NPP Man Turns On Own Gov't

AFTER HELPING the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to secure political power in the year 2000, Professor George Ayittey has descended heavily on his government for not being proactive.

He doubts whether the Kufuor-led NPP administration is indeed fighting corruption and practicing the rule of law or is practicing selective justice.

If the administration is committed and is to succeed in its avowed fight against corruption as evident in the government's open declaration of 'zero tolerance for corruption' he says there is need to arrest and prosecute people like Mr. Paul Victor Obeng, former Special Advisor to ex-President Rawlings for his alleged multiple complicity in the Scancem scandal.

He believes the former Advisor to the PNDC government has lots of questions to answer regarding his role in the ongoing investigations. Professor Ayittey, who is also President of the Washington D.C-based Free Africa Foundation which criticizes corruption, oppression, and mismanagement in government's wonders why all this while, P.V Obeng is walking a freeman though his name has been mentioned as being one of the recipients of the US$4 million bribe from Scancem, mother of the Norwegian company Ghacem.

"If Victor Selormey was arrested and jailed for embezzling US$1.5million of World Bank funds intended for the computerization of the court system, why hasn't P.V Obeng been arrested and prosecuted?" he asked rhetorically.

This according to him makes a whole mockery of the NPP's fight against corruption with its avowed 'zero tolerance of corruption'.

Already, he says people have started asking lingering and prodding questions why people have been left of the hook.

According to him, some are beginning to whether it's because of his tribe, the school he attended or the church he attends.

He believes it could also open the floodgates for speculation since people are going to ask whether government is not being able to prosecute him because some of its own members are neck deep in corrupt practices and hence are afraid to be exposed.

For him, the whole thing is disgusting considering the fact that a Special Advisor to President Rawlings would allow a foreign company to monopolize cement trade and reap monopoly profits.

This he described as despicable since in his opinion, "it's a betrayal of the trust reposed in him by Ghanaians", saying "he betrayed that trust, he was suppose to protect the people against this foreign exploitative tendencies but he didn't, he tried to aid and abet that kind of exploitation of the Ghanaian people".

Professor Ayittey thus noted that what he did was morally and fundamentally wrong.

He relates the case of the late Victor Selormey who happened to be a former Deputy Minister to that of P.V Obeng who is accused of receiving bribes though he claims to have performed some consultancy services for the Norwegian company.

"In the case of P.V Obeng he engaged in a serious reprehensible crime by perpetrating an act of sabotage against the Ghanaian economy, so he should be arrested and prosecuted".

"In the interest of this administration, I think they have to totally disassociate themselves from this scandal", he noted.

Meanwhile, the former Special Advisor to Jerry Rawlings has called off the bluff of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO). The SFO on July 31 this year wrote to Mr. Obeng to the effect that he was being investigated for conflict of interest and abuse of power for private benefit.

Mr. Obeng was expected, as per the SFO letter, to furnish them with documents on his consultancy contract with Scancem.

On the scheduled day of appearance, Mr. Obeng did not show up but was rather represented by his attorneys, namely, Messrs Larry Adjetey and Samuel M. Cudjoe both of the Accra-based legal firm, Law Trust Company.

The duo, who were expected to spend much time on behalf of their client to answer questions, rather held officials of the SFO dumb-founded when they presented their stand in a letter.