Time up for "the Rawlingses"

The “Crusading Guide’s” Special Investigation Team (SIT) is seriously and painstakingly preparing a “Dossier” on the cases malfeasance against former President Jerry John Rawlings and his wife, Nana Konadu and avail the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) with it for the necessary action to be taken.

The SFO and CHRAJ are constitutionally mandated bodies to investigate cases of fraud and injustice and prescribe the needed actions that must be taken against the perpetrators. In recent times this paper has made a number of exposures in respect of the expensive lifestyle and fraudulent deals of “The Rawlingses” for the world to know how grievously they themselves reneged on the much touted principles of probity, accountability and transparency.

The Vol.4 No.49: 25 June –01 July, 2002 issue of the paper unveiled some hundreds of thousands of dollars stashed into the foreign account of Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings in Switzerland. According to the story, Nana Konadu, wife of ex-President Rawlings, operates her account at a Bank called GONET & CIE, described as a multi-million dollar facility.

Our Swiss Roving scouts indicated that GONET & CIE, Private Bankers, is located at 6 Boulevard du Theatre, CH 1121, Geneva, Switzerland. The Account No. 904242 and is described as an Investment Account – with Nana Konadu listed as the benefitiary and signatory.

Unofficial sources at the Bank showed that the current balance was US$632,400 and that millions of dollars have been passed through that particular account over the years (since the 1980s). As part of a whole package to unravel how “the Rawlings” and company milked out the economy of Ghana-thereby rendering it an HIPC nation.

The paper pointed out that “two daughters of ex-president Rawlings, Ezanetor and Yaa Asantewaa, both of whom are schooling in prestigious an expensive Universities in Dublin, Ireland, reside at 42 Fitzwilliam Quay, Dublin 4”.

It went on to describe the residence as being a ground floor two-bedroom apartment, standing on pillars with a basement garage for occupiers of the building. Fitzwilliam Quay, the “Crusading Guide” discovered, “is a complex of 102 luxurious apartments of exceptional quality on an outstanding water-front site. The current market value of a two-bedroom apartment at Fritzwilliam Quay is around 230,000 POUNDS to 250,000 POUNDS and the rental value id between 1,800.00 and 2,000 pounds per month.

This paper went further to indicate that, “Ezanetor’s name was listed on official records, page 570 of Irish Telecom Directory of 2000-2001 and page 549 of Thom’s Dublin and County Street Directory 2001- a restricted document used by the Valuation Office, Dublin, and Electoral Register for the Dublin area.

The Vol. 4 No. 46: 13-19 June, 2002 issue carried a headline, “Expensive education for the Rawingses’ …In overseas schools, where the fees charged range from 7000 and 15,000 pounds per annum”. The publication revealed that Ezanetor-the eldest daughter of “the Rawlingses” – Yaa Asantewaa, Amina and Kimathi, “in succession left the shores of Ghana for overseas education over a period of two years (1998-2000), in the latter days of the Rawlings Presidency”.

Ezanetor and Asantewaa are students in Dublin, the Republic of Ireland, and the former is a final year student at the School of Medicine, Royal College of Surgeons, Dublin, Ireland. It was gathered in the course of investigations that the tuition fees payable by foreign students, including Ezanetor, is 15,000pound per annum.

Yaa Asantewaa Agyeman-Rawlings is a third year Economics and Social Studies student at Trinity College, University of Dublin, where the tuition payable by all foreign students is 7,517 a year. Amina and Kimathi, both residing in England, “attend the editist Millfield School in England” and that “the current levels of annual tuition and fees charged at the school are 15,360pounds for boarders, and 6,705 for day students”.

Mrs. Rawlings had gone on record on several occasions as saying that some “good Samaritan” friends of theirs have been footing the children’s education on their behalf.” Ex-President Rawlings has been called upon to explain to Ghanaians how his four children’s education is being funded and by whom. (the Crusading Guide, Vol. 4 No.47: June 18-24, 2002).

Obviously alarmed by the revelations made earlier by the paper in respect of the expensive education of the four children of the “Rawlingses”, Hon. Theresa A. Tagoe, Member of Parliament (MP) for Ablekuma South, called on Rawlings to account for what was happening.

She wondered why J.J. Rawlings-who tasted political power as Head of State for almost two decades - should make a “U-Turn” and milk the economy, having once shouted that “everybody was a thief; all politicians were thieves, all business were thieves.”

However, two National Democratic Congress (NDC) MPs – Hon. Akua Dansua, South Dayi, and Hon. Doe Adjaho, Minority Chief Whip, saw the whole issue as trivial. Doe Adjaho intoned when reporters contacted him, “Even NPP Ministers and Chief Directors in the Civil Service are educating their kids overseas, and that is not a big deal”.

Following the exposure of Nana Konadu’s Forex Account, she threatened Kwaku Baako Jnr, Editor-in-Chief of “The Crusading Guide”, with court action. She later took the matter the National Media Commission through her solicitors.

In his reaction to that development, Baako pointed out that the searchlight on the secret deals of the “Rawlingses” was a complete package and so if the earlier publications had not been reacted to, that of the Forex Account alone could not be singled out for redress. Consequently, he refused to appear before the Commission.

Another NDC MP, Hon. Asiedu Nketia, Wenchi West, was suggested that must be prosecuted provided it could be established beyond all doubt that the said account resulted from any financial malfeasance. (Vol. 4 No. 50: 27 June 03 July 2002).

Under the banner headline “SFO to probe J.J. Rawlings… Over possible abuse of public office for personal profit involving in a Buick Riveira Saloon car gift from Massai Boss” Eddie Annan (Vol. 4 No. 53: 9-15 July 2002 edition), the Crusading Guide once again hinted that the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) would soon initiate a probe into the Buick Riveira Saloon Car Gift saga the paper published in its 21-27 February 2002 issue.

The story asserted that Eddie Annan, Chief Executive of Massai Motors Limited; gave the said car to former president Rawlings as a gift. Annan himself denied it on an Accra Radio Station “Joy FM” saying, it was rather given to Nana Konadu and not her husband. It was later established however, that ownership of the vehicle was transferred from Massai Motors Limited to that of Mr. J.J. Rawlings on 30 December 1997.