Woyome Saga: Kufour & Co. being shielded – Group

The erstwhile John Kufuor administration has been fingered for perpetrating illegitimacy with China-based Shanghai Group contracted in 2005 to construct several stadia in the country without Parliamentary approval and adherence to the processes of the National Procurement Act.

Several interest groups within and outside the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) are calling for the Attorney General, Marietta Brew Appiah-Oppong- who is currently on a hunt to retrieve all undue judgment debts paid due to the stadia project- to seriously scrutinize the Kufuor administration’s arrangement with the Shanghai Group because the contract did not pass through laid down constitutional channels.

“…is it not the case that the State wrongfully paid Shanghai Group when the State had no valid contract with them?” A civil society group known as the Coalition of Youth for Positive National Development (CYNPOND) questioned the role of the Kufuor administration in the bout of controversial judgement debts related to the CAN 2008.

The Supreme Court, more than a year ago, ruled on the issue, declaring that the judgement debt claimed by Waterville and Mr. Woyome should be retrieved by the Attorney General after declaring the duo’s arrangement with the Kufuor administration null and void for not following constitutional procedures.

CYNPOND has challenged the Attorney General to nullify the arrangement with the Shanghai Group and all monies involved in the contract also retrieved as is being done for Mr. Woyome and Waterville.

“We still find it unfathomable that, the regime that superintended the CAN 2008 tournament breached the public procurement act 633 with impunity by abrogating all the processes that the Tender board had initiated and went ahead to award the contract for the construction of the stadia to the Shanghai Group which never took part in the bidding process, before the closure of bids on 7/02/2005,” the group stated in a statement released on Monday and signed by its convener Puoire Prosper.

The controversial contract ceded to the Shanghai Group by the Kufuor administration is reportedly the main cause of the multi-million Judgement debt claimed from the Ghanaian government by businessman Alfred Agbesi Woyome and Waterville Holding Company Limited.

Last two weeks, Mr. Woyome was Discharged and Acquitted by Justice John Ajet-Nasam's High Court in Accra, after a three-year protracted criminal lawsuit brough against him by the State after claiming the controversial Ghc51 million judgement debt.

Mr. Woyome had had an agreement with the Kufuor administration to raise over one billion Euros in 2006 for several projects related to Ghana’s bid for the African Cup in 2008.

Based on these discussions, the then Deputy Sports Minister, Hon. O.B Amoah wrote to Waterville Holding- which had a working relationship with Mr. Woyome- in a letter dated 6/02/2006 granting the company permission to mobilize resources to the construction sites and begin work on the construction of the Accra, Kumasi and El-Wak stadia.

In the middle of the arrangement, the Kufuor administration for reasons described by Mr. Woyome as ‘personal’, cancelled the arrangement with Waterville and Mr. Woyome, and imposing the Shanghai Group on the project.

Information available to this paper indicates that, the contract with the Chinese company hand-picked by the Kufuor administration did not go through Parliamentary approval as required for international contracts stipulated in Article 181. The Shanghai Group also did not take part in the bidding process before the closure of bids on February 7, 2005.

“…in a country that is widely taunted as a beacon of democracy and rule of law, we find it difficult understanding why some individuals have always sought to pervert justice and injure the rule of law by flagrantly disregarding due processes and seeking to twist issues for their whims and caprices,” the CYNPOND statement available to the Republic newspaper read.

The erstwhile John Agyekum Kufuor led NPP administration is said to have deliberately masterminded the confusion by arbitrarily terminating the contract for Mr. Woyome’s consortium to raise a multi-million euro financing after it learnt that Mr. Woyome was sympathetic to the then opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC).

The facts of Mr. Woyome’s arrangement with the then Kufuor administration was highlighted in Justice Ajet-Nasam’s ruling.

After the High Court judge evaluated submissions made by Mr. Woyome, Justice Ajet-Nasam stated: “ It is my opinion that this letter dated the 5th day of August, 2005 formed the basis of a binding agreement between Vamed and Government of Ghana and the processes having been terminated wrongfully by the Government, the claimants were entitled to compensation for service rendered," Justice Ajet-Nasam emphasized.

Mr. Woyome between 2010 and 2011, made claims from the late John Evans Atta Mills administration of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) for some financial engineering bid for the CAN 2006 that went sour.

An aggrieved Mr. Woyome went to court around 2010 to press home his claim, which he succeeded in part through a consent judgement granted him. However, the judgement required the money to be paid to him in tranches of approximately Ghc17 million each.

However, a Stay of Execution of the claims was secured in court by the State after the first tranche had been paid. Mysteriously, however, within the time of the Stay of Execution, the full Ghc51 million was paid.

The then Attorney General, Betty Mould Iddrisu was responsible for mediating between the State and Mr. Woyome in the judgement debt claim.

Madam Iddrisu is currently being pressured to be tried for causing financial loss to the state, but several interest groups have kicked against this suggestion, saying she acted purely in her duty as the Attorney General.

“The judge at the trial stated that Madam Betty at all times acted in good faith and in consultation with the relevant stakeholders. Where then lies the claims of connivance when indeed all these point to her hands being clean?” A group known as the Kwabre Democrat Front (KDF) questioned the demonization of Madam Iddrisu in a statement released on Monday.