. Joe Osei-Wusu," the Minority Chief Whip fumed.

Muntaka said that from day one, the MPs had resolved that they were not going to take money from any nominee who appeared before the Vetting Committee and when the host of the programme, Samson Anyenini, asked what made it necessary to hold a meeting to say that they would not take money from a nominee, the line went dead.

Chairman’s Denial

Mr. Osei-Owusu also denied ever giving money to Muntaka on the instructions of Mr. Agyarko saying, “Hon Ayariga knows that I have never spoken to him or Muntaka or any member about money. I have never received any monies from Agyarko or anybody for that matter… I will take steps that will protect my integrity,” he said.

“There are not many people from the other side that I like anyway, for me to go to that level… I cannot get into friendship with people I seem to be uncomfortable with to even go and give them bribes. I have been a lawyer for 27 years; can I just get up and go to anyone to offer them bribe? You can only do that with somebody you are friends with,” he fumed.

He said he was surprised because Ayariga had said it was a prank to pin down Boakye Agyarko since he had called Ex-President Mahama a corrupt person.

Frivolous Claim

In the ensuing debate, the Leadership of parliament issued a statement urging the public to disregard Mahama Ayariga’s bribe claim.

A statement issued in Accra and signed by acting Public Affairs Director, Kate Addo, described Mahama Ayariga’s claim as ‘frivolous’ and ‘vexatious.’

“We have noted with concern allegations that the leadership and members of the Appointments Committee have been bribed by some of the president’s nominees to facilitate the recommendation of approval of their nomination as ministers to the House. Parliament would like to state categorically and without any equivocation that these allegations are frivolous and vexatious and should be disregarded.”

The statement further said, “Parliament attaches a lot of importance to its constitutional duties and abhors practices that will not only affect its work but also bring the institution into disrepute.  Therefore extreme care is taken and thorough background checks are made before chairpersons to the various committees are appointed.

“This is to ensure that the works they oversee are meticulously carried.”

 The House concluded that, “Parliament will therefore like to state that no such event has taken place and anybody having any information to the contrary, must resort to the laws of the land and take the appropriate action for redress.”

Agyarko’s Reaction

Meanwhile, Mr. Agyarko who has since been passed to become Minister of Energy and was subsequently sworn into office by President Akufo-Addo, has reacted to Mahama Ayariga’s claim saying that his lawyers were studying the tapes to advise him on the line of action to take.

He also said he was expecting Mahama Ayariga to substantiate the claim or face him in court.

EOCO BOSS SACKED

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Monday, January 30, 2017

The Executive Director of the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), Justice Tsar Yao, has been relieved of his post by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo with immediate effect.

The decision to remove him from office was communicated to him last Friday from the presidency.

Just before the general election in December, the EOCO boss’ contract was extended by one year by then President John Dramani Mahama after the former had turned 60.

Some staff have accused Mr. Tsar, who until his elevation as EOCO boss was a Deputy Executive Director of the organization, of running a ‘one-man’ show.

He was appointed acting Executive Director in June last year to replace Biadela Kweku Mortey Akpadzi - who was also on contract.

Mr. Tsar did not quickly appoint the two deputies as mandated by law after assuming office but reportedly replaced them with a body called Rapid Response Unit (RRU).

Any investigator who frowned on the activities of the RRU was allegedly transferred from Accra to one of the regions.

Officers at the unit are the ones said to be handling all the so-called old cases investigated by EOCO.

EOCO hit the headlines recently when it turned out that it did not conduct any ‘proper’ interrogation of embattled immediate-past COCOBOD Chief Executive, Dr. Stephen Kwabena Opuni.

Dr. Opuni had reportedly been to the premises of the investigative body on two occasions since last week but EOCO did not conduct any ‘serious’ investigation into his alleged role in the malfeasance in the cocoa sector.

A source had told DAILY GUIDE that the dismissed COCOBOD boss was at EOCO head office in the Old Parliament House, between 1:30 pm and 2pm and had a ‘hearty’ chat with the dismissed Executive Director, Justice Tsar.

