Scandalous partisanship and dangerous politicization of TDC

With the advent of the late President Evans John Atta Mills who later unfortunately

succumbed to an unexplained but very demeaning death, to power, on the ticket of the

NDC party, the Tema Development Corporation (TDC) started to be politicized.

In year 2009 when President Mills assumed the mantle of leadership of Ghana, he made

one Mr Joe Abbey, the then Director of Estates the Managing Director of the TDC.

Prior to Joe Abbey’s dubious promotion to the Managing Directorship of TDC based on

the fact that he was, and is still, a staunch member of the NDC, one Mrs Elizabeth

Mansa-Banson was the Managing Director.

When the NDC came to power on 7 January 2009, the woman was not yet due for

retirement/pension. However, the NDC kicked her out and made Mr Joe Abbey, an NDC

activist, the Managing Director. They perceived the woman to have an affiliation to

the then defeated NPP government hence forcing her out of her respectable cushy job.

When he took over as the Managing Director, the first thing he did was to

dishonourably remove the plaque made in honour of Elizabeth Mansa-Banson from a wall

in the Boardroom. The NDC felt strongly that as long as the woman was appointed by

NPP, she would still champion the cause of NPP even though the party was no longer in

power hence her demotion and disgraceful removal from her position as stated above.

Joe Abbey started to intimidate all the staff members he suspected to be NPP

sympathisers. On several occasions, he would say in meetings that the National

Security and the BNI had assured him that any staff member he perceived to be

undermining him must be reported to them to be drastically dealt with. He often

threatened to terminate the appointment of any staff member suspected to aspire to

undermine him. He repeatedly reiterated this nonsensically intimidating statement at

any least opportunity he had all in the belief of subjugating his perceived NPP staff

members to what was a perpetual culture of silence.

He was able to cow all those members who openly or covertly had affiliation to the

NPP. There was a total intimidation of staff members at the Tema Development

Corporation (TDC). At any least or given opportunity, he kept reminding the staff

that the seemingly partisan and politicized BNI and the National Security personnel

have asked him to report his enemies to them and once done, they would not hesitate a

minute to deal mercilessly with such culprits.

He once, out of sheer malice, did report some perceived NPP sympathisers to the

Serious Fraud Office (SFO) now the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) to be

investigated. However, there were no adverse findings established against them

despite their repeated up and down travels or numerous invitations to the office of

the SFO.

As if that was not enough to quench his evil appetite for getting the alleged NPP

staff members expelled from the job, he side-lined those in senior positions that he

still felt were overtly or covertly well-disposed to the NPP. He rather preferred to,

and really dealt with, their subordinates that he saw and believed to be NDC guys,

faithful or activists.

He would call these subordinates to Board meetings, travelled with them to overseas

on missions relating to the TDC while their section or department senior members were

completely ignored for being correctly or falsely presumed by him, Managing Director

Joe Abbey, to be staunch NPP supporters.

That silly attitude of his has continued until today, Saturday, 7 January 2017 that I

am penning or typing this article, for publishing.

My conducted investigations into his bizarre partisan and unethical attitudes have

revealed that he was due for retirement in April 2016. However, for unexplained

reasons only best known to him and the now gone President “ Ede bii keke Onaapo”

John Dramani Mahama, the most unprecedentedly corrupt, clueless and incompetent

President in the annals of Ghana politics and the NDC, he was given a two-year

extension of his contract by President Mahama.

At a quarterly durbar held at TDC during the “questions and answers time”, he

boastfully made it clear that if a new government comes and attempts or decides to

abrogate or terminate his contract, he would sue for judgment debt.

What is a judgment debt? It is, “the amount of money in a judgment award to the

winning party, which is owed to the winner by the losing party”. He is resolutely

determined to take the government relieving him of his post before his

outrageously-extended two-year term contract ends to the Employment Tribunal for

unlawful dismissal hence his hope of extracting a handsome or a huge NDC-type of

“create, loot and share” judgment debt from the incoming NPP government if they

dare terminate his contract

Now that the table has turned with the advent of NPP to power, he has seriously

started lobbying them to remain in post but having first packed the TDC with NDC boys

and girls in what infamously constitutes job for the boys. However, because of his

divide and rule tactics, the majority of the staff are very agitated and disappointed

in his attempts to have NPP maintain him for all his devilish practice of

partisanship in favour of, and elevation of, the NDC staff members.

How can somebody who perpetrated and perpetuated this culture of divide and rule cum

harmful intimidation against the majority of the staff for their alleged NPP

political persuasion be still allowed to successfully lobby the NPP to continue to

remain in office to sabotage the party and the government?

Time changes and as said in Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, there is time and season for

everything. It is now imperatively the time for the Managing Director Joe Abbey to

peacefully proceed on leave prior to retiring. He has the option to either jump by

himself or he will be pushed at all cost as long as the no-nonsense Rockson Adofo

from Kumawu and Asiampa in Juaben has got involved. The choice is his. He must bear

in mind that Rockson Adofo does not suffer fools kindly.

He is on record to have said recently that some of the staff have started acting

funny following the declaration of Election 2016 results in favour of Nana AKufo Addo

and NPP. As thick as he is and has always been, thinking he can always be the law

unto himself because he had the fullest backing and support of the NDC, the SFO and

BNI, he threatened the staff that there was no way he would accept them jubilate the

NPP’s overwhelming victory in any form or shape at work. He reprimanded staff

members jubilating at NPP’s election victory and warned that any member who

continued to celebrate the NPP’s success in any manner or form would be stringently

dealt with to their regret.

Is this the person that the NPP are going to allow themselves to be lobbied by to

retain his position only to continue to suppress their sympathisers and their rights

to freedom of association?

If I had my own way, Joe Abbey would be a goner long ago. By his character and

ridiculous partisan nature unhealthy for running a big public corporation as TDC, he

must be deemed a misfit in his current job and position. I recommend he is forced to

resign or proceed on retirement before his two-year extension of contract comes to an

end.

Rockson Adofo

(Written on Saturday, 7 January 2017)