KENNEDY AGYAPONG MAD OVER NACOB SNIFFER DOGS

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Tuesday March 13, 2018

Firebrand Member of Parliament (MP) for Assin Central in the Central Region, Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, wants officials of the Narcotics Control Board (NACOB) to be sacked by the government.

He alleged that NACOB officials at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) are being ‘controlled’ by elements that have sinister motives against the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government and as a result, they must pay the price.

“Another bogus institution in this country today is NACOB,” the MP fired, stressing, “The president should crack the whip starting from the director to the cleaner and train new people for that job.”

The MP threw the bombshell on Oman FM’s ‘Boiling Point’ programme last Thursday when he revealed that former President John Mahama’s younger brother, Ibrahim Mahama, sent cars to the cargo section of the Kotoka International Airport, for shipment abroad for servicing on February 26, 2018.

He said the cars were to be processed by a private company called GH-Swissport Ghana Ltd, headed by a Lebanese, who has allegedly declared his private facility a ‘No Go’ area to National Security personnel operating at the airport.

Tired Dogs

Ken said during the clash between the National Security operatives and the private security people working for GH-Swissport Ghana over the cars, the NACOB officers were asked to come in and use their sniffer dogs to screen the cars before the shipment could be done.

The MP said strangely, the NACOB guys claimed the sniffer dogs were tired and so did not bring them to do the job.

“Can you believe that during the stalemate between National Security officials and Swissport Limited over Ibrahim’s cars, the NACOB was brought in but they said their dogs were tired?

“The NACOB guys are all NDC so they don’t care about what is happening. The thing is coming from Ibrahim and therefore, they were not prepared to do anything to help the state.

“What is going on is not the best. The NACOB boss has to go! All the guys working there have to be sacked!”

The outspoken MP wondered, “The danger in this is that the NACOB are telling us that their dogs are tired and therefore, they cannot work?”

Connivance

He accused NACOB of complicity, warning, “We will not allow NACOB to connive with this Lebanese.

“This Lebanese has the audacity to do things with impunity at the airport. Not even National Security can enter his facility. 

Who is this Lebanese having an authority on his own? He is controlling Ghanaian airport with his own private security arrangement and does not allow the National Security operatives into his facility?”

Mr Kennedy Agyapong also claimed that when the argument ensued over Ibrahim Mahama’s cars, some ‘big men’ in the ruling NPP were calling the National Security guys to release the car to the ex-president’s brother.

As a result, he threatened to expose all those bigwigs in the NPP who are “interceding” for people whom he claimed are “breaking” the law.

The MP said the National Security boss has to let Ghanaians know what transpired in the case.

“If we allow these things to go on at our ports, they can remove the government easily. They can bring in ammunition. It is very dangerous. National Security Minister Kan Dapaah, with due respect, should call them to order,” Ken angrily charged.

Mr. Agyapong further said that “the people are sabotaging every effort that we are making.”

According to him, “Things are being cleared at the GH-Swissport Limited facility without any supervision from the National Security because the Lebanese manager does not allow it.”

FIDELITY BANK CLASHES WITH PROPERTY OWNER

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Tuesday March 13, 2018

Fidelity Bank Ghana and a property owner in Accra have clashed over their failure to reconcile debts owed each other.

While the bank claims the property owner, Akwasi Boakye Osei, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ghana Heights Limited has not fully paid a loan facility it granted him, the businessman is also accusing the bank of shortchanging him.

The businessman, who is domiciled in the United States, claims he rented out his property called Adwoa Adjiewaa Building adjacent Koala Supermarket at Danquah Circle at Osu, Accra, to the bank, but it allegedly failed to pay the agreed amount of money.

BUSINESS GUIDE learnt that about two weeks ago the bank moved out of the building due to the disagreement.

Bank’s Concerns

According to the bank, it granted Akwasi Boakye Osei’s Ghana Heights Limited a medium term loan of GH¢7 million in September 2008 and later entered into an initial five-year lease agreement with Ghana Heights Limited, which lease the bank said was renewed for a further term of five years, commencing on January 31, 2018.

“That as part of the terms and conditions of the medium-term loan facility granted Ghana Heights Limited, it was agreed that the rental proceeds from all the tenants of the Ghana Heights building, including Fidelity Bank’s rent proceeds for the period of 31^st January 2013 to 30^th January 2018 will be used to amortise the loan facility,” the bank explained in a rejoinder recently.

