CIA never warned Kufuor over corruption – Frank Agyekum

Spokesperson for Former President John Agyekum Kufuor, Frank Agyekum has vehemently debunked claims that the erstwhile Kufuor regime was warned by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in the United States about the corrupt nature of his government as declared by former President Rawlings.

Former President Jerry John Rawlings accused his successor of monopolizing corruption during his two-term tenure in office between 2001 and 2008.

“The difference between John Mills and Kufuor is that Kufuor was so autocratic; they had used the military and the police to subjugate the spirit of the people that he was the only one who could do corrupt things plus his family and those he would allow, and he would jail anybody else who did not have his permission to be corrupt, so there was a way in which his regime looked orderly because nobody else could engage in it except himself or gave you the permission,” Mr. Rawlings stated when he signed a book of condolence in honour of late South African President, Nelson Mandela, at the South African High Commission in Accra.

He added that President Kufuor's "regime got so corrupt that America had to send the CIA boss…to come and warn Kufuor that ‘if you don’t contain your corruption, there’ll be a coup d'état and it will be very popular and that’s why America will not be able to help you."

Addressing the issue in an interview with Peacefmonline.com, Frank Agyekum described as complete "falsehood" such declaration by Mr. Rawlings and expressed that the American government, during Kufuor's era, gave the largest tranche ever of the Millennium Challenge Account to assist President Kufuor in revamping the 'broken' economy he inherited from his predecessor.

“That’s false. That is a lie. Nobody ever sent anybody on such a mission to President Kufuor because totally it’s unnecessary…This same US government was the government that gave President Kufuor's government the largest tranche of the millennium challenge account…That is not true. It can’t be, it does not add up. It only tells you that this is a figment of President Rawlings’ own imagination.” he disclosed.

To him, there's no way the American government would have issued a warning to President Kufuor when he exhibited such good leadership traits.

Speaking to Peacefmonline.com, he also accused President Rawlings of "theft" during his reign as Head of State, hence denting his credibility as an anti-corruption leader.

According to him, former President Rawlings who was destitute before he ascended to the Presidential throne had to "steal" to make ends meet but immediately he stepped into office became affluent overnight.

He posited that President Kufuor, during his reign, made a number of interventions in order to boost the progress of the economy.

“There was no one law for Kufuor people and another law for people who are not Kufuor people. That’s not true. If you fall foul of the law, you were dealt with by the law...When we’re talking about amassing wealth; President Rawlings should be the last person to talk about somebody amassing wealth... he said it himself; He said he was so poor, he didn’t have money.