EOCO Initiative

Another source had hinted that the invitation extended to Dr Opuni was at the instance of the EOCO boss and not a directive from any official in the new government.

DAILY GUIDE learnt that the invitation had been pending for about a year after some workers accused Dr Opuni of corruption, but because the National Democratic Congress (NDC) was in power, he refused to honour it (invitation).

Wild Speculation

There had been some wild speculations that the former COCOBOD boss most likely ‘honoured’ the invitation in order to be ‘coached’ by some elements within the investigative body.

According to a source, the usual procedures to be followed in the investigation were never followed, explaining that, “When somebody is invited for questioning there are certain things that are supposed to be done. He walked straight to the Executive Director’s office and they were in a hearty chat.”

Explaining how people are interrogated at EOCO, the source said for instance, “The person’s name is supposed to be logged in and the interrogation room is booked followed by the setting up of both the video and audio recordings; but all these things were not done in Dr. Opuni’s case.

“He just went straight up to the Executive Director’s office and had a hearty chat and then left. There was nothing to show that the man was under interrogation.

“If proper procedures were followed then the EOCO should come out to tell the public which of the rooms was used for the interrogation. It should produce evidence of the so-called grilling.”

SHAKE-UP AT COCOBOD AFTER OPUNI

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Monday, January 30, 2017 

There is an ongoing clean-up at the Ghana Cocoa Board (Cocobod) where dismissed Chief Executive Dr. Stephen Kwabena Opuni allegedly supervised widespread malfeasance.

Top managers at Cocobod have been asked to proceed on leave; and the directive was reportedly issued by Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr. Owusu Afriyie-Akoto.

Already, President Akufo-Addo has fired Dr. Opuni, but the government is determined to clean up both Cocobod and Cocoa Marketing Company Limited, who have purportedly contributed to the dwindling fortunes of the cocoa sector.

Those to proceed on leave include Deputy Chief Executive (Finance & Administration), Deputy Chief Executive (Agronomy & Quality Control), Deputy Chief Executive (Operations) and the  Director of Finance.

The rest are Deputy Director of Finance, Deputy Director of Audit, Director of Civil Works and the Procurement Manager.

At the Cocoa Marketing Company Ltd, the Managing Director (MD), Deputy MD, Director Legal Services, Deputy Director and the Finance Director have reportedly been asked to go home.

Under Opuni, workers were dismissed and transferred ‘by heart’ according to sources

Cocoa Sector Rot

A source has already described the rot in the cocoa sector as very ‘awful,’ as people were reportedly awarded contracts without laid-down regulations and fertilizers purportedly smuggled to neigbouring countries for individuals’ interest.

Already, unionized workers in the cocoa industry are calling for investigations into alleged dubious deals by the sacked CEO and his officers.

The Industrial and Commercial Workers’ Union (ICU) and the General Agricultural Workers’ Union (GAWU) alleged that Dr. Opuni sold some of the cash crops and kept the proceeds and according to them, such deals had cost the country in excess of $10 million, adding that the monies could have been used to develop the country.

Fierce Fight

Kingsley Nkansah, General Secretary of GAWU, in April last year, disclosed at a meeting with journalists that “Thousands of tonnes of cocoa are sold by the management of Cocobod which is hidden from the government and for which no proper accounts are maintained either. This is known as Special Sample Residue.”

He continued, “The Special Sample Residue is done by drawing an average of 0.3kg of cocoa beans from each bag taken over and sold by the Cocoa Marketing Company. So for every 1,000 tonnes of cocoa, they (management) get on the average 4.6875 tonnes, an equivalent of 75 bags.”

No Action

The workers claimed that information on the underhand dealings at Cocobod was passed on to the former Employment and Labour Minister, Haruna Iddrisu, and the former Chief of Staff, Julius Debrah, as well as the former Commissioner on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), but all to no avail.

ATTAFUAH RETURNS TO NIA

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Monday, January 30, 2017

Professor Kenneth Agyemang Attafuah, a popular criminologist and human rights lawyer, has been appointed acting Executive Secretary of the National Identification Authority (NIA).