According to the bank, “Due to the unreasonable conduct of Ghana Heights Limited and its Managing Director Akwasi Boakye Osei, we decided not to renew the tenancy of the heights building.

“And therefore out of our own accord, we moved out of the premises of the Ghana Heights Building prior to the expiration of its tenancy.”

The bank said that as a result of the indebtedness of Ghana Heights Limited to Fidelity Bank, it has commenced legal proceedings against Ghana Heights Limited and Akwasi Boakye Osei for recovery of outstanding balance of the loan amount together with interest and general damages for breach of contract, but could not tell how much was involved with regards to the outstanding balance.

Fighting Back 

However, Akwasi Boakye Osei, who is fighting back, said “Fidelity Bank only gave Ghana Heights Limited proposal letter to raise GH¢7 million dated 18^th September, 2007 and Fidelity Bank was able to raise GH¢3,344,618.54.”

“The landlord only executed a five-year lease agreement with Fidelity Bank to operate in the Adwoa Adjiewaa Building commencing from January 1, 2013. There was no automatic renewal as alleged by Fidelity Bank.”

He said, “Fidelity Bank only had the option to renew the lease agreement on or before January 31, 2013 by paying rent.

He added that the bank allegedly failed to pay withholding tax to the Ghana Revenue Authority and also failed to execute a new lease agreement for a second term of five years.

He said “per the reconciliation exercise I had with the bank’s CEO Jim Baiden on August 16, 2016, the entire 100% indebtedness was paid in full and the bank was to refund GH¢484,575.67 as at that date but the bank failed to do so.”

He claimed he has text messages and emails that showed that the bank pleaded with him not to go to the media.

ALARM BLOW OVER IBRAHIM CARS AT AIRPORT

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Monday March 12 , 2018

Firebrand Member of Parliament (MP) for Assin Central in the Central Region, Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, has made mind-blowing claims to the effect that a private company, headed by a Lebanese at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA), is being allowed to operate without any official security supervision.

The company is said to be allowing cargo to pass through its system with security checks.

Mr. Agyapong claimed the owner of the company, called GH-Swissport Ghana Ltd. - a cargo handling company, which operates at the airport - has an ‘affiliation’ with former President John Mahama and because of that the company does not allow the National Security to monitor its activities at the airport.

The MP said on Oman FM’s ‘Boiling Point’ programme last Thursday evening that the issue reached a crescendo recently when ex-President Mahama’s younger brother, Ibrahim Mahama, brought his cars to the Swissport Ghana Ltd facility for shipment abroad for servicing.

However, DAILY GUIDE cannot verify the claims, but other airport sources said Ibrahim started shipping his cars out for the supposed servicing from 2013 - 2014 when his brother was president.

According to the sources, the cars are always parked at the Airport Clinic before the shipment and that no checks are conducted on the vehicles.

It’s unknown the countries they send the cars to for the servicing, but sources said Dubai, where the Mahamas have allegedly acquired properties, might not be ruled out.

The sources expressed fear that the vehicles might be conduit in shipping things outside the country.

Per the MP’s mind-blowing narration, it was clear that there were serious security breaches at the cargo section of the airport; and he did not waste time in indicting the government for allowing the Lebanese owner to dictate to officials at the place.

According to the MP, “The private company has its machines installed virtually on the tarmac and runs his own private security.”

Mr. Kennedy Agyapong said matters came to a head on February 26, 2018 when Ibrahim Mahama’s vehicles arrived from abroad and another batch was being prepared through the Swissport facility for shipment on the same day.

“On 26^th February, Ibrahim Mahama brought three cars which were all 2010 Mercedes Benz models to the place after servicing abroad. The time Ibrahim’s cars arrived, the same Ibrahim had brought another four cars, including a Bentley which had been loaded onto the pallets for shipment abroad for servicing,” the MP said, adding, “The moment three cars landed, four were on their way out.”

Mr. Agyapong said that the airport security decided not to allow the cars to pass without the proper checks and therefore, “from 8 to 11:30 pm, there was a stalemate between the Swissport guys and the airport officials. There is video evidence to that effect.”

The MP said, “Ibrahim then tried to introduce politics into the issue by claiming that it was because of his relation with the former president that the security agents were being hard on him.”

He said in the process, the security officials decided to quarantine the cars and ordered that nobody goes close to them.

The MP alleged, “However, CCTV camera captured Ibrahim’s agent taking something out of the car,” claiming, “That guy should be arrested. What did he go to take from the car?”

