President John Evans Atta Mills must be brazing himself for a major shocker very soon. There are indications that sooner than later some members of his cabinet will be named as recipients of huge bribes from a UK company, Mabey and Johnson. The company has already admitted that it paid substantial bribes to government officials in Ghana, Jamaica and Iraq.
The payment was allegedly made whiles Mr Jerry John Rawlings was Head of State. Information available to The Insight points to some people in the Mills administration. Mabey and Johnson spent up to $35 million building bridges in rural communities in Ghana in the 1990s.
Well informed sources say that Professor Mills has already been informed by credible sources that the scandal may rock his government. The problem however is that no names have as yet been released. The scandal came to light when the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) of the UK put Mabey and Johnson on trial in court Number 1, at Southward Crown Court for bribery.
In Jamaica, one Minister has already resigned claiming that he is taking action to repair the damage done to his reputation. The court in the UK has imposed restrictions on the media, preventing them from publishing the names of those who allegedly received the bribes.
Last week, Mr Kwesi Pratt, Jnr, Editor of The Insight called on the Mills administration to take drastic action against all those who will be mentioned as having received bribes.
He said they must first be dismissed and prosecuted the same way that former functionaries of the Kufuor administration are being dealt with. “It does not matter who is involved. Whoever they are they must face the music. What is happening to Asabee must happen to them,†he said.
