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Opinions of Thursday, 12 July 2012

Columnist: Sarpong, Justice

Settlement Debts, Where Is The Outrage?

Sarpong, Justice

Folks, the settlement debt if not stopped on its tracks will cripple the economy of our country and I don't see the outrage that this modern day train robbery should deserve. Where is the NUGS? Where is the TUC? Where is Christian Council? Professional Bodies? Transport Union? Ghana Bar Association? The Market women? This nation needs People revolution to wake up the ruling Government to its responsibities. I have never seen any government like this KAKISTOCRACY administration presided over by President Mills in the annals of our country history. This is by far the worst administration I have witnessed since birth and Okudzeto seems to think this is a an act at a comedy club with his ill-informed daily revelations on this issue.

What does it take to know that blue is blue or that a dog is a dog? There are times and instances when blue resemble green and a dog may look like a Wolf. On other occasions, rabbit meat may taste like chicken. In the same vein, the smelling and hearing senses can fail us at times. These are all situation where the shade are close to the real thing.

So when I heard that the government of Ghana has settled cases brought against it to the tune of $600 Million and counting, my first impression based on the observations of the current AG’s office in Ghana was that the government’s legal team was incompetent. As details emerged from the manner in which some of the cases were settled out of court, still there was the refusal to assign any other inference other than the fact that the government was in over its head in dealing with some of these legal issues. With further revelations as to the absence of legal curiosity of some of the cases, there was still the hesitation to assign any other inference other than the incompetence of the government’s legal team.

Then the Woyome settlement came to light and no matter how much one wanted to mentally stay at the position of legal incompetence, common sense dictated otherwise. Delving into other judgment settlements made it abundantly clear that there was some complicity of the government in the judgment settlements. Just as the evil nature of man, the human gullibility knows no bounds. Having lived in the United States for some time, there is always the strong resistance to being perceived as gullible, let alone being gullible. Thus the urge to not feeling slighted and getting reasonably informed became the most important pursuit for me.

But as with the fable of King Midas, no matter how inconspicuously one tries to hide something, light somehow finds a way to shine on it someday. Revisiting the Woyome saga, it became glaringly clear that incompetence was not the leading reason for the judgment settlement but blatant collusion to defraud. The easiest way to understand the reason(s) for the disapproval of the judgment settlement is to ask oneself this simple question. Would the persons involved in the judgment settlement have paid those monies to Woyome if the monies belonged to them? I wonder if anyone would have given Woyome the money he received in the judgment settlement without going to court if the money belonged to that person. I know I would have counter-sued Woyome for wasting my time, if for no other reason. No matter how one looks at it, Woyome would not have had the balls to pursue this case unless as he has stated “the government had not given him the go-ahead.”

To add to the perception of criminal collusion, the Galloper case came out. And just as with most of the judgment settlement pursued by the present government in Ghana, there was no contract or binding legal document to the claim. The Galloper issue is settled in my mind as a fraud. As the former AG of this government stated in a text message to host Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah, he “Martin Amidu as Attorney General was never privy to the case involving AAL and could not have advised for an out of court settlement.” He wondered who expressed that power of the principal state attorney to opt for an out of court settlement. He also stated emphatically on MultiTV and Joy FM news analysis programme, Newsfile, that it could not have been possible that he ordered the withdrawal of the case from the court in 2011.

I will like the NPP and all the opposition Parties make this settlement debt stealing a campaign issue from now till election day and tell the elctorates the damage this stealing by Mills and his cohorts is doing to the country. This government has borrowed 21 billion dollars since it came to power more than all administrations combined since Ghana achieved Independence and all this government can tell us is how many dining halls it has provided to our secondary schools whilst most of the borrowed money has ended in the Bank accounts of these Politicians and their friends through settlement nonsense. Let me sound a warning to the NDC that, we will make them account for what is going on no matter how long it takes and the end result will not be pretty for them and their families.

Once again the question is begging; would president Mills have been so unconcerned about the judgment settlements if the money belonged, personally, to him? Would he have allowed these hurried settlements or would he have litigated the cases in court to protect his money? I strongly believe that there is collusion in this government to defraud Ghana and the involvement goes as high as the president. There is no way about 2% the GDP ($32.31 Billion in 2010, source: World Bank) of Ghana would “vanish” without the president being aware of it. The president is complicit in the defrauding of Ghana and has to be prosecuted sooner or later. It is only when those in positions of authority are held responsible for crimes committed under their legal and/or constitutional control will these nonsensical criminality stop. I am waiting; please convince me that president Mills was not aware of these criminal settlement payments. If he was not aware then he should just resign his position as president, so those involved could be prosecuted.

The lack of outrage is all the more surprising. The whole nation should be up in arms. This money can provide fifty (50) doctors for each region at the cost of $100,000.00 per year for ten (10) years. This same money could build three regional hospitals. It could create a vibrant solar industry. It could purchase and operate one hundred 5-megawatt wind power facilities. It could establish five hundred 100,000 capacity poultry farms. It again begs the question: where is the outrage? Antiochus would have wanted to know. Every Ghanaian should want to know; I want to know.

The AFAG demonstration (WONKYE NDI) scheduled for July ending at Takoradi should be supported by all meaning Ghanaians and the Professional bodies mentioned above. The survival of our country depends on it. Where did we get the money to pay all these fraudulent claims? We have abandoned projects and some workers have not been paid for years but money is not a problem when it comes to paying these NDC criminals and their cohorts dressed as companies to defraud Ghanaian Taxpayers. Let's send a message to these thieves at the Castle and the A-G offices that, we have had it up to here and we are not going to take it anymore. It should not come as a surprise to them one of these days when they wake up and see the poor Ghanaians have encircled the Castle and there will be nowhere to run to. THE STEALING BY THIS GOVERNMENT SHOULD STOP NOW.

Justice Sarpong

Houston, Texas

(CARDINAL of TRUTH)