A statement signed by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo before emplaning for the Africa Union (AU) Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, last Friday, tasked the learned man to take charge until an exhaustive consultation had been done with the appropriate bodies.

"I hereby appoint you to act as Executive Secretary of the National Identification Authority, pending receipt of the constitutionality required advice of the governing council of the authority in consultation with the Public Services Commission,” the president stated, adding, “May I take this opportunity to congratulate you formally on your appointment."

The statement, which was copied to Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the Chief of Staff, the Secretary to the President and Chief Director of the Office of the President, underscored, “Kindly indicate your acceptance or otherwise of this appointment.”

Prof Attafuah appears to be excited with the position as he was part of the stakeholders who attended the recent meeting chaired by Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia over the national identification project.

Until recently, Prof. Attafuah was the Dean of Faculty of Law at the Central University. He was formerly the Executive Secretary of the NIA under the erstwhile Kufuor’s New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration.

He was subsequently sacked by then President John Evans Atta Mills, who said openly that Prof Attafuah did not share the ideals of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government.

He was the Executive Secretary of the National Reconciliation Commission (NRC) set up by the Kufuor government to ‘heal’ wounds caused by previous governments, particularly Jerry John Rawlings’ military junta – the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC).

He was also Head of the Investigation Department at the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ).

Prof Attafuah, a mediator, management consultant with an impeccable human rights advocacy record, is the Managing Solicitor of Ken Attafuah Law Place based in Accra.

In March 2014, he broke his silence when he said the excuse used by the NDC government to relieve him of his duties as the Executive Secretary of the National Identification Authority  was unjustifiable.

Answering questions at the 5th Re Akoto Memorial lectures organized by the students of Ghana School of Law to mark its 51st Law Week celebrations under the theme “Upholding fundamental human rights: Role of the law student,” Prof Attafuah said, “The cycle of reprisal and political vendetta must not be allowed to continue. It has stalled the development of this country and we do not seem to end the stalemate.”

Asked to react to the tag of incompetence used by the late President Mills against him, the eloquent legal gem posited, “I cannot be described as somebody who is incompetent. I remember Valery Sawyer calling to express her gratitude to me for the good work I did at the NIA and that I was one of the hardworking individuals she had ever seen. This clearly cannot be said to be incompetence.”

EOCO PAMPERS OPUNI

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Friday, January 27, 2017

It is emerging that the Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO) did not conduct any ‘proper’ interrogation of embattled immediate-past Ghana Cocobod Chief Executive, Dr. Stephen Kwabena Opuni.

Dr. Opuni has reportedly been to the premises of the investigative body on two occasions since last week - with the last visit being yesterday - but EOCO has not conducted any ‘serious’ investigations into Cocobod boss’s alleged role in malfeasance in the cocoa sector.

A source told DAILY GUIDE yesterday that the dismissed Cocobod boss was at EOCO’s head office within the Old Parliament House, between 1:30 pm and 2pm and had a ‘hearty’ chat with the Executive Director, Justice Tsar.

There had been media reports that Dr. Opuni was being ‘grilled’ by the EOCO but the source claims it was a hoax.

Invitation

Another source had hinted that the invitation extended to Dr Opuni was at the instance of the EOCO boss and not a directive from any official in the new government.

DAILY GUIDE understands that the invitation extended to the immediate-past Cocobod chief had been pending for about a year after some workers had accused him of corruption, but because the NDC was in power, he refused to honour the invitation.

Speculations

There had been some speculations that Dr Opuni most likely ‘honoured’ the invitation in order to be ‘coached’ by some elements in the investigative body.

According to the source, the usual procedures to be followed in the investigation were never followed, explaining that “When somebody was invited for questioning, there are certain things that are supposed to be done. He walked straight to the Executive Director’s office and they were in a hearty chat.”

Explaining how people are interrogated at EOCO, the source said for instance, “The person’s name is supposed to be logged in and the interrogation room is booked, followed by the setting up of both the video and audio recordings; but all these things were not done in Dr. Opuni’s case.”

