John Mahama Defends Brother

…He has never benefited from Government contract

John Dramani Mahama has denied his brother, Ibrahim Mahama, also Chief Executive Officer of Engineers and Planners has unduly taken advantage of his office to make gains.

He stated that no member of his family, including Ibrahim, has benefitted from any government benevolence since the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government came to power in 2009.

According to President John Mahama, his junior brother, Ibrahim Mahama who is also the CEO of the largest Ghanaian contract-mining firm, Engineers and Planners was even mad at the NDC government for dumping some of them who assisted the NDC financially prior to winning power in 2008.

“My brother has not gotten any single government contract since we came into power in 2009. My brother is quarreling with the government because he says we have abandoned those who financed the party. It is true that my brother supported the party financially but he has not been given any contract,” He dared his detractors who are bent on soiling his reputation by spreading false information to the effect that he John Mahama is abusing his office by facilitating the granting of undue state benefits to his brother to provide proof.

“You can check all the Ministries, Departments and Agencies to verify if any of my brothers has any government contract,” he stated.

Mr. John Mahama, then as vice president, was reacting to allegation on the front page of The Publisher newspaper of the 28th February, 2011 which stated among others that financiers of the ruling NDC were angry because Mr. Ibrahim, a brother of the Vice President, was beneficiary of virtually all lucrative government contracts, using the influence of the then Vice President.

Akin to what happened then, the now President John Mahama, only recently, has again come under harsh assault from the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) over allegations he induced a state financial organization to retire a GHC57.2 million debt his brother, Ibrahim’s company, owed the bank.

The NPP at a press conference a little over a week ago, catalogued a litany of what it says was corrupt practices associated with John Mahama’s tenure as vice president and president, citing a loan facility obtained by a company belonging to the president’s brother way back in 2007 and therefore called on the electorate not to renew his mandate saying a vote for his administration is "a vote for corruption, lies and debts".

But the company, Engineers and Planners in a statement on Thursday denied any wrong doing insisting, like any responsible organization, “it is committed to repaying all loans it contracted from two local banks in 2007”. In a release signed by its Chief Finance Officer, Sulemana Ahmed Amidu, the company stated:

“Engineers & Planners contracted financing from two local banks during the previous NPP administration as a five-year term loan. Subsequently, for some unknown reasons, the banks in 2007 suddenly converted the financing into a three-year term loan. Naturally this created debt repayment difficulties for Engineers & Planners…

“Under the previous and current administration, arrangements have been made to refinance the loan through a multilateral funding agency. Engineers & Planners is mindful of its confidentiality obligations to third parties regarding the steps that are being taken to re-finance the debt, and therefore is unable to reveal the details of the funding, save to say that it has been approved after due diligence, which proves that Engineers & Planners is a strong and viable company which has robust cash flows to support a well structured financing”. The statement concluded “The Finance documents have been signed, stamp duty and other fees in excess of GH c2 million have been paid on all documents and collateral registered here in Ghana. Engineers & Planners remains fully committed to the repayment of the loan, and is hopeful that the funds towards its settlement will be disbursed soon”.