Kufuor To Face Probe Over $30m Kickback From Vodafone?

Impeccable information picked up from the corridors of power by The Catalyst strongly indicates that former President John Agyekum Kufuor could be probed on some $30 million kickback he allegedly received from Vodafone during his questionable involvement in the sale of Ghana Telecom to the British telecommunication provider.

Clear indications are that the committee set up by President John Evans Atta Mills to investigate the sale of 70% out of the 100% Ghana government shares in Ghana Telecom to Vodafone, has made a recommendation that former President Kufuor should be probed on his questionable personal involvement in the deal. What is not stated in the committee report however, but this paper’s source has hinted could be a subject matter for President Kufuor’s probe in the Vodafone deal is an alleged kickback of $30 million that he received from the British telecommunications company. The said kickback, is said to have been allegedly paid to the then President Kufuor outside Ghana. According to our source, government is convinced that the $30 million kickback allegedly received by President Kufuor from Vodafone could be the motivating factor that pushed the former President to take several unilateral decisions in circumventing the laid down procedure in disposing of state assets. If it turns out in the end that former President truly took $30 million kickback from Vodafone, then that will reinforce the claim by Hon P. C. Appiah Ofori, an NPP member of Parliament that his colleague NPP MPs took $5, 000 bribe each from the Presidency at the Castle before ratifying the sale agreement in Parliament. In a related development, JOY FM has said that a source at the committee told Joy News former President Kufuor’s personal involvement in negotiations leading to the sale was questionable.

The Accra-based radio station said according to its source, even though the committee had sought to invite the former President, it decided a more powerful committee be constituted to do a more thorough job.

This shows the extent of the personal involvement of former President Kufuor in the sale of Ghana telecom. The committee found out that then President Kufour was present at all the meetings and in some cases met alone with the Vodafone team.

The committee report which is yet to be made public also indicates that legal provisions were breached in agreeing to the deal because of the former president’s involvement. It said Vodafone also failed to convince the committee how monies it invested in the acquired entity have been disbursed. The report, according to the source, heard from officials of Vodafone who took part in the negotiations and who supplied a list of all dates on which meetings to broker the deal were held. The committee also found out that there was absolutely no minutes taken at all the meetings, a development members found as strange. Amongst its key findings were that due process was seriously sidestepped and the Divestiture Implementation Committee’s involvement was gravely limited until the transfer of the shares to Vodafone.

Several laws, according to the source, were broken in the process and the committee is said to have suggested a criminal investigation. On the part of Vodafone, the committee is also said to have found out an alleged manipulation of figures since the takeover.

For instance, the committee is not convinced about how some $200 million capital injection into Vodafone’s operations between August 2008 and 31st May this year was disbursed.

Beyond the entire inquiry, the committee is also not happy with the way government is handling the results of the committee’s work because for a whole month after it concluded its work, the government had not taken any action on the report.

Amongst those said to have appeared to give evidence were the former Presidential Advisor, Madam Chinery-Hesse, former Chief of Staff, Kwadwo Mpiani and the Minister of Communications at the time Benjamin Aggrey-Ntim. Several officials of Vodafone, including Tim Harrabin, Regional Director with Responsibility for Ghana, also appeared before the committee as well as others who voluntarily appeared to give evidence.

According to the NPP chairman at the time, Mr Harona Issekou, the then President Kufuor was receiving kickbacks at the Castle, the seat of government. It will therefore be no news to the people of Ghana if it turns out that the immediate past President actually took the $30 million kickback from Vodafone.