According to Ken, “All the cars that came had wrong identifications, except one that was registered in the name of Engineers and Planners - a company belonging to Ibrahim Mahama.

“The car was later transferred in the name of one Yaw Asare, then Yaw Asare also transferred it into the name of another person and that person has once again transferred the car into the name of Engineers and Planners,” the MP alleged.

“When the airport security requested for the documents covering all the cars before giving them the green light to ship them out, Ibrahim and his people came back and took the cars away,” Ken posited.

He bemoaned, “It is not Ibrahim’s issue that worries me; it is the way the government has allowed that Lebanese to have the audacity to hire his own private security and not allowing the National Security operatives to enter his facility at the airport.”

He pointed out that “there was a CCTV camera fixed at Swissport facility facing the direction of the Presidential Wing where the president uses on his travels, but they have turned the camera’s direction.

“The Swissport guys do their own inspections without the involvement of any official security agent and allow the cars to be loaded unto planes to fly abroad for servicing. They don’t allow National Security operatives into their facility.

“The danger involved is that if there is any contraband the security agents cannot detect it. I don’t want to speculate but it doesn’t make sense that you can ship out a 2010 Mercedes Benz for servicing abroad.”

DAILY GUIDE investigations revealed that in the ensuing struggle between the National Security and the Swissport private security, the Narcotics Control Board (NACOB) officials were brought in to help screen the cars before they were allowed to be shipped out.

 

NACOB Dogs Tired 

Strangely, the NACOB guys claimed the sniffer dogs were tired and did not bring them to do the job.

He said, “We (NPP government) are sleeping in a room but we have our legs outside. I keep saying we, the NPP, are in power but we are not ruling.”

NDC REJECTS LIGHT BILL CUTS

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Friday March 09, 2018

The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) is fighting against the recent reductions in electricity tariffs by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government.

Some NDC Members of Parliament (MPs) have argued that the measures put in place by the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) to bring down electricity tariffs, effective March 15, are counter-productive and will bring back erratic power supply, known in local parlance as dumsor - which reigned supreme when the NDC was in office.

Energy Minister, Boakye Agyarko, has denied that the tariff cut will bring back dumsor, saying dumsor is gone with NDC.

NDC believes that the electricity tariff reduction was political because the NPP had promised to reduce tariff of power when elected.

Strangely the same NDC had accused the NPP of not fulfilling its campaign promise of reducing tariff and other promises.

One of those opposed to the tariff cuts is Edward Bawa, NDC MP for Bongo in the Upper East Region, who worked at the Ministry of Energy as a communication specialist.

Reduction Fears

He said after the PURC’s announcement, he feared the reduction in tariffs was going to bring about power crisis because it was going to compromise the revenue projections of the utility providers and power generators and expose them to debts.

“If you look at the challenges that brought us into dumsor, apart from the capacity and fuel security, it also had to do with the financial health of the utilities,” Bawa, who is a ranking member of the Mines and Energy Committee of Parliament, said on Citi FM.

“The current move, the reduction is on the energy charges, it is an encroachment on their revenues because energy charges are one of the accruals that the utilities will make,” he noted.

He insisted that the NPP government is risking the energy security of the country in the name of promises it made during the 2016 electioneering campaign.

“I know the factors that took us to dumsor. Those factors are still lingering. My fear is that if we don’t consolidate and make this system robust, and just because of the fact that we want to satisfy electoral promises, we go into situations like this, we may expose ourselves to yet another dumsor,” Mr. Bawa posited.

Taxes & Levies

He proposed that President Akufo-Addo’s government should be “focusing on the burden it puts on the tariffs in terms of taxes and levies. For example, you have a VAT of 17.5 percent on it. In all these arrangements, the take that goes to the state and the take to the government have not been touched.”

According to the MP, “Industry will expand; they will make profits; you tax those profits. They expand; they employ people and you still tax incomes. This is how you will get it (revenue). It is an indirect road but you will eventually get the money. That is the proposal I am making,” the MP said.

The PURC announced a general reduction in electricity tariffs and in the announcement, residential customers will enjoy 17.5% reduction, while non-residential customers will see tariffs cut by 30%.

Those in the mining sector were given a 10% tariff cut, and 25% cut for Special Load Tariff Customers (LV, MV & HV).

