I deserve praises for being smart in Mahama’s government – Vicky Hammah tells critics

A former Deputy Communications Minister under the erstwhile Mahama administration, Victoria Lakshmi Hammah has responded to her critics over her infamous ‘Where is the speech I edited’ phrase which among other things led to her dismissal as a Minister.

According to her, Ghanaians needed to praise her for being smart as a minister to notice that she was reading a different speech rather than the one she edited.

Vicky Hammah at a launch of a campaign against Cyber Crime in Ghana was caught on camera complaining before her audience about the content of a speech she was reading.

She claimed the speech she was given was not the one she had edited earlier, and resorted to reading "from her mind".

Before that launch, Vicky Hammah was reported to have made a similar ‘error’ at the launch of the Expresso Ghana ACE Fibre Cable, where she told her audience that, there was a typographical error in her speech and blamed it on her aide.

But defending herself on the ‘After Hours’ with Mikki Osei Berko, Vicky Hammah stated that she was not part of the technical team of the Communications Ministry, therefore, her statement “This is not the speech I edited” should tell anyone who understands English she has edited a speech which was presented to her earlier.

“I thought Ghanaians should praise me for it that this is a very smart young girl, in the position of government and she knows what is wrong and what is not right, she knows what is written and what is not written,” she said.

“Unfortunately, I think that somehow my name and presence kind of elicit unnecessary interest and I was thinking - are people thinking in this country?” she noted.

Vicky Hammah stated further that she read some comments from her critics on social media claiming that she was not fit and qualified to be a minister.

“What is the qualification to be a minister?” she asked.

She said former President Rawlings did not need any qualification to rule Ghana for 20-years but rather the will of the people.

“In terms of elective process, if you go to elections and you win, it is the people who have chosen you and that’s democracy. The constitution gives the President the privilege to select a team of people he can work with” she noted.

Victoria Hammah was later sacked by former President Mahama after she was recorded allegedly saying she would stay in politics until she has made $1m (£600,000).

"If you have money then you can control people," she allegedly stated on the tape which went viral.