Minister Rasheed Bawa Steals computers (5)

In July 2002, the Gonjaland Association of North America held an annual congress in Washington. Minister Rasheed Bawa, at that time the Deputy Minister of Education, was invited to attend this congress. He did come, of course, since it involved traveling abroad. The Association appreciated his participation and he was indeed a vigorous participant.

During the same period the Association had secure 50 computers, together with 50 monitors, 13 printers and a number of assorted software, donated to the Association by the Florida Department of Education, intended to be distributed to seven Secondary Schools in Gonjaland. Mr. Rasheed Bawa, then Deputy Minister of Education, willingly offered to receive the computers for the Schools in Gonjaland, on behalf of the Ghana Ministry of Education, and therefore agreed for the computers to be shipped to him in Ghana.


Folks, no one doubted his offer, and being the then Deputy Minister of Education, who else could have served such a function better than he could. In fact, the Association was so pleased with his offer, and upon his (Rasheed Bawa?s) request, the Association even donated five of those computers to Mr. Rasheed Bawa for his own constituency. Little did we know then that Mr. Raheed Bawa had his own diabolical (Kalabule) plans for us.


There were many in the Association at that time who denounced this move. Their opposition was based on the fact that there are very active, enthusiastic and capable Gonjaland MPs, such as John Mahama, in addition to other prominent Gonjaland citizens such as Alhaji Jawula Nuru, Alhaji Tahiru Harruna, Alhaji Abu Jajah, to mention a few, who could have received the computers for the Gonjaland schools. In fact, the President of Gonjaland Youth Association in Ghana, a very able, dedicated and genuine individual was also available and capable of receiving and distributing these computers to the Gonjaland Secondary schools.


Any way, in August 2002, the computers were shipped to Hon. Minister Rasheed Bawa. Immediately following the shipment, Dr. Yakubu Saaka, former Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Liman Regime, followed up on the shipment to Accra to hand deliver the Bill of Laden to Hon. Minister Rasheed Bawa. That was in September 2002.


Surprisingly, in June 2003, as of yesterday, the Gonjaland Secondary schools have not yet received the computers from Honorable Minister Rasheed Bawa. Mr. Rasheed Bawa initially told the Association that the Bill of Laden had not been delivered to him yet. We immediately reminded him that the Bill of Laden was hand delivered to him by Dr. Yakubu Saaka in September 2002. He then came up with a response that he had finally located the Bill of Laden and promised to take delivery of the computers and hand them over to the President of the Gonjaland Youth Association in Ghana, Mr. Ewura, for distribution to the schools in question.


Folks, we decided to give Mr. Rasheed time to organize his activities and waited for two months. To our surprise, Mr. Rashhed Bawa did not deliver the computers and no one knows where the computers have vanished. This created a great deal of alarm and pandemonium, to use Alhaji Nuru Jawula?s favorite word, in the Gonjaland community, and more pressure had to be applied to Mr. Rasheed Bawa.

Today, as I write, the Gonjaland Association of North America has just received information from the Honorable Minister Rasheed Bawa that the Association will have to pay millions of cedis to him in order to retrieve the computers for the Secondary Schools in Gonjaland. According to Mr. Rasheed Bawa, he personally spent the following to retrieve the computers from Tema Harbor:


1. Bill paid to shippers --- 15 million cedis 2. Bill paid to GHAPOHA, Tema --- 15 million cedis 3. Documentation Fees --- 2 million cedis 4. Total Bill 32 million cedis.


Mr. Rasheed Bawa is therefore demanding payment in cash of 32 million cedis before he releases donated computers from USA to the poor school children of Gonjaland.


Folks, first of all, the freight or shipping was totally paid in the US before the computers were shipped to Ghana. Secondly, the many changing stories from Mr. Rasheed Bawa indicates that the computers were retrieved from Tema Harbor long time ago, and have either been sold on the black market by Mr. Rashhed Bawa, or used to open Mr. Rasheed Bawa?s ?Computer School? in his home town, as he originally planned to do with the donated five computers for his constituency.


This letter is an open invitation to the Kuffour Government to wake up and make sure that the computers are retrieved from Mr. Rashhed Bawa for the poor students of the Secondary Schools in Gonjaland. This situation, if unchecked, is going to cast a black name on all the many Charitable organizations in the US who are constantly and eagerly donating educational supplies to Ghana and Africa.


Kuffour, Gonjaland will hold you accountable for denying it?s children computer education, by ignoring their plea to discipline one of your Ministers whom stole their computers.