I don’t have power to sign contracts- Prof. Awoonor

By Francis Xavier Tuokuu

The Counsel of State Chairman, Prof. Kofi Awoonor has issued a statement denying claims that he owns a company and has subsequently awarded government’s contracts to the said company.

He said “these allegations are false and could only be the work of a lunatic fringe with the sole object of defaming and destroying my reputation. Perhaps, the phantom writers deserve some education. The Council of State is an advisory and consultative body to the President of the Republic of Ghana. Its functions are clearly spelt out. As the Chairman of the council of State, l do not have any such power to sign contracts let alone supervise appointments of ministers and their deputies. In addition, I do not own any company directly or remotely let alone to award any contract to the so-called company. It is purely a figment of imagination of the so-called crusaders”.

It may be recalled that on Monday, 28 May, 2012 Ghanaweb published an article titled, President Mills Must Step Down For Mahama Now! by a group calling itself “Ghanaians Abroad Against Corruption” which was directed at the Counsel of State Chairman.

The Group claimed in the article that, “The exact role of Professor Kofi Awoonor, Chairman of the Council of State signing government contracts and supervising appointments of ministers and deputies and a conflict of interest in the award of a contract to a company worth 35 million Dollars to build offices for members of the council of state by a company owned by him”.

This according to the Chairman is a “…blatant and malicious falsehood being peddled, the so-called group engages in assassination of character with the intention of inciting the people of Ghana against me. I have no qualms about people expressing their right to freedom of expression and speech. However, when the motive is to denigrate and destroy people’s reputation, then one has to take a serious view of the brand of democratic and media culture we want to build as a nation”.

He added that, “If the so-called group is not interested in mischief and assassination of my character, they would have checked with the appropriate agencies as well as the contractor executing the project to find out if the chairman has anything to do with it. Those who have been associated with me for over 40 years of my public service can attest to my principles and values of honesty, integrity and incorruptible nature. Besides, what prevents the so-called paragons of accountability to contact the Chief Director of the Council to ascertain the facts if they are truly interested in safeguarding the sanctity of our resources as a nation?”

The Old Professor said “I remain unwavering in the face of such amateurish and misguided orchestration by my adversaries to taint and defame me. I remain very much addicted to the values of truth, honesty and modesty. For those who are out to gain some mileage from their obnoxious and malicious articles, let me state that hiding behind the technology offered by the internet to defame and impugn reputations would not shirk our responsibilities to make Ghana a better place for our children and future generations”. He said he accepted to work with President J. E. A. Mills because he shares in his high sense of integrity, selflessness, incorruptibility and his addiction to the truth.

He was worried about the disturbing trend of peddlers and inventors of lies and falsehood being given space by the owners of Ghanaweb to try and destroy the reputations of well-meaning citizens. “This is cause for worry and concern if we are to develop and build a sustainable nation based on free-flow of information and communication”, he concluded.