Ahead of the PURC announcement, the NDC had lambasted President Akufo-Addo for announcing some average power tariff cuts of 14% in January, claiming the president was usurping the powers of the independent regulator (PURC).

Energy Minister

In January, Energy Minister Boakye Agyarko exposed the minority spokesperson on energy, Adams Mutawakilu, who had claimed that the ministry did not make any proposal to the PURC to be factored into the calculation that led to the reduction of tariffs as captured in the 2018 budget.

“The ministry sent a proposal to the PURC on the 17th of November, and he is welcome to see copies of these matters. 

Indeed, it is within his power as the ranking member to summon me to the Mines and Energy Committee (of Parliament) for such a verification,” the minister rebutted, adding, “We have submitted our proposal and I can say that without fear of contradiction, because I know that is what the truth is.”

NDC Cynicism

The NDC has always been cynical about the government’s plans to reduce electricity tariffs in the budget.

In November last year, they rejected moves by the Akufo-Addo administration to reduce the cost of electricity when the budget was read by Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta.

Adam Mutawakilu, NDC MP for Damongo in the Northern Region, had told Joy FM that the government had no power to reduce the cost of power.

Majority Leader Haruna Iddrisu was also skeptical about the government’s ability to cut energy tariffs.

He had said ‘Hallelluya! after the budget had been read and the proposed reduction was made.

He had said sarcastically, “We look forward to the proposed reduction.”

Paradox

Bizarrely, the NDC is the same political grouping whose members are on the neck of the government to reduce the economic burden of Ghanaians.

Recently, the Energy Minister revealed how NDC appointees during the Mahama administration padded the cost of power purchasing deals, forcing electricity tariffs to skyrocket and the NPP government had to re-negotiate with the power producers to bring the cost of producing power down, thereby enabling the government to make proposals to the PURC to cut down tariffs.

The NDC, although claiming to be a social democratic party, has been against every pro-poor policy and social intervention that has been introduced by the NPP government and its hatred for the Free Senior High School initiative is a classic case.

DAILY GUIDE learnt that the NDC would soon come out with a robust response to the tariff cuts and it is going to be in defence of the power producers as against the public.

EC IN LIMBO

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Friday March 09, 2018

It has emerged that critical electoral activities being embarked upon by the Electoral Commission (EC) have been put on hold.

It follows a decision by the chairperson of the commission, Mrs. Charlotte Osei, to wait for official approval from the Ministry of Finance before authorizing any expenditure on electoral activities in the country.

Her decision comes in the wake of demands by Alhaji Amadu Suley - her deputy in-charge of Operations - to the effect that he had not been given any budget for the electoral activities as was the case previously.

DAILY GUIDE learnt that on March 2, 2018, Mr. Amadu Suley wrote a memo entitled, ‘Performance of our statutory functions’ to Mrs. Charlotte Osei requesting for the budget or initiate any discussion on electoral matters.

The chairperson responded in a memo dated March 5, 2018, reminding her deputy that the new financial rules which came into effect on August 26, 2016, does not allow the commission to embark on any expenditure before seeking approval from the ministry.

Explaining her position, Mrs. Charlotte Osei indicated, “Let me point out that before the inception of the GIFMIS system, government budgeting was prepared using the activity-based method. In that system, all processes were done manually with very minimal control.”

She pointed out, “Currently, with the GIFMIS system in place, government budgeting is now strictly programme-based. This means that no public institution can incur expenditure when it is not budgeted for in its appropriation approved by parliament.”

According to the EC boss, the staff at the commission’s finance department had been “engaging the officials of the ministry of finance towards resolving the issue of critical electoral activities” which are not captured in the commission’s approved budget.

 “It is important that in line with the law, that we allow the ministry to resolve this issue, ie change of use of budget, must have prior approval of the ministry of finance,” she emphasized.

She drew the attention of the deputy commissioner to the provisions of the Public Financial Management Act of 2016 (Act 921).

She said, “It is my considered view that it is prudent for me in my capacity as chairperson, to ensure that all our expenditure is in line with the law.”

Mrs. Charlotte Osei pointed out that despite Amadu Sule’s “seeming concerns as deputy chair, Operation,” in his memo, she neither received a single memo from him, requesting a budget for electoral activities.

“Whilst you have raised pertinent laws that enjoin us to conduct important elections in line with our constitutional mandate, let us be mindful of other laws which require our compliance – notably, the Public Financial Management Act of 2016 (Act 921), in carrying out our constitutional mandate,” she said. 

