General News of Monday, 17 February 2020

Source: starrfm.com.gh

Akufo-Addo didn’t punish anyone after Short Commission report – Adam Bonaa

Security Analyst, Adam Bonaa Security Analyst, Adam Bonaa

Security analyst, Adam Bonaa has noted President has not punished any of the individuals who had adverse findings against them by the Emile Short Commission which probed the violent Ayawaso by-election.

According to him, the actions of the president over the recommendations of the Commission could embolden hot-headed people in government.

“I have no doubt in mind that nobody has been punished over the Ayawaso report. I can also say that the people who were to receive compensation nobody has received anything. So why did the executive use taxpayers' money to set up the commission?,” queried in an interview with Starr News.

He also said former minister of state at the national security Bryan Acheampong was reshuffled because he had irreconcilable difference with his boss Kan Dapaah.

“Deep cracks, the infighting and what probably broke the Camel’s back was the Kan Dapaah Video, that actually was what led to him being moved out of the national security.

“He got moved because he and Dapaah could not reconcile their differences. There was an issue and in the attempt to resolve it they quickly moved him. Now it makes the whole situation messy”.

Meanwhile, Mr. Acheampong has described the recommendation by the Emile Short Commission that he should be reprimanded by the state over the Ayawaso byelection violence as bogus.



According to him, there was no testimony or evidence at the commission hearing that links him directly to the chaos that shocked the nation during the election to replace the deceased MP Emmanuel Agyarko.

Speaking to Agoo FM over the weekend, Mr. Acheampong described the recommendation by the Short commission that he should be reprimanded as bogus.

“If you look at the report, about five hundred pages, nothing puts me in the circle. Yet strangely enough, in the recommendation, somebody went and wrote that I must take ultimate responsibility, why must I take ultimate responsibility? And if I decide that I will not accept responsibility; because there is nothing that says I’m responsible. If I’m responsible, I’m a man, a trained soldier, I’m responsible for my men and I will take responsibility for and anything the ministry does.

“But if you come out and put individual liability then you must come with proof and say that I gave the command, instruction and I signed out the order other than that you place the liability on the ministry mot me as a person because that evidence never came out at the commission. In the recommendation they were recommending that I take responsibility, how can you recommend that I take responsibility. It’s a fact-finding commission who can say Bryan did XYZ, you cannot go on a fact-finding mission and say that I’m recommending someone to take responsibility, how do you make such a recommendation. Even when I had not accepted responsibility because there is no proof, you go ahead and say I should be reprimanded, it is strange. These are high commissioners, I don’t want to use any unpalatable words but that all I can say is that that whole decision is absolutely bogus”.