“He just went straight up to the Executive Director’s Office and had a hearty chat and then left. There was nothing to show that the man was under interrogation.”

"If proper procedures were followed, then EOCO should come out and tell the public which of the rooms was used for the interrogation. They should produce evidence of the so-called grilling.”

Drama

The former Cocobod boss was reportedly summoned and appeared before EOCO on Friday, January 20, 2017, after a reported botched attempt to travel out of the country through the Kotoka International Airport just a week after he was relieved of his post by President Akufo-Addo.

His passport was said to have been seized by the security agencies as he was ‘quizzed’ by officials of the anti-graft body on a wide range of issues, including alleged massive corruption in the cocoa sector - an interrogation which was turning to be untrue.

Contract Extension

Just before the general election in December, the EOCO boss’ contract was extended by one year by President John Mahama after the former had turned 60.

In June last year, Justice Tsar, who was one of the Deputy Executive Directors, was appointed Acting Executive Director to replace Biadela Kweku Mortey Akpadzi, whose contract had elapsed after his retirement.

Final Termination

On January 12, 2017, the government ordered Dr. Opuni to vacate his post and hand over to Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto, Minister-designate for Food and Agriculture.

His dismissal was hailed by workers at the Cocobod as well as NDC activists who believed he was arrogant and corrupt. Some workers were said to have suffered dismissals for allegedly being tagged as New Patriotic Party (NPP) sympathisers.

Cocoa Sector Rot

A source had already described the rot at the cocoa sector as very ‘awful,’ as contracts were reportedly awarded without laid-down regulations and fertilizers purportedly smuggled to neigbouring countries for individuals’ interest.

Unionized workers in the cocoa industry had been calling for investigations into alleged dubious deals by the sacked CEO.

The Industrial and Commercial Workers’ Union (ICU) and the General Agricultural Workers’ Union (GAWU) alleged that Dr. Opuni sold some of the cash crops and kept the proceeds and that such deals had cost the country in excess of $10 million, adding that the monies could have been used to develop the country.

Fierce Fight

Kingsley Nkansah, General Secretary of GAWU, in April last year, disclosed at a meeting with journalists that “Thousands of tonnes of cocoa are sold by the management of Cocobod which is hidden from the government and for which no proper accounts are maintained either. This is known as Special Sample Residue.”

He continued, “The Special Sample Residue is done by drawing an average of 0.3kg of cocoa beans from each bag taken over and sold by the Cocoa Marketing Company. So for every 1,000 tonnes of cocoa, they (management) get on the average of 4.6875 tonnes - an equivalent of 75 bags.”

No Action

The workers claimed that information on the purported underhand dealings at Cocobod was passed on to the former Employment and Labour Minister, Haruna Iddrisu; the former Chief of Staff, Julius Debrah, as well as the former Commissioner on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), but all to no avail.

NYAHO BREAKS SILENCE AFTER CAMPAIGNING FOR NDC

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Friday, January 27, 2017

Dr. Nyaho Nyaho Tamakloe, the renegade New Patriotic Party (NPP) member, who wanted his party to lose last year’s crucial general elections but failed miserably, has broken his long silence.

He is now complaining about the appointments of the man he swore would never be President of Ghana.

He said President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo was wrong to have nominated Dominic Nitiwul, Member of Parliament (MP) for Bimbila to serve as Minister of Defence.

Broken Silence

He said on Joy FM yesterday that he would have preferred the nomination of a senior figure as Minister of Defence instead of the youthful Nitiwul, 39, who was the minority spokesperson on defence, saying “I believe a more senior person should have been put there.”

“I know the military well. The military has certain settings and a way they behave. I think they will be more comfortable with a very senior figure,” he added.

“You are going to deal with people who are very straightforward. What they dislike is arrogance. The moment you display a peck of arrogance that is the end of you, so I will advise that he should be polite and calm in his office.”

Parliament has already approved the nomination of Nitiwul, a former deputy minority leader, to pave way for his swearing in.

