Cecilia Dapaah’s cash: My government will do everything possible to retrieve such wrongly acquired wealth – Mahama

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) flagbearer, John Dramani Mahama, has committed to a rigorous pursuit of funds and assets corruptly obtained especially by members of the current New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration.

The former president has vowed to work with relevant bodies to recover these if he is elected president.

Lamenting the escalating corruption and the blatant fiscal indiscipline under the current Akufo-Addo administration, the former president assured that his future government would spare no effort in reclaiming all illicitly acquired monies.

Highlighting the infamous incident involving former Sanitation Minister Cecilia Dapaah, where over $1 million was reportedly hoarded in her Abelemkpe residence and subsequently stolen by her domestic staff, Mr. Mahama declared his intention to foster partnerships aimed at recouping every Cedi unlawfully extracted from the public coffers.

Despite the socio-economic challenges, Mr. Mahama criticized the extravagant lifestyle of officials from the New Patriotic Party (NPP), including their use of private jets for travel, which could have been undertaken by the state's Falcon Executive Jet, lacking only a presidential shower facility.

“Notwithstanding all these socio-economic difficulties, the young people continue to observe the opulence of the [New Patriotic Party] administration’s officials and their families chartering private jets at $20,000 per hour for trips that our own Falcon Executive Jet could have done.

“And as the Minister for Defence explained, it [the Falcon Executive Jet] had no shower for a presidential bath," he said in a live broadcast themed ‘Mahama Conversations.’

He further remarked on the disillusionment of Ghana's youth, who have witnessed the extent of wealth hoarding by government officials, with the full scope of such misappropriated funds remaining unknown.

"Ghana’s youth have further experienced how a minister could stash millions of dollars in her home and only God knows the full extent of Ghanaian taxpayers’ money that has been stashed away by many others.

“But I say to the good people of Ghana that, working with Ghanaians and international anti-corruption partners, we shall do all that is humanly possible to retrieve such wrongly acquired wealth,” the former president said.

Mr Mahama made this remark during a virtual engagement with Ghanaian electorates on June 9, 2024.

Dubbed "The Mahama Conversations," the event seeks to serve as a platform for the flagbearer to "discuss important issues facing our country and engage in meaningful conversations with Ghanaian voters."



GA