AMIDU GETS SET WITH WOYOME

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Friday March 02, 2018

Special Prosecutor, Martin Alamisi Burns Kaiser Amidu, has reportedly hit the ground running by going for details of a high-profile corruption case that rocked the country in 2011.

Details are sketchy, but information reaching DAILY GUIDE indicates that the Special Prosecutor, who is noted for his stance on corruption issues, appears to have settled on the Woyome GH¢51.2 million scandal as his first national assignment.

The paper learnt that Mr Amidu, a former Attorney General and Minister of Justice, has taken over the official files from the investigative authorities and is set to charge all those who might be implicated in the scandal.

Other Accomplices 

He has always maintained that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) financier, Alfred Agbesi Woyome, should not go down alone in the infamous judgment debt scandal; and recently at his vetting, he reiterated the same position.

“If we are going to prosecute, we should prosecute everybody involved and not Woyome alone,” Mr. Amidu had maintained at the Appointments Committee of Parliament on February 13.

The NDC bankroller, who fraudulently walked away with GH¢51.2 million for no work done, was said to have been aided by some staff of the Attorney General’s Department under Betty Mould-Iddrisu.

Some of the payments went into bank accounts of some staff at the Department and their wives, as well as some NDC gurus.

Pre-Election Bombshell 

A few days to the December 7, 2016 general elections which saw the defeat of Mahama’s NDC government, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) released a list containing the alleged beneficiaries of Mr. Woyome’s booty.

The GH¢51.2 million was fraudulently paid to the NDC man in 2010 by the Mills/Mahama NDC government on the instructions of then Attorney General, Betty Mould Iddrisu, and her deputy, Ebo Barton-Odro.

The late Professor Kofi Awoonor, who was the Chairman of the Council of State, allegedly received Woyome’ s booty.

He was said to have received a cheque for GH¢75,000; Johnson Asiedu Nketia, General Secretary of the NDC, GH¢20,000; Ade Coker, Greater Accra Regional Chairman of the party, GH¢30,000 and Koku Anyidoho, Deputy General Secretary, GH¢113,000.

More Revelations 

“On 8th February 2011, the NDC Greater Accra Regional Chairman, in a receipt, penned in his own handwriting, Mr Ade Coker was given GH¢30,000 by Woyome. The handwritten receipt reads, ‘Received from Consul Afred Woyome an amount of GH¢30,000.00,’ Signed Ade Coker 8/2/11. Asiedu Nketia is also listed as a beneficiary of the Woyome cash. For example, on 2nd September, 2011, he personally received GH¢20,000 from Mr Woyome. It was a cash cheque with serial number 727292,” the NPP stated.

The rest are Kwesi Pratt, Managing Editor of Insight newspaper, GH¢2,000; Steve Kpodzi, former Managing Director of ADB, GH¢60,000; Alhassan Sayibu Suhuyini of Radio Gold, GH¢8,000 and Jewel Ackah, a musician, GH¢60,000.

Woyome also allegedly gave GH¢15,000 to the NDC office in Hohoe, Volta Region; GH¢42,000 to the party for the purchase of motorbikes; GH¢30,000 to renovate (NDC) party office and another GH¢1 million to the same party.

“On 15th February, 2011, a one-million Ghana-cedi cheque was paid into the Unibank Ghana Ltd account of the NDC. We have a copy of the exact ADB cheque, which carries the No. 230051. Woyome's bank statement shows that that cheque was cleared the very next day,” the party claimed.

Presidential Trips

“On May Day (May 1, 2011), Koku Anyidohu received from Woyome personally a cash cheque of GH¢13,000, with No. 809093. A few days after, on 10th May, 2011, Woyome again gave Koku Anyidoho an amount of GH¢100,000 and the purpose is stated as ‘Koku’s Trip With President (Mills).’

“There is also payment of GH¢60,000 from Woyome to Steve Kpordzie, who was at the time the Managing Director of ADB. This raises serious questions over propriety. What did the Bank Manager do to deserve a cash payment of that colossal amount?

“In fact, the Speaker of Parliament, Doe Adjaho, is also listed as receiving GH¢10,000 from Woyome from cheque No. 727745,” the NPP revealed.

Amidu’s Efforts 

It was Mr Amidu’s efforts that led to the declaration by the Supreme Court that Mr Woyome should be made to refund the huge amount he unlawfully took from the state.

