At the Probe: Commissioner wants Minister's relations to testify

At the resumed hearing of the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) in Accra, Commissioner Short has indicated that he may request Dr. Adjei-Maafo, Presidential Staffer on Cocoa Affairs to make his sister and brother-in-law available to the Commission for questioning over the ownership of properties he has submitted in their names. The Commissioner intervened during a tussle between Mr. Joe Ghartey, Counsel for Kofi Coomson (editor of the Chronicle newspaper) and Dr. Adjei- Marfo, Presidential Staffer for Cocoa Affairs, who had been evasive over the address of his sister-in-law who lives in Canada. Another member of the Commission is Mrs Domakyaareh.

The CHRAJ is investigating allegations of bribery and corruption levelled against govt officials by the independent press, principally the Ghanaian Chronicle and Independent. The editors for the newspapers are the chief witnesses in the cases with the onus on them to substantiate their allegations. Already, some of the Ministers being investigated have declared their intention to institute libel suits should they be able to prove that the allegations were untrue.

Both sides are supported by strong teams of lawyers.

At the recent hearing the Presidential Staffer for Cocoa Affairs told the Commission that he could not afford to bring his relatives into Ghana to testify. His Counsel, Mr. Joe Lamptey, also submitted that since the commission had been given the power to investigate, it could only be proper that it financed such a move. Dr. Maafo had given his sister-in-law's name as the owner of a house at Sakumono where at present, he lives with his family. Counsel for Kofi Coomson had accused the Presidential Staffer of using his in-laws as fronts because they could not have been in the financial position to own those properties.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, during cross-examination, Dr. Maafo had insisted that his sister-in-law who has been in Canada for five years is solvent enough to own the Sakumono house, and also that his brother-in-law contributed a substantial amount into the foundation of the Queens Lands International School at Tema.

Joe Ghartey (hereafter J.G.): Kwame Nti, is he your nephew?

Adjei-Maafo (hereafter A.M.): No, my brother-in-law.



J.G: Do you know by which visa he travelled outside Ghana?

Was it a student's visa or a ..... Do you know?



A.M: No.



J.G: So you don't know if he is working legally?

A.M: No. I know he is working



J.G: So Doc let me help you. You are aware, that you could

go to America with a student's visa and go and start

working, which may be illegal. The question I am

asking is that is he working in America legally?



A.M. "I have got no answer to that question.



J.G: You don't know? Do you know or you don't know?



Mrs Domakyaareh: " He said do you know or you don't

know? Are you in a position to know?

A.M: I don't Know

J.G: What about your sister-in-law? Rosina eh....What's her

surname?

A.M: She is Juliana Sarpong



J.G: Okay, when did she go to Canada?

A.M: She has been in Canada for about five years now.



J.G: Do you know her status in Canada? Is she a legal

immigrant?

A.M: I know she is there legally, she is working legally.

As to what she is there, I know she is there legally.



(counsel for Dr Adjei-Maafo interrupts)



Joe Lamptey : Eh Madam Chairperson, I think I have

restrained myself for this while. Mr client

is here under investigation for illegal

acquisition of property. I am afraid that in

the course of the examination, there is a

lot of straining and that's what has led us

to this position. What has my client got to

do about whether the people mentioned are

there illegally or legally? I think counsel

should have to leave my client alone and

concentrate on the matters for which we are

here.



J.G: I am surprised at what Mr. Joe Lamptey has said,

because Juliana and Kwame Nti are names the Doctor

himself submitted as people who have contributed money

to property or own property, we say belongs to him. We

have already laid the foundation, for example, that

Kwame Nti, and I give his example so that my learned

friend would see the relevance. When I asked the

Doctor, that who contributed to the Queens Land

International School, he said he and sources overseas.

I suggested to the Commission that overseas is not

enough. So I asked him to mention the names, and he

mentioned Kwame Nti. At the end of the day, he himself

said Kwame had contributed about $2,000 which is about

c2.5 million out of the foundation of over c100

million. You see, what we are trying to show is that

these persons that Dr. Maafo says have contributed

money are not in the position to do that.



Mrs Domakyaareh: Counsel, you can go ahead.



A.M: I told you Julie has got a shop and she is a

hairdresser. She is in very gainful employment.



J.G: The house you live in, who actually paid for it? Was

the money transferred from overseas into your

accounts. Who handed the money over to Regimmanuel?



(Regimmanuel is a firm of building contractors)



A.M.: It didn't come into my account, this you can

check with Regimanuel.



J.G. " So you didn't handle the payment. You were not

directly involved with the payment.



A.M: The handing over money to Regimanuel" No, that wasn't

my responsibility.



(Commissioner Short interrupts)



Dr. Adjei-Maafo, please. You are here to assist us. So

please answer the question. If you know the answer, you

tell us, if you don't, you tell us. Don't say that we can

ask Regimmanuel. No, that is not the proper answer. Please

tell us the proper answer. If you don't answer, we would

ask you anyway, so ...



A.M: Eh.... Julie paid it to Regimanuel. That I know.



J.G: Doc in your assets declaration forms you mentioned

your farms, how long have you owned them.

A.M: I think I have declared to the Commission. I think

they were established in the early 80s and in the

mid-80s. When I came back from Australia.



J.G.: So all the farms are more that five years old?

A.M: Oh yes.



J.G: Do you have any livestock?

A.M: No



J.G: DO you have any other sources of income?

A.M: I have declared all my other sources of income to the

commission.



J.G.: I am asking you.



Mrs Domakyaareh: Dr. Adjei-Maarfo, please try and answer

the questions as straight as possible.

Try not to be evasive. If you are asked

if there are any other sources, it is

either yes or no.



A.M: Yes I have other sources of income.

Mrs Domakyaareh: Aha, something like that.



J.G: Please, what are those sources?

A.M: As the Chairman of the Board of WAMCO, I earn

director's fees, and as a shareholder of Bossompim

Company and a member of the Board, I earn director's

fees.



J.G: WAMCO, that is.......

A.M: West African Mills Company Limited



J.G: That is the company owned partly by Walter Shroeder

and Hosta.

A.M: That is the joint venture between COCOBOD and Walter.



J.G: Now this Walter Shroeder business.......Doctor, how

much is the directors fees with Hosta?

A.M: That would be, for the first part, that was c4.2

million, and the by end of December last year, it was

about c8.4 million



J.G: When did you become chairman?

A.M: Since it was commissioned



J.G: When was that?

A.M: That's two or three years ago? I can't remember. But

I think it was two years ago.



J.G: What about the other Bosimpim Company?

A.M: For 1993 I earned c3million, for 1994, c6.5 million.



J.G: Dividends or director's fees?

A.M: Director's fees.









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