Revealed: Mills could not have signed 'mansion' letters

On the day President John Evans Atta-Mills was said to have addressed, personally wrote and signed a letter to Regimanuel on the subject of “Rental Accommodation to House Security Personnel”, research conducted by The New Statesman reveals that President Mills was on that same day touring the Brong-Ahafo Region in the run up to the NDC flagbearership race.

Earlier this week, the Presidency released three letters which sought to prove that President Mills was the initiator of a correspondence between himself and Mr Emmanuel Botchway, Executive Chairman of Regimanuel for the construction, on rental basis, of permanent rest rooms and toilet facilities for the security personnel on guard duties at his private residence.

However, it seems in a hurried attempt to justify Koku Anyidoho’s 'token' comments, a hasty cooking of letters ensued and it appears in doing so, dates and the whereabouts of President Mills on the said dates were not checked leading to doubts as to whether or not President Mills indeed wrote and personally signed these letters as is being claimed.

On the 7th of April 2011, the date President Mills is alleged to have personally signed the letter and delivered to Regimanuel for the construction of accommodation for security personnel, he was busily commissioning a four-storey building complex of Administration for Techiman Municipal Assembly, addressing a durbar organised jointly by the traditional council and the Municipal Assembly and inspecting a Nurses' Training School constructed by the Assembly at Kenten in the Techiman municipality.

On that same day, President Mills visited the Kintampo Municipality where a grand durbar was held in his honour jointly by the Municipal Assembly and the traditional authorities, inspected and commissioned a six-unit classroom block sponsored by the GETFUND and cut the sod for work to start on a two-storey dormitory block estimated at GH¢560,000, at Kintampo Senior High School.

President Mills also visited the Saint James Seminary and Senior High School at Abesim near Sunyani and finally inspected an on-going dormitory project and a library complex and also inspected a completed six-unit classroom block at Sunyani Senior High School Sunyani Senior High School.

The 7th of April 2011, marked the last day of a three day tour of the Brong Ahafo Region by President Mills.

Emmanuel Botchway, Executive Chairman of Regimanuel is also alleged to have responded to President Mills’ letter on the 11th of April 2011 stating that Regimanuel would build the restrooms and a gate house in addition to a fencewall to provide accommodation for Security Personnel on rental basis.

President Mills’ response to the proposal made by Regimanuel was swift as he responded to the letter the next day. President Mills stated that Regimanuel’s proposal was acceptable to him and was happy about the prompt response given to this urgent matter which was causing his neighbours a great deal of inconvenience.

However, in a surprising turn of events, President Mills’ on the 12th of April 2011, the day he again personally signed the response, began a three day working day visit of the Ashanti Region.

On Tuesday 12th April, 2011, President Mills attended a durbar at the Manhyia Palace where met the Asantehene Otumfuor Osei Tutu. He also toured the Kumasi Metropolis to assess the progress of on-going projects and also inaugurate completed ones and also attended a durbar at the Kumasi central mosque.

Later in the day, the President inaugurated a Laboratory block at the Kumasi South Hospital at Atonsu Agogo, inspected a GET-Fund project at Opoku Ware Senior High School, inaugurated a six unit classroom block at Yaa Asentewaa Senior High School, and also inaugurated a Clinic at Apatrapa.

A press release from the Presidency on the 11th of April 2011 indicated that “His Excellency the President is expected back in Accra in the evening of Thursday, April 14, 2011”, reinforcing claims that President Mills could not have written and signed these letters.