It was also in the course of delivering the Supreme Court judgement that a member of the panel - Justice Jones Victor Dotse - described the deal as a case of ‘create, loot and share,’ which has become a negative political mantra used against the NDC ever since - to connote the supposed corrupt deals of the party. 

Criminal Trial

Bizarrely, a criminal trial mounted against Mr. Woyome collapsed after the high court judge, John Ajet-Nassam, acquitted and discharged him for lack of evidence.

During his vetting, Mr. Amidu (fondly called Citizen Vigilante for his anti-corruption posture) had said, “As Attorney General, I had said that Woyome cannot be prosecuted alone and that all his accomplices must be prosecuted.”

He stopped short of naming the accomplices, but said that as the AG he met his staff to deliberate on the Woyome issues and “they all agreed that part of the fault is from this house (the Attorney General’s Department).”

He had also said that the Woyome case was the main reason why the NDC hounded him out of office as the AG, claiming, “If I had prosecuted that case, together with the accomplices, the result would have been different and my perception is that the prosecution was bundled to get that guy out.”

EC BOSS FIGHTS BACK

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Thursday March 01, 2018

Embattled chairperson of the Electoral Commission (EC) Charlotte Osei, has hit back at one of the six commissioners accusing her of turning her position into that of a sole-commissioner.

She stated in a memo in response to Ebenezer Aggrey-Fynn’s earlier claim that no meetings are being held by the commissioners.

According to Mrs Osei, as far as she is concerned, there is nothing happening at the EC which requires urgent attention to warrant a commission meeting and parried criticisms that she was carrying herself as a Sole-Commissioner.

She said she had stayed all matters requiring urgent ‘policy direction’ since the petition to initiate impeachment processes against her and her two deputies was filed and therefore she could not be said to be running ‘one man’ show.

Warning Memo 

Last week, a memo written by Mr. Aggrey-Fynn protesting the inability of the EC chairperson to hold commission meetings hit the media when he accused Mrs Charlotte Osei of acting like a sole-commissioner.

He had said that Mrs Charlotte Osei had refused to hold meetings with the other six commissioners to discuss the way forward for the independent electoral body, complaining that her action was in clear breach of the EC Act, 1993.

The commission member, therefore, gave Mrs. Charlotte Osei a one-week ultimatum to arrange a meeting to enable the commission to carry out its functions, failure of which he said he was going to use every legal avenue to get the matter settled.

In the memo written on February 16, 2018, Mr. Aggrey-Fynn had indicated that he sent an earlier one on 21^st August, 2017 on the same issue but “regrettably I am yet to receive an acknowledgement of it nor seen any action on the content.”

Equal Response 

However, the second memo was responded to by Mrs. Charlotte Osei on Monday, February 26, 2018, saying the agenda of the first memo sent by Mr. Aggrye-Fynn was “vague” and “was insufficient to form a basis of an agenda for a commission meeting.”

She said at the time the first memo was written, there was an Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) investigation into the commission’s staff Endowment Fund, as well as another EOCO investigation into the allegations contained in the petition sent to the presidency for her removal.

“The same petition has been presented to His Excellency the President and at the same time, your memo suggesting the need for a commission meeting, the petition had been forwarded by His Excellency the President to Her Ladyship the Chief Justice for judicial inquiry,” she indicated.

She told Mr Aggrey-Fynn in the memo that the matters which were before the EOCO and those before the Chief Justice could not form part of “the matters which require policy direction of the commission, or the commission risks being seen to be compromising or interfering in the ongoing investigations of inquiry.”

Sole-Commissioner Tag 

She said it would be helpful for Mr Aggrey-Fynn “to assist me by indicating which policy decisions I have taken during this period which belonged properly in the domain of the commission.

“To the best of my knowledge, all matters that require the policy direction of the commission have been stayed pending the conclusion of several ongoing investigations by different statutory bodies and authorities on the commission. If matters were considered urgent, they were circulated and brought to the attention of all commission members.”

Endowment Fund 

Mrs Osei said when EOCO sent a confidential letter updating her on the status of the investigation into the staff Endowment Fund, she made sure it was brought to the attention of all the members of the commission and also the input of all the members was requested in August 2017, into the preparation of the commission’s budget.

The EC boss said additionally, the views of the commission members were sought in the ROPAL case involving the commission and in October, the commission members had given their approval to the negotiation for allowances of staff, saying, “These matters, in my view, were matters requiring commission members’ direction.”