Dr. Nyaho Tamakloe became the ‘cheerleader’ of the previous Mahama-led NDC administration, which intensified its hate campaign against the then NPP presidential candidate, Nana Akufo-Addo during the December general elections in which Mr. Mahama lost miserably by over a million votes.

Dr. Nyaho Tamakloe described Nana Akufo-Addo as an ‘intolerant’ person who could not lead Ghana and said the NPP was not ready for power under his leadership.

Dr Nyaho Tamakloe ditched his party and friendship with Nana Akufo-Addo to promote the cause of his nephew former President Mahama.

He even recorded video interview advert to boost the chances of then candidate John Mahama.

Akufo-Addo Hatred

On the eve of the election, he intensified his vitriolic campaign against Nana Akufo-Addo by warning Ghanaians against voting for him.

He said that the intolerance of Nana Akufo-Addo could spell doom for the country in an unlikely event that he is elected as president.

“NPP is not ready for power; it will be very dangerous to hand over power to a party that is not ready.”

He said then President John Mahama was the best leader for Ghanaians.

Dr Tamakloe said President Mahama was emulating the style of leadership of Ghana’s first president, Dr Kwame Nkrumah and should be re-elected.

“The rate of infrastructural investment in these three and half years of President Mahama’s administration is what has made the difference. He has done so much and he deserves a second term,” he added.

Renegade Members

Apart from Dr. Nyaho Tamakloe, there were a number of disgruntled NPP members, including the suspended National Chairman Paul Afoko, 2^nd Vice Chairman Sammy Crabbe, Dr. Kobina Arthur Kennedy, Baah Achamfuor, Michael Ampong, who were deeply involved in the campaign to ensure the defeat of the NPP in the 2016 elections.

They campaigned against the party by paying people to vote against the NPP.

Paul Afoko was reportedly seen in Wa campaigning against NPP.

He is said to have stated that even if someone would develop the North, it should be northerner, inferring to John Mahama.

Mr Afoko also granted a special interview to Africawatch Magazine and attacked his own party in a special edition of the magazine.

He even indicated publicly that he might not vote for the NPP.

“I am not sure I will vote for Nana Addo. My vote is my secret; it’s up to me and my God whom I will vote for,” he told UTV, an Accra-based private television station.

Others like Alhaji Asoma Banda, Kwesi Pratt, Hassan Ayariga, Akua Donkor and NDC leaders, all said Nana Akufo-Addo could never be President.

Kwesi Pratt even asked NPP members to get ambulances ready because the NDC was going to give the opposition a shocker.

Political Career

The shocking defeat of John Mahama by then candidate Nana Akufo-Addo appears to have ended the ex-President’s political career.

The then ruling NDC with tacit support from some ‘leading’ members, including Dr. Nyaho Tamakloe, had promised to ‘retire’ Nana Akufo-Addo but the 72-year-old astute lawyer appears to have ended the active political career of the 58-year-old.

Mahama’s Rejection

President Mahama and his NDC were flatly rejected by Ghanaians at the polls on December 7, last year.

Relations of Mr. Mahama are persuading him not to contest the next presidential election in 2020 even though the ex-president has not stated whether he wants call it quit or make a comeback.

Some analysts have said the huge gap of over one million votes garnered by President Akufo-Addo against ex-President Mahama showed that the ex-President will have a daunting task if he considers contesting again for 2020.

Strong Showing

Nana Akufo-Addo silenced his critics who had put in place a well-calculated scheme to enable President Mahama to win the contest.

Nana Addo polled 5,716,609 votes, representing 53.84 percent, to defeat then candidate John Mahama, who secured 4,713,277 votes, representing 44.40 per cent.

Apart from President Akufo-Addo’s historic electoral victory, the NPP also secured majority in parliament, clinching 169 seats as against the NDC’s 106 seats.

SSNIT BOSS KICKED OUT

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Wednesday, January 25, 2017

The Director-General of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), Ernest Thompson, has been relieved of his post.

DAILY GUIDE’s sources said the sacking of the SSNIT boss was communicated to him on Monday.

