NPP MP K. T. "Hybrid" Hammond Wants $52B, Not $62B, for Ghana?(2)
By: Prof Lungu
Ghana, before that apology, Mr. K. T. "Hybrid" Hammond jabbed that Dr. Kunbuor's statement was "...'...the most disgraceful statement that has ever been made by any member in (Parliament); it is insulting, it is foolish and should never be allowed...I ask for the statement to be withdrawn immediately…Mr. Speaker, I ask for the stupid and useless and foolish statement to be withdrawn immediately…it is palpable nonsense...'...But, it was Mr. K. T. 'Hybrid' Hammond who in the end was schooled about etiquette, responsibility, reflective pronouncements...", ( K. T. "Hybrid" Hammond, as shadowed by Prof Lungu).
Ghana, we know this: It is a fact that even the Lawyer, the Adansi Asokwa NPP Member of Parliament, Mr. Kobina Tahir "Hybrid" Hammond, bright as he is, cannot show Ghanaians where in 1990-era P/NDC law a "Ghana Hybrid System" for collection of oil revenues owned to Ghana is codified as law.
Further, as we said in Part 1 of this series, it would not be a surprise to many Ghanaians and Ghana supporters that Mr. "Hybrid" Hammond's tolerance for corruption, and his intolerance of the Freedom of Information (FOI) bill, seem unsurpassed by his own marks.
LAWYER K. T. "HYBRID" HAMMOND'S TOLERANCE FOR CORRUPTION SEEMS UNSURPASSED BY HIS OWN RECORDS:
You see, when we Googled Mr. H. T. Hammond of Ghana, the first and most noticeable item we found was an apology by Mr. Hammond to members of Ghana's Parliament on 7th December, 2013.
As reported:
"...Mr Hammond went ballistic when he rained insults on Majority Leader Dr. Ben Kunbuor who addressed the issue of corruption among politicians in the country...as the disease of the political elite...saying it had been confirmed by the 'drill ship and Woyome placards' on the floor of Parliament... However, K.T. Hammond was offended by the comparison with Woyome, saying that there was no corruption in the drill ship case..."
Subsequently, Mr. Hammond, in the halls of the Ghana Parliament and on radio, used those "...platform(s) to express...unqualified apology to the good people of Ghana...showing remorse about his conduct...(to the extent)...his outburst was...not of the “best behaviour”.
Imagine, before that apology, Mr. Hammond jabbed that Dr. Kunbuor's statement was "... 'the most disgraceful statement that has ever been made by any member in (Parliament); it is insulting, it is foolish and should never be allowed...I ask for the statement to be withdrawn immediately…Mr. Speaker, I ask for the stupid and useless and foolish statement to be withdrawn immediately…it is palpable nonsense..”
But, it was Mr. K. T. "Hybrid" Hammond who in the end was schooled about etiquette, responsibility, reflective pronouncements. And we have not even to speak of constitutionality and Ghana-centeredness.
Kudos to Dr. Ben Kunbuor for responsible Ghana-centered actions!
LAWYER K. T. "HYBRID" HAMMOND HAS NO LOVE FOR FREEDOM OF INFORMATION BILL, EITHER
Then there is the case just 2 days after the initial meeting with GIGS, on 9 July. In that case, members of Ghana's Parliament were discussing the Freedom of Information (FOI) Bill (or as they weakly call it, the Right to Information (RTI bill).
Apparently, if Mr. Hammond, now with the NPP minority has his way, the FOI bill will never see the light of day. According to the Record from Parliament, on that day in JUly, debate on the bill was not completed because among other reasons:
"...Member of parliament Kobina Tahir Hammond...called the bill a minefield, cautioned: 'We must be very, very conscious as a nation, extremely conscious. There can be proper governance without a certain amount of secrecy...You don’t open up the entire gamut of government to the prying eye of the entire public'..."
To that Hammond bewildering "secrecy and conscious as a nation" statement, MP and Minister for Science and Environment, Mr. Mahama Ayariga replied that "...it is the time to pass an RTI law....'I think this country has been cautious enough. It is rather time for us to courageously move forward when it comes to the passage of the Right to Information Bill..(because)...'good governance...underpins our constitution...”
So the other questions for Mr. Hammond are these:
1. What is Mr. Hammond afraid of?
2. Why is it is a bad thing when "the prying eye of the entire public" is focused on items the public buys and pays for. You know, all the government contracts, benefits, taxes, liabilities accrued, equipment purchased, etc., by Parliament and Mr. Hammond, on behalf of the People of Ghana.
Imagine!
Every month "high" public official Mr. Hammond receives more than GH¢12,000.00 , all tax-free, with a catalog of free benefits (free housing, free staff, free transportation, per diem, etc), all tax-free. Mr. Hammond does not pay income tax on all his income and benefits. But it is the Ghanaian worker who lives in Akatechi, Kofevi, Navrongo, Cape Coast, Ho, Berekum, Cabo Corso, Ogwa, Kumasi, Tamale, Tema, Bongo, Karachi, Paga, Kukurantumi, Zvalungu, and all places in-between earning a whole lot less money, it is they who actually pay taxes to support Mr. Hammond, Mr. Dagadu, and a whole heap of them.
Yet, Mr. Hammond wants secrecy for oil contracts. Mr. Hammond has no love for access to information held by government by citizens. To boot, Mr. Hammond wants less money for Ghana, even though the PSA accrues more money for Ghana, in the medium- to long-term.
ITEM: Our sincere thanks to Mr. Mahama Ayariga for standing up for swift passage of the FOI bill!
So, we ask this simple question of Mr. Kobina T. "Hybrid" Hammond and the NDC Deputy Minister For Energy and Petroleum, Mr. Benjamin Dagadu:
QUESTION: If Texas/USA, Malaysia, Kazakhstan, etc., can have the "Gold-Standard" Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) that will over the medium- to long-term pay Ghana billions more in oil revenues, why can't Ghana?
Why resist the PSA mathematics and science?
Here is our bottom-line: We believe that Mr. Hammond, Mr. Dagadu, and all those officials in Parliament who support them, or are otherwise silent, ought to sit up and do right by Ghana without further delays and loss of revenue to Ghana, today, tomorrow, and in the future.
Oil, after all depletes!
We are calling on all of them: Order!
Order!
Order!
(Read our final installment, Part III, in this series on these same pages!).
NOTE:
1. Our thanks to Andy K for making information and data available to us at www.GHanaHero.com.
SOURCES:
1. Ghanaweb. Feature Article, Petroleum bill a very bad deal for Ghana, 22 August 2015, Andy K / Solomon Kwawukume, Snr. Research Officer, GIGS.
2. Ghanaweb. I’m sorry – KT Hammond begs, 7 December, 2013, (www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/I-m-sorry-KT-Hammond-begs-294396).
3. CitiFMOnline. Don’t sack any Ghanaian technical staff, Petroleum Ministry warns Tullow, 18th March, 2015, (www.citifmonline.com/2015/03/18/dont-sack-any-ghanaian-technical-staff-petroleum-ministry-warns-tullow/#sthash.9ZM0JBg7.dpuf).
See more and read more, at www.GhanaHero.com/Visions.
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We are more than talk. We are data-driven! Prof Lungu is based in Washington DC, USA.
Lawyer Kobina T. "Hybrid" Hammond Wants $52B, Not $62B, For Ghana-v2 ©28 Aug 15.
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