Akufo-Addo’s answer to Songo’s Dzamefe’s report very disappointing - Addai Mensah

The Dean of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) Allied Health Sciences, Dr. Otchere Addai Mensah has expressed disappointment in President Akufo-Addo for not having the ‘Dzamefe commission report’ on his radar although he has vowed to cure corruption in the country and prosecute corrupt officials.

The President in his response to a question asked by Patrick Osei Agyemang popularly called Countryman Songo at the ‘Meet The Press’ encounter, stated that he has completely forgotten about the 2014 white paper but his government will not annul the recommendations as he tasked the Ministry of Youth and Sports to take proactive measures to fulfill details of the reports.

Asked about his impression on the meeting on Kumasi based Angel FM with sit-in host, Yaw Nimako, the KNUST Allied Health Sciences Dean remarked that, he was very disappointed hearing the President make such statements as the ‘Dzamefe commission report’ is too big a matter not to be on the president’s radar.

He noted that the report is a clear test case of fighting corruption as the findings requested some actors involved to pay back monies they have [stolen] from the state, so if the president ignores it, then it is a course for us all to worry.

He further questioned the president’s posture not to touch the Ghana Football Association (GFA) as, by FIFA rules, they are an independent association.

Dr. Addai Mensah noted that, although the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) and the Electoral Commission (EC) are independent, he said they have been touched politically over the years.

“ ….so the President should reconsider his position on that as the best thing that can happen to Ghana is for the presidency to collapse GFA at the risk of attracting sanctions from FIFA so as to restructure well and put the task payers monies into proper use”, he advised.

The ‘Dzamefe commission report’ is a 396-page document (from cover to cover) that is a result of a Commission of Enquiry set up by President John Mahama to look into how and why Ghana flopped so badly at the last World Cup.

The final report was submitted on February 10, 2015, to the President.

The commission noted adverse findings in the entire World Cup effort with an overall summary of expenses that could not be supported by third-party vouchers totaled $1,285,797. The report recommended the Ghana FA president, Kwasi Nyantakyi pays $412,500 being World Cup appearance fees that could not be accounted for.

Elvis Afriyie Ankrah, the sports minister at the time of the entire fiasco was asked to refund $31, 053 for general expenditures without supporting documentation and also to refund a separate GH¢15,000 which he claims was used to transport three busloads of supporters (at about 5,000 cedis per trip) from the Accra Sports Stadium to the Kotoka International Airport, a distance of 7.5km.

Gorsel Ltd, a website company was also asked to refund $13,757, being the payment made for a Ghana-centric 2014 World Cup website which was not completed but was fully paid for.

Travel Matters which could not account for $75,150 being the number of match tickets (for Ghana v Germany and Ghana v Portugal) that were not used but were still paid for by the state, was asked to refund. Travel Matters was one of the three travel agencies shortlisted to airlift supporters to Brazil and take care of the settling needs.