According to sources, Mr Thompson’s dismissal was greeted with excitement by the staff who were of the view that SSNIT was run down under the outgoing Director General, with most of its priced assets, including banks, being disposed of.

The staff also accused Mr Thompson of showing nepotism in employment, as well as promotions, saying some of them had been on one grade for more than eight years.

A member of the Appointments Committee of Parliament and Member of Parliament (MP) for Manhyia South, Dr Mathew Opoku Prempeh, at the committee's sitting last Friday, made a startling revelation about the rot at SSNIT which he said had happened with alleged endorsement of its Board of Directors.

The outgoing SSNIT board is reported to have given approval for the Trust to put a number of its expensive management residential facilities in Accra for sale.

The buildings, including six residential properties and two guest houses, are located in plush areas like North Ridge, Cantonments and Airport Residential Area - all in Accra.

But there are concerns that the state facilities will be sold at very cheap rates to cronies.

The decision is raising public concerns because some observers believe that SSNIT needed to protect the properties and not dispose of them. Others claim the powerful management members and the board will turn around to buy the said properties for peanuts.

Currently, an inspection report of the state of the buildings has already been given to the management by an ad hoc committee the SSNIT Board set up and a memo has been issued by the company secretary, giving details of the report.

The memo, which was signed on Friday, January 6, 2017 - the eve of the inauguration of President Akufo-Addo - and copied to the SSNIT Director General - indicates that the board had considered the report of the ad hoc committee.

“At its 300th meeting held on 5th January, 2017, the Board considered a report by the ad hoc committee of the Board which undertook an inspection tour of some of the Trust’s Management residences at North Ridge, Cantonments and Airport Residential Area in Accra,” the memo signed by Mrs. Gifty J. Annan, company secretary said.

According to the memo, the designated Director General’s residence was not included in the decision of the Board.

The document, sighted by DAILY GUIDE, gave vivid descriptions of the facilities located on 0.74, 0.11 and 0.35 acres of land that were to be sold.

Ms Gifty Annan indicated that first is a two-storey main building with a detached outhouse, launderette, garage and security post and that the main building provides accommodation for a living/dining, bedrooms, kitchen, store, sanitary and circulatory areas at North Ridge House No 7.

The remark of the committee approved by the Board said, “The property was recently renovated to be maintained as Director General’s residence.”

Also, there is a two-storey main building with a detached outhouse, boys quarters and security post where the main building provides accommodation for a living/dining, bedrooms, kitchen, store, sanitary and circulatory areas at No. 58 Ridge.

The document said the property was previously used as an executive guest house being occupied by Mr Thompson.

The committee said the facility was “fairly renovated to be sold.”

The memo described another facility as a two-storey main building with a detached outhouse and security post located at No. 58A, North Ridge, adding, “The property has similar designs as the one described above and was occupied by a former Director General.”

It said the board had approved the facility to be sold because it’s in a poor state.

Another two-storey semi-detached main building with an outhouse providing accommodation for a living/dining, bedrooms, kitchen and sanitary areas located at No. 17, Cantonments, has been listed to be sold while five other 2-storey semi-detached main buildings - all with outhouses located at Nos. 18, 20, 21, 22 and 24 in Cantonments - are also being sold.

The committee remarked, “The limited plot size hampers its potential for redevelopment into a modern residence for optimal returns, and therefore, they are to be sold.”

According to the memo, there is another 2-storey main building with an outhouse and a detached garage on a 0.35-acre land at Airport Residential Area; and the committee recommended that “The property should be demolished and redeveloped into a modern apartment to generate optimal returns.”

The memo said the management was going to engage “Architectural and Engineering Service Limited to value the properties to be disposed of and revert to the Board.”

It also asserted, “The sale is to be advertised and bidders should be required to submit bid bonds as was done in the case of the disposal of the Wa and Bolgatanga properties,” adding that “due process should be followed accordingly.”

SSNIT on January 13, 2017 issued another memo signed by Gabriel N.O. Sackey requesting for “the necessary title documents on the properties to enable us engage Messrs AESL to determine the market values of same.”