You are here: HomeNews2012 05 23Article 239827

General News of Wednesday, 23 May 2012

Source: The Herald

Kofi Adams Stabs Rawlings With ¢10 Billion Gov’t Contracts

By Larry-Alans Dogbey

Details emerging from the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFUND) have confirmed that the spokesman for ex-President Jerry John Rawlings and his wife, has betrayed the family’s “moral high ground” motto by secretly using their names to secure huge government contracts for sale. So far, four mouthwatering building contracts in the Greater Accra, Volta, Central and Eastern Regions at a cost of about ¢10 billion have been traced to Mr. Kofi Adams whom Mr. Rawlings recently described in a press statement as “one of the most truthful, forceful, logically minded personalities of integrity”.

Insiders told The Herald Mr. Adams dishonestly uses the names of Mr. and Mrs. Rawlings to acquire the contracts and sells the projects to private building contractors at outrageous prices, since he doesn’t have the capacity to execute them himself, but is only interested in the cash.

Records from the GETfund headed by Mr. Sam Garba, indicate that the contracts were awarded between 2009 and 2011 to Mr. Adams, who has called President John Mills, a non-performer and a traitor, who ought to be voted out of office because he has lost the “moral high ground”.

The highest single cost of a contract on the ¢10 billion list is a ¢5 billion-2-Storey Administration/Library building at Akroso Senior High School in the Birim Central District of the Eastern Region, while the lowest on the list is a 6-unit classroom block with ancillary facilities for the Etsii Bewora Islamic Primary School at Ajumako-Enyan-Esiam in the Central Region at a cost of ¢1.42, 285 billion.

The two other projects are a ¢1.52, 600 billion 6-unit classroom block with ancillary facilities at Fodoku Roman Catholic Primary School in the North Tongu District of the Volta Region and a 6-unit classroom block with ancillary facilities for the Katamanso Presby Primary under the Tema Municipality in the Greater Accra Region for ¢1.50,000 billion.

The Herald has learnt that on most of his secret missions to lobby for the contracts, Mr. Adams invariably ran down Mrs. Agyeman-Rawlings as an incorrigible person, who in league with ex-Kumasi Asante Kotoko Football boss, Herbert Mensah, had been inciting Mr. Rawlings against President Mills to make utterances that will undermine and cause disaffection for his government.

Meanwhile, The Herald has gathered that Mr. Mensah and Mr. Adams have not been on talking terms for some time now, as a result of Mr. Adams’ constant badmouthing of the ex-Kotoko boss, who has also vowed to teach Mr. Adams a lesson. It is unclear, however, whether Mr. and Mrs. Rawlings are aware of Mr. Adams’ activities in the corridors of power.

But there are claims that Mr. Adams has gotten many other government contracts through the peddling of the former first couples names and influence.

Mr. Adams, Deputy General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), who is currently on suspension for confiding in an opposition party stalwart that they would ensure that President Mills would be a one- term President, has admitted getting the government contracts in an interview on two Accra-based radio stations.

He also has confirmed that he does not execute the projects, but gets others to do them, since he does not have a company nor the requisite capacity to do the jobs.

It is clear from Mr Adam’s interview that he has targeted projects meant to clear schools under trees, he, therefore looks out for such opportunities and invariably lands such projects from the GETFUND.

Although he claims he does not know the contractors on any of the projects he has landed, the Metropolitan Chief Executive of Tema, Mr. Kempis Ofosu-Ware, has revealed that one of the projects, specifically a 6-unit classroom block with ancillary facilities for the Katamanso Presby Primary is being constructed in the name of Mr. Adams.