Ford gift: Mahama must establish conflict of interest – Vitus Azeem

Anti-corruption campaigner Vitus Azeem has advised that President John Mahama must open up and answer questions in order to truly determine whether he has engaged in conflict of interest.

The immediate-past Executive Director of the Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII) has added his voice to the multitude in the wake of the revelation that President Mahama, in 2012, received a Ford Expedition worth $100,000 as a gift from Mr. Dzibril Kanazoe, a Burkinabe contractor.

According to Mr. Azeem, questions such as whether the car was given as an appreciation of some past favors done to the Burkinabe contractor or whether it was to set the tone for future favors that the contractor is seeking from the President should be answered before conflict of interest can be established.

“I think that there are number of questions that probably still needs to be answered,” Mr. Azeem said while speaking on GH Today Thursday.

He continued: “One is the giver of the gift a friend of the President? What was the motive for giving the gift to the president? Did he give it in appreciation of previous favors or in expectation of future favours? So those are the questions that would normally come around in a conflict of interest discussion.”

“And then of course, you also look at the value of the car. There must be a good reason for you to give a car worth that much to a person. Even if you are very good friends; even if you are family members, it requires a lot of strength to be able to do that. So these are some of the issues which have to be answered.”