Open-Door Policy 

She said in the memo that the input of Amadu Sulley, her deputy in-charge of Operations, is sought on management matters, saying, “All matters are handled with the active involvement of the respective line directors. I fail to see how these actions amount to positioning myself as a sole commissioner.”

Clear Sabotage 

Mrs Charlotte Osei accused five of the commissioners, including Mr. Aggrey-Fynn, of holding a meeting without inviting her, although she has the sole prerogative to convene commission meetings; and appeared to suggest that they are sabotaging her.

“I recall a meeting convened at your instance with other commission members (Maida, Adjalo, Sulley, Dadzawa). I was neither invited nor informed of this meeting, although you yourself acknowledge now that meetings can only be convened by the chairperson under the law,” she fired.

She added, “I have also not been informed by you what the outcome of your meeting was neither was I informed of the agenda prior to and after the meeting.”

Mrs Charlotte Osei said that she is facing impeachment processes alongside her two deputies and that the ongoing processes required their respective presence at the committee sittings “at least four days in a week, as well as meeting with lawyers, witnesses and various other matters.”

She posited, “If the commission meeting has not been called, it is clearly because of the peculiar and unprecedented situation in which the commission finds itself and not because anyone has arrogated themselves the power of a sole-commissioner as you allege.”

AYINE MENTIONED IN ABUGA PELE’S CONVICTION

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Thursday March 1, 2018

It has emerged that former deputy Attorney General, Dominic Akuritinga Ayine, was a director of the company that was used to defraud the state of millions of dollars in the Ghana Youth Employment and Entrepreneurial Development Agency (GYEEDA) scandal.

The company, Goodwill International Group (GIG), belongs to Phillip Akpeena Assibit - who was jailed 12 years alongside former opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) MP for Chiana Paga Abuga Pele - who also received a six-year imprisonment term last Friday.

Pele’s Defence

Dr. Ayine’s name popped up because incarcerated Abuga Pele, then National Coordinator of the National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP) which the NDC changed to GYEEDA, and has now become Youth Employment Agency (YEA), had used GIG in his defence.

According to a document tendered in evidence by Abuga Pele to justify the NYEP’s dealings with GIG, Dr. Ayine, currently NDC MP for Bolgatanga East, was number five on the list of directors of GIG.

Other directors listed include Jean Claude C. Voucher, Benjamin A. Kassim, John Dadzie Mensah, Professor Alice Nyamengale, Sandra Ofori Ameyaw and Nii Otu Akwetey IX, described as Katamanso chief.

Reputable Organization

Abuga Pele had listed the names of the directors of the company to prove to the court that GIG is a reputable private company, backed by high-profile officials; and the NYEP was not wrong in dealing with them, but the trial judge, Justice Afia Serwaa Asare-Botwe, did not buy that argument.

At page 45 of the 53-page judgement, the judge said, “He (Abuga Pele) states that due diligence was done by NYEP officials to the MDPI where they saw that GIG worked in close collaboration with the MDPI and they also found that GIG had very high-profile officials and that they were particularly interested in the officers and directors of the company to enable us determine the nature of the company they were dealing with and also their experience profile.”

The court further held that Abuga Pele, who was the 2^nd accused person “also goes at great pains to show that he has approvals from the payments that were made and has explained at length the ceiling that was imposed on NYEP by the Minister of Youth and Sports and as well as the payment plans as far as financial management is concerned.”

Court Sentence

In the final analysis, the court sentenced the former NDC MP to six years’ imprisonment for abetment and another four years for causing financial loss to the state, but said all should run currently.

Assibit on the other hand, was sentenced to twelve years for defrauding by false pretences, four years for abetment and another three years for dishonestly causing financial loss to the state.

Assibit’s Assets

The court also ordered the state to recover any assets of Asibit equivalent to the sum of $1,948,626.65, which he fraudulently received from the state.

Specific Charges

On the charge sheet presented by the Attorney General’s Department at the beginning of the trial in February 2014, the two men were facing a total of 19 counts ranging from defrauding by false pretences to willfully causing loss to the state.

Assibit alone was charged with six counts of defrauding by false pretences to the tune of $2.028,605.20 and another five counts of dishonestly causing loss to public property to the tune of GH¢3.305,568.53.

Abuga Pele was charged with two counts of abetment, one count of intentionally misapplying public property and five counts of willfully causing financial loss to the state - all to the tune of GH¢3.305,568.53.