‘Cash-for-seat’ charge bogus - Akufo-Addo

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo reluctantly commented on the ongoing parliamentary enquiry into alleged exploitation of expatriate businessmen in order for them to sit by him during last year’s Ghana Expatriate Business Award (GEBA) ceremony held in Accra.

The president, who has had an encounter with journalists, indicated that it didn’t make sense to suggest that some of the participants paid money to sit by him, especially when some of the award winners already have direct contact to him.

National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament (MP) for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, together with his minority chief whip, Muntaka Mubarak, alleged that expatriate businessmen were asked to pay $100,000 to sit close to President Akufo-Addo at the award ceremony, organized by the Millennium Excellence Foundation.

Parliamentarians were subsequently recalled from the Christmas break ahead of their resumption date to debate a petition sent to parliament by Ablakwa, leading to a parliamentary probe.

But President Akufo-Addo expressed the belief that the outcome of that investigation would not be any different from what he had found out.

He had earlier asked the Minister of Trade and Industry, Alan Kyerematen, to offer an explanation on the matter before concluding that there was no wrongdoing after he had received a report from the minister.

Speaking during his second encounter with the media on Wednesday, January 17, 2018 at the Flagstaff House, President Akufo-Addo said, “I was there at the occasion and nobody had made me aware that there was anything like people paying to sit next to me or anything. So it came as a surprise to me and I asked for an explanation and he [Alan Kyerematen] gave me a full account of the process that had been undertaken… I believe the statement he [Alan Kyeramaten] made to me is the very same statement that he made to the committee and it has been supported by virtually everybody that has been involved in the organization of the event.”



Saied Fakhry, Chairman of Interplast Group Limited, who emerged as the Top Expatriate CEO at the GEBA awards, was named as one of the expatriate business personalities who paid money to sit close to the president.

But the president wondered how possible that could be for someone like Mr. Fakhry, who has been his friend for about 40 years, to pay money to sit beside him.

According to the president, “I don’t see why Saied Fakhry will pay money to sit by me.

“His father was a good friend of my own father and he himself has become a very close personal friend.

“I eat in his house. He eats in my house. He has my telephone number I have his. Even after I became president I have eaten in his house a couple of times.”

He stressed, “I would be amazed if somebody like that would think that he has to pay money to sit next to me…this is a man that can get me anytime of his choosing.”

Denial

The Foundation and some top expatriate chief executive officers, whose companies were at the awards, have all denied paying a dime to sit beside President Akufo-Addo, whose government is busily working to provide a conducive environment for foreign businesses to thrive in the country.

Parliamentary probe

The president said he was in favour of the probe and the transparency it has brought to the process.

“The fact that there is a public enquiry in itself, does not shake my own conviction that nothing untoward had taken place and that is the reason I took that position that I did, so that there can be no question that anybody is attempting to cover up anything; and people can see in the bright light of day on television what took place and make up for themselves their own mind whether or not something had gone on.”

Mohammed Mubarak-Muntaka, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Alan Kyerematen and officials from the Millennium Excellence Foundation have all appeared before the committee to give testimony.

But none of the expatriates invited to testify showed up on the final day of sitting, forcing the committee to adjourn its sitting indefinitely.