Ghanaian voters must punish this NDC impunity!

The saddest aspect of the condition in which Ghanaians find themselves today is the clear evidence provided by our government on a daily basis, that it does not care about what the citizens think of it.

According to information revealed to OccupyGhana, the articulate pressure group that keeps an eye on events in Ghana, the NDC government has awarded a contract, valued at 35 million Cedis, to a company owned by Alfred Agbesi Woyome!

Who? Not the Woyome?

Yes – the very one! Even as we wait in high hopes that the Supreme Court will allow the indefatigable Martin Amidu to question Woyome on how he’s going to obey the Supreme Court judgement that he should repay the GH¢51 million he obtained from the Ghana government without doing any work for it, the same Ghana government, which has been pussyfooting with regard to retrieving the money from Woyome, has entered another agreement with him!

Here is what OccupyGhana’s statement on the newly discovered agreement says:

QUOTE:

“OccupyGhana is shocked, outraged and appalled to discover that while the nation is still reeling from the effect of the Alfred Woyome judgement debt scandal, and the stalled and

hesitant attempts by the Attorney-General to execute the judgement of the Supreme Court [on retrieving the 51million Cedis paid to him for no work done] the Government of Ghana has, on the blind side of Ghanaians, entered into a “confidential” and potentially lucrative agreement with Woyome, acting through one of his companies, Anator Holding Company Limited.

“This same Anator Holding Company, in the current proceedings in court, is one of the companies that has filed an interpleader, claiming to be the owner of two of Woyome’s properties that the Government has finally managed to attach in execution of the judgment. That matter is still pending and unresolved.

“We have seen a Framework Agreement dated … 21st December 2015, for Anator Holding to “develop deep seaports (including) industrial parks and green townships” in Ghana. The Agreement is signed by Woyome as Executive Chairman of Anator Holding Company Limited, and the then Minister for Transport, Dzifa Aku Attivor. That Agreement was entered into on the basis of a non-binding scantily- drafted Memorandum of Understanding entered into between the same Woyome company and the Ghana Ports and, Harbours Authority on the same subject on 28th August 2015.

“The Framework Agreement with Ghana is expressed to have been entered into so that Woyome’s company can raise an initial financing of US$8.5M just for feasibility studies. In other words, Woyome is relying on the country’s goodwill to raise financing for a sweetheart deal that he has entered into with the GPHA [Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority] and is possibly shopping around banks all over the world for money, on the back of this agreement.

“That bogus Agreement was signed with the express approval of [the NDC] Cabinet, as conveyed by a letter signed by the Chief of Staff from the Office of the President, dated 16th December 2015.”

[The Occupy Ghana statement goes on]: “It is instructive to point out that the Agreement was signed on the same day that the Cabinet approval was received by the Ministry of Transport. We have seen how Woyome operates. He hit us for GH¢51.2m that he did not deserve, on the basis of a non-existent contract. Our Government and its lawyers, either unconcerned or guilty of complicity, sat back when Woyome went to court and obtained a default judgment against us.

“Even though Mr Martin Amidu has obtained judgment for the people of Ghana, we are struggling to recover that money from him, and this same Anator Holding is battling to stop us from selling at least two of Woyome’s properties to pay the debt.

“It therefore beggars belief that in the face of all of these, our government would enter into any kind of agreement involving the same character and/or his companies. The irony of the date that agreement was signed cannot be lost on us. 21st December 2015 was the date that the former Minister of Transport, Dzifa Attivor, appeared in Parliament to lament that her Ministry was broke and that its budget was “woefully inadequate to meet developmental needs of the sector.” Incidentally, that was also the date that the impugned “Smarttys deal”, involving the same Dzifa Attivor, broke in Parliament.”

[The OccupyGhana statement declares:] “We are shocked beyond words! We demand from the Government, full disclosure and full explanation of the circumstances surrounding this contract. Who authorised it? Did the President know that Dzifa Attivor was entering into this contract on our behalf, and if so, did he do anything to stop it? Did the President know about the Cabinet approval? We demand from the Government and GPHA evidence that all proper statutory and procurement approvals were duly obtained in entering into these agreements and memoranda with Woyome. Further, we demand that the Government immediately cancels that agreement.

“Woyome has our money. He obtained that money under dubious circumstances. Thanks to Mr Martin Amidu, we have judgment against him. He has failed to pay. We should not be doing business either with him or with any corporate entity that he owns, controls or is associated with, under any circumstances.”

UNQUOTE

Throughout the Woyome saga, it has been evident that Woyome was, at every material stage of his relationship with the Ghana government, he was colluding with corrupt officials determined to help him transcend the rule governing contracts and payments entered into on behalf of the public.

Despite the hullabaloo raised against Woyome, government officials snubbed parliament – with the assistance of high parliamentary dignitaries – when parliament sought to obtain information about how the GH¢51m was paid to Woyome.

Resort to the judiciary proved pointless, as the state’s lawyers appeared not to be keen to retrieve the money for Ghana or indeed to secure a conviction of Woyome for fraud. Every intelligent person who has informed himself of the Woyome “financial engineering” scheme has smelt a rat about it. Many people have regarded it as a scam; a 419-type swindle

but executed with the full co-operation of the very state officials who should have locked up its perpetrator with utmost glee.

Yet, our government has not only NOT regretted the part played by its officials in the execution of the scheme but appears to be willing to hand over more funds to the swindler.

It is evident from the foregoing that the NDC government does not respect the people of Ghana. We need money to provide toilets and running water for our schools. We need money to end the odious practice of obliging schools to operate under trees. We also need money to repair our roads and renovate our power-generating systems.

But what does out government do with the little money we have? While it has borrowed so much money from abroad so that our debt to GDP ratio is close to 70 percent, it does not scruple to hand over the fruits of cocoa farmers’ efforts and workers’ taxes to swindlers.

The people must reap vengeance on it by revoking its authority when the polling stations open on 7 December 2016. Governmental impunity must be ended in Ghana. The NDC government must be punished with the greatest defeat any government has ever suffered at the polls in Ghana.

Enough is enough.

Ad?n? (But why?)

Maaba? (Why oh why?)