Veeps Brother Relocates Businesses

-To neighbouring country

In the light of the recent accusation of corruption and conflict of interest against the president of Ghana, John Dramani Mahama by the opposition New Patriotic Party, citing the president’s brother, Ibrahim Mahama’s business interests, The Al-Hajj re-produces today for the benefit of cherished readers, a story on the relationship between the NDC government and Mr. Ibrahim’s company, Engineers and Planners, first published on the 14th of April, 2011 with the caption:

VEEPS BROTHER RELOCATES BUSINESSES

Story By Alhaji Bature Iddrisu

The issue of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) disappointing its ‘foot soldiers’ and sympathizers for non-fulfilment of promises made to them during campaigning is taking another new dimension. This time around; businesses that provided funding and support to the Atta Mills 2004 and 2008 campaigns are also becoming equally frustrated and disillusioned.

According to information reaching The Al-Hajj, several companies that supported the NDC financially during the 2004 and 2008 electioneering campaigns are being discriminated against when it comes to award of government contracts or support for credits.

Some of these companies operate in the mining, forestry, oil and gas, ports and tourism sectors and one such business enterprise to have suffered irreparably under the government of the NDC is no other than the Vice President, John Dramani Mahama’s own brothers’ Engineers and Planners Company Ltd, located at Abelenkpe in Accra.

The young, enterprising and energetic entrepreneur, Ibrahim Mahama, Chief Executive of Engineers and Planners, though hounded by the Kufuor administration, managed to hold his company’s head-above water within the eight year rule of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government.

His crime, according to a source close to him who pleaded anonymity, was that, with the rate of growth of his company, it was thought he was likely to channel extra resources from his profits into his senior brother’s presidential ambitions and by extension, funding its fiercest opponent, the NDC.

However, under his own NDC government, with his brother as the second most ‘powerful’ person, Mr. Ibrahim Mahama and his company, our source reveals has been so frustrated that, he has decided, and actually began relocating his businesses to a neighbouring West African country.

According to our source, Mr. Ibrahim Mahama’s flagship company, Engineers and Planners, with over 15 years experience and specializing in the management and hiring of heavy duty plant, equipments and machinery, haulage, oil and gas, land reclamation and restoration, dam construction and mining, mainly in Ashanti and Western regions has now been compelled under bizarre circumstances to painfully relocate some of his businesses to the West Africa sub-region.

In what looks like ‘a prophet not recognized in his own home’, the Chief Executive Officer of Engineers and Planners, Ibrahim Mahama who was reported to have been among the major financial ‘pillars’ to the Atta Mills’ campaign in 2004 and 2008, according to our source, has been unable to tender for government contracts and access credit just as any ordinary company does under normal circumstances, because of the mere fact that he relates to the vice president.

Ironically, we are told majority of those who hold the view include top NDC party members who day-in and day-out leak false information about him to the press.

Some investigations carried out by The Al-Hajj confirmed that Mr. Ibrahim Mahama and his company’s woes are somehow politically motivated.

Investigations reveal some powerful members of the ruling NDC government who thought Vice President John Dramani Mahama will be so much strengthened and positioned in his alleged quest to succeed President John Atta Mills, should his shrewd business tycoon brother be allowed to ‘have’ his way under this administration are reported to be behind this despicable behaviour.

It would be recalled that the Vice President recently confirmed his brother’s predicament, when he angrily reacted to ‘The Publisher’ newspaper front page story to the effect that some NDC financiers were unhappy because a brother of the Vice President, Ibrahim was getting almost all the most lucrative government contracts through him John Mahama.

In a rejoinder, the paper quoted Vice President John Dramani Mahama as having stated; that none of his brothers, including Ibrahim, has ever been given any government contract or project to execute since the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government came to power.

According to the paper, the vice-president said; “you can check all the Ministries, Departments and Agencies to verify if any of my brothers has any government contract”, he stressed and added: “My brother has not gotten any single government contract since we came into power in 2009. My brother is quarrelling with the government (NDC) 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”, Mr. Mahama maintained. Stay tuned for more