By William
Yaw Owusu
Friday February
09, 2018
Lawyers for the Millennium Excellence Foundation (MEF)
are threatening to sue two opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) Members
of Parliament over their conducts in the cash-for-seat claim.
According to the MEF lead counsel Peter Zwennes, the
two: Muntaka Mohammed Mubarak (Minority Chief Whip) and Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa
(Minority Spokesperson on Foreign Affairs) have continuously churned out what
he called “irresponsible and destructive falsehood” against his clients since
the cash for seat issue came up and they were going to take legal action
against them.
At a news conference in Accra on Tuesday, Mr.
Zwennes said they were going to seek permission from the Speaker of Parliament
to drag the two MPs to court to prove their claims against leading members of
the MEF, the organization that hosted the 2017 Ghana Expatriates Business
Awards on December 4, last year.
Destructive
Falsehood
“The propagation of such irresponsible and
destructive falsehood made against my client should not be availed the cloak of
parliamentary immunity which if it had been said in anywhere else in the open
will certainly be giving rise to a meritorious court action in defamation,” he
fumed, adding “the foundation is still considering its options and they are
still available to us.”
Affected
Reputation
He said despite the exoneration of the foundation,
its president, Ashim Morton, feels the reputation he has built for himself
within a period of twenty years has been affected.
“Despite the untruths now having been laid to rest
and though much gladdened by his exoneration, my client has found that this
acquittal has come at a heavy cost to his hitherto unsullied and unquestionable
reputation.”
“This not to mention the heavy cost that these false
allegations have caused the country also to suffer in terms of the commitment
of foreigners towards foreign direct investments, market confidence, and the image
of the leadership of the Republic of Ghana on the international scene”
“After steadily building up his reputation of
integrity over a period nearing two decades, it is an abysmal shame for the
foundation to realize that some choose merely to see it as an institution
worthy of sacrifice on the altar of common mischief for the sake of what they
see as political expediency,” he added.
Bogus
Allegation
The MEF held the news conference after the
five-member Parliamentary Committee set up by the Speaker to investigate the
Minority’s claim that during Ghana Expatriates Business Awards, all those who
sat close to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo were charged between $25,000
and $100,000, submitted its report on the floor of the house.
The special parliamentary ad hoc committee after a
thorough investigation, some of which were telecast live, exonerated officials
of the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Millennium Excellence Foundation
because there was no extortion as claimed by the NDC Minority.
There was confusion when the minority said its
members on the committee wrote their own report called ‘Minority Report’ that
sought to challenge the findings of the committee.
Financial
Loss
Later, Minister of Trade and Industry, Alan Kwadwo
Kyerematen, whose ministry was tagged as ‘extortionists’ said the NDC MPs
caused financial loss to the state through their motion to recall parliament to
set up the committee to investigate the allegation which turned out to be
bogus.
He insisted that the emergency recall of the house
to discuss the matter was unnecessary saying “it may be possible that the
associated cost for recalling this may be a case of causing financial loss.”
However, the minority was adamant and even left the
floor of the house by boycotting the debate on Cash-for-Seat Committee Report.
Insincere
Group
Yesterday, Kwasi Ameyaw-Cheremeh, Chairman of the
Parliamentary Investigative Committee that looked into the issues recounted how
members of the minority on the committee ‘played games’ with them when they
were concluding their report.
He specifically mentioned on radio that Dr. Dominic
A. Ayine, NDC MP for Bolga East, who was part of the committee, representing
the minority, was disingenuous in his dealings with the committee members when
they were compiling the final report.
He also said another NDC MP on the committee James Klutse
Avedzi left the committee’s work and travelled to Uganda on an assignment,
saying “I was supposed to travel to the United States but I had to prioritize
the committee’s work but he could not; maybe it was because of the per diem.”
Two other majority members on the committee were Dr.
Mark Assibey-Yeboah and Yaw Buaben Asamoa.
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