Kuffour has nothing to apologise for about Vodafone deal

The percussion and noise that are suddenly getting louder from the NDC quarters, about the Vodafone deal entered by the Kuffour-led government, are designed to deflect attention from the corrupt activities of some NDC members under Rawlings Rule that is now grabbing the headlines.

The NDC government is under the microscope, following the British Court Ruling on the Mabey and Johnson’s (M&J) case, regarding their much trumpeted Probity and Accountability mantra. The British Court named some NDC officials in Rawling’s government, which Attah-Mills was a key member, as bribe takers; and shot holes in the clean image the NDC sought to portray.

The Court delivered a serious indictment against Rawlings NDC administration! The Verdict was reached from long and painful forensic examination of the Accounting books of Mabey and Johnson, a British based bridge-building company. Evidence collected from proper Accounting Records was collaborated by the cross-examination of M&J representatives, who confessed the company’s role in a bribery that involved some NDC members under Rawlings watch.

The Verdict derives its strength and authenticity from the Court’s independence to Ghana’s political Power-Play. The British Court has no vested interest in the ensuing political ramification arising from the Verdict; hence, it commands great authority and power as a source of strong evidence. The NDC party cannot protest innocence in the face of this watertight evidence from a Competent Court of Law outside Ghana of their culpability in the bribery scandal.

Any protestation about Imperial forces undermining the NDC government will not wash! Rawlings incompetence at the helm of government is now being played on the international stage for the world to see. Rawlings-led NDC government has set a corruption record in Ghana that is of international magnitude! Never in the history of Ghana has a government record been savaged with proven bribery case in a Court outside her borders.

Instead of giving this serious and proven bribery case, the attention it requires to repair Ghana’s ruined international image; the current NDC government is wringing its hands and muddying the bribery waters with unproven allegations and innuendoes against Mr Kuffour, the ex-President.

The big drums being beaten loud by the NDC, over the Vodafone deal negotiated by Kuffour-led government is just another ploy to drown the NDC illicit deal with Mabey and Johnson (M&J). It won’t work because unlike M&J, the Vodafone deal has nothing about it that will stand in court against Mr Kuffour.

It is a measure of the desperation of NDC that an unimaginative Report, which even the President disregarded when it was submitted to him several months ago, has suddenly gained currency within the hierarchy of NDC party. The Report is indicative of the bankrupt ideas the NDC Committee have in the world of Commerce and their lack of knowledge in Market Valuation of Shares.

Only those with single-track mind would see something wrong with Kuffour single-handedly negotiating a deal with Vodafone! Many heads of government around the world, including advanced countries, have taking a leading role in negotiating commercial and non-commercial deals for their country, especially where jobs are threatened.

As recent as May this year, the German Chancellor, Angel Merkel completed a commercial deal with Magna International, a Canadian car parts maker, which aimed to take over most of General Motors (GM) Europe. She was the chief negotiator involving deals between Magna International and Germany-based Opel. The German government led by her, pledged a whopping £1.3bn emergency loan to the Canadian Car parts maker to save the car manufacturing industry (i.e. GM Europe). Her resolute and single-handed approach to negotiations ensured the future long term security of the German plants.

It pays to have the head of government’s weight brought to the international negotiating table, when the long term interest of the country is at stake. There is nothing wrong with the head of government lending a personal touch to international negotiations to sway deals in favour of the Nation. It is widely acknowledged that Tony Blair, the British ex-Prime Minister, influenced heavily the 2012 Olympic Award to UK, with his presence. Obama and Michelle tried similar trick for the US this year with big speeches and their personal touch!

Mr Kuffour is neither the first nor the last as head of government to lend his weight to important international negotiation; so it is not a big deal even if he dined with the Vodafone negotiators alone to emphasise the importance of the deal to Ghana. The important thing here is that he secured a favourable deal for Ghana with his personal touch and must be commended for it; instead of the desperate attempt by the Mills government to conjure up something to soil the gentle giant’s reputation.

It must be remembered that Ghana Telecom (GT) was operating at a loss. Its huge debt at the time of takeover was $400million. The Market Share was estimated as 17% concentrated on the fixed-line services, which GT had a monopoly. Though Mobile phone is a growth market, GT only managed to hold on to 1.4 million customers, as the third largest service provider. The 4000 staff employed by GT looked into a bleak future as GT struggled to survive in the Communications Market.

Market Price, which is invariably related to profitability and future prospect of a company, was taking a pounding in respect of GT shares. The Market gave GT share value the thumbs down because it didn’t have the resources and the technical know-how to compete profitably in the global Market. Ghana under Kuffour had a choice of sitting on her hands and allowing GT to go down the drain with a 100% controlling interest in an increasingly worthless share. Alternatively, Ghana could ask for a bail out from a reputable international player in the industry, like Vodafone and save GT from a certain death.

Kuffour opted for the second choice and secured a good deal for the nation under the circumstances. There is talk of other bidders from South Africa who pledged higher purchase price for the GT shares. This is what the NDC is using as a whipping lash to beat the last government. It is a pointless exercise, because the value of something is not determined alone by its price! Other things such as fitness for purpose, duration, after sales service, speed of delivery, reliability and other utilities help to give a good picture of what constitutes Value for Money. Those with experience of bidding for contracts can vouch for some of the unrealistic quotations from some competitive bidders, who fail to deliver when they finally win contracts with their absurd price quotations.

Kuffour awarded the contract to the best bidder using his own sets of test mandated by the Ghanaian electorate and approved by Parliament. It makes no legal or commercial sense to revisit the issue by the NDC government. There can only be one reason for Mills to embark on this witch hunt! To try and dig dirt where there is none! This is a sad reflection of our democracy and speaks a lot about the political vendetta that is eating away the fabric of our society.

What sort of message is Mills government sending to potential foreign investors, with the incessant questioning of the previous government right to govern and enter into important international agreements, which carried parliamentary approval? Even an upstart in law study, knows a democratic government rules with parliamentary majority defined by legislation. As long as the legislative power is not contravened, the government can determine important matter of the state the way it sees fit. Mills obsession with searching dark corners of the previous government legitimate actions in the affairs of the state is dangerous and undemocratic. It is counterproductive to the war on corruption and undermines democratic institutions charged with delivering the nation’s socio-economic development.

If the NDC wants to rule with Investigative Committees, that is their prerogative! But Mills must at least equip the Committees with up-to-date legal brains and professional Accountants to give them sound advice and direction. The archaic and retired lawyers with dusty law books that Mills currently rely on to chair the numerous Committees are proving embarrassing with their findings and legal advice.

For an NDC Committee to suggest that the historical purchase price of $900m for 70% GT shares by Vodafone, ultimately amounted to a figure less than $267m is preposterous. The Committee must state that the historical cost figure for the GT shares is not in dispute since the Bank of Ghana (BoG) acknowledged receipt of $900m in respect of the GT sales transaction on August 15, 2008. The then Controller and Accountant General of Ghana, Mr Christian Tetteh Sottie confirmed this point with the Accountant General’s Department, the custodian of State Funds.

The Committee, if it must have any credibility at all, should explain to the public the basis for arriving at that nonsensical figure of $267m. Maybe the Committee conjured up some Beta factor associated with GT shares in their calculation, but the public need to know the rationale behind the risk assessment and what other market factors were taking into consideration to arrive at that ridiculous figure. It would be helpful to know whether the figure is stated in the binary or some form other than decimal. The public is sick and tired of this daily diet of manufactured lies to score cheap political points!

Kwaku Frimpong