Akoto-Osei: Bankswitch abrogation was to witch-hunt me

Political victimisation and equalisation accounted for the abrogation of the Bankswitch project, Ranking Member of Parliament’s finance Committee and former Minister of State at the Ministry of Finance and Economic planning, Dr. Antony Akoto Osei has told XYZ News.

A judgment debt of Ghc197 million was recently awarded against Ghana for the termination of the IT firm’s project.

Bankswitch Ghana Limited sued the government of Ghana at The Hague, Netherlands for wrongfully abrogating a contract signed with the Finance Ministry to provide services.

The firm prayed the court for a compensatory award of Ghc853 million cedis for the illegal termination of a contract it signed with the government in 2007.

The Old Tafo Legislator, who recently dared the government to prosecute him if he is found to have acted wrongly in the Bankswitch affair, says the abrogation of the contract in 2010 is to blame for the judgment debt.

In his view, attempts by the current government to witch-hunt former government officials was the main reason behind the termination of the contract.

“It is the political colours that lead to blindness and, therefore, abrogation of contracts. If your camera lens does not look at the issues and you look at victimisation, you’ll end up making this mistake.

“I was being investigated in the early part of the Mills administration as being the owner of the Bankswitch. I don’t even know who are the owners of Bankswitch…I think somebody felt that somebody was bringing Banswitch - if it were mine - to channel money into the party and so in my view, the President, His Excellency Atta Mills , if he actually directed that the contract be abrogated, [then] I think he was misinformed. But I personally don’t believe that he knew that such a letter had gone out on his behalf,” Dr. Akoto Osei told Parliamentary Correspondent Kweku Sakyi-Danso.