By William
Yaw Owusu
Tuesday January
30, 2018
Ibrahim Mahama, younger
brother of former President John Dramani Mahama, reportedly stormed the
Flagstaff House last Friday to have a meeting with President Nana Addo Dankwa
Akufo-Addo.
It is unclear what Ibrahim’s
mission was at the presidency, but many are speculating that the meeting might
have something to do with the bauxite concession which was handed to his company,
Exton Cubic Group Limited, at the tail end of his brother’s presidency in late
2016, which the current government has put on hold.
Ibrahim is also
being investigated for a series of deals he allegedly struck under his brother’s
presidency, which are said to be inimical to the interest of the state.
Sources claim that he
spent close to two hours at the presidency.
Weah’s Inauguration
There are
speculations that Mr Ibrahim Mahama, a powerful businessman who owns a chain of
companies, including Engineers & Planners, possibly struck the deal to meet
the president when the two met at the inauguration of African football legend, George Tawlon Manneh Oppong
Ousman Weah,
President of Liberia last week.
There were pictures
of Ibrahim and former President Mahama sitting behind President Akufo-Addo during
the inauguration; and in another picture, Ibrahim was seen shaking hands with
the president.
Controversial Lease
Exton Cubic Group
Limited was controversially granted a long lease concession by the Mahama-led
NDC administration on December 29, 2016 - when the NDC had lost the December 7
general elections miserably and was on its way out of office.
Later in the heat of
the transition, Dr Gideon Boako, an economics advisor to Vice President
Mahamudu Bawumia, dropped a bombshell when he made the astonishing allegation
to the effect that 58% of Ghana’s bauxite reserves had been handed to Mr. Ibrahim
Mahama before his brother exited power in January, sparking public outrage.
The company moved
heavy-duty machines into the forest, near Nyinahin in the Atwima Mponua
District of the Ashanti Region to start exploratory activities in one of the
concessions, but was stopped by both the district and the regional authorities.
In the ensuing
tussle over whether Ibrahim had the right to enter the Nyinahin Forest Reserve,
Peter Abum Sarkodie, Executive Director of the Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA), issued a statement, saying that the company had not obtained the
required permit to enable it to mine bauxite in the area.
The government,
through the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, John Peter Amewu, revoked
the company’s the concession, stating that Exton Cubic Group Limited could not
meet all the legal requirements and therefore, the lease could not hold.
Act 703
The minister had said
the government was acting in accordance with Section 87 of Act 703 of the
Minerals and Mining Act, 2007 to cancel the concession granted the former president’s
younger brother.
Exton Cubic’s Fears
Exton Cubic,
however, expressed worry that the challenges faced by its exploration at the
Nyinahin bauxite concession might have been a result of a witch hunt against
it.
The company’s spokesperson,
Sammy Gyamfi, an NDC communicator, said at a news conference at the time that
the developments concerning the legality of operations in the Nyinahin bauxite
concession gave it a reason to be concerned.
44 Dud Cheques
Not satisfied, Ibrahim
finally sued the government; and the matter is still before court for
determination.
Since his brother
was voted out of office, Ibrahim has been having issues with investigative
bodies like EOCO when the issue of 44 dud cheques he allegedly issued to the
Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) popped up.
He had to settle the
GH¢12.5 million debt he owed the state through the GRA after the infamous 44
dud cheques bounced.
EOCO was investigating
how he managed to dodge the payment of taxes over a period, especially using
two companies - MBG Limited and Holman Brothers.
SSNIT Pressure
In late April 2017,
the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) also dragged Ibrahim
and other managers of E&P to court for the non-payment of their workers’
pension contributions.
A demand notice
prepared by SSNIT to Ibrahim and the others on March 1, 2017 showed that the
total contribution due E&P was GH¢1,601,051.78, with a penalty of
GH¢1,322,161.45 and the notice had also put the total indebtedness to
GH¢2,723,213.32 with GH¢200,000.00 as less payment.
Mr. Ibrahim Mahama later
announced that the company settled in full the outstanding amount owed SSNIT.
He is also fingered
in the collapse of some financial institutions, including UT and Merchant banks.
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