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Opinions of Wednesday, 27 November 2013

Columnist: Sangaparee, Clement

Corruption in Ghana 2001-2008

Just before handing over power to President J.A. Kufuor in January 2001, President Rawlings Stated thus “My conviction is that history, rather than the severe and at times, the unkind critics will be FAIR AND JUST TO ME”. Yes, that was Prophet Rawlings, as if he knew what lay in waiting for him and the great NDC after the handover, what was it? The NPP Government planned to kill him right from the day he left office in 2001 but they failed because his security network was always 500 miles ahead of the violent prone NPP-after-all, what do they know? At the end of the year 2000, Ghana had replaced one elected government with another.
Despite the unprecedented commitment of former President Rawlings to democracy and his good will towards the new leader Mr. J. A. Kufuor in 2001, Rawlings hobby grounds was closed, and Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings was put before court and she went to and from the court for 8 good years, June 4 was abolished as a Public holiday and the entire NDC party was subjected to a series of relentless harassment in the hope of totally destroying it. However, when it became too much for Rawlings – the peoples’ man-warned President Kufuor and his NPP government thus! The NPP government must not engage in acts that would divide Ghanaians and ultimately lead to a volcanic eruption, he further advised Kufuor’s NPP government of the looming political instability ahead that could undermine the democracy he had so patriotically laid his life for.
President Kufuor had sent his security agents to invade Rawlings’ house to FIGHT, ARREST AND KILL HIM, on June 8th 2001 at 6.30pm that was 4days after Rawlings’ speech marking the June 4 Uprising. That invasion was called off when a radio station was alerted and it announced it. Yes, that was J.A. Kufuor, the so-called Gentle Giant as President in 2001 for you.
ZERO TOLERANCE FOR CORRUPTION.
It will be recalled that one of the cardinal principles of President Kufuor was Zero Tolerance for Corruption in his administration in 2001. However, after a year in office, the public had formed their opinion that; Zero Tolerance for corruption Applied only to persons who did not belong to the NPP from 2001-2008. It rather became 100% tolerance for corruption as those funds to be corrupted in the NPP where invited to the office of Accountability situated in the Castle and advised “but left off the hook as corruption was institutionalized officially by the NPP government.
The NPP lost the 2008 general elections to the late Professor J.E.A. Mills of blessed memory and the following was what NPP did but the late President Mills told NDC members TO LET IT BE, we obeyed our President against our will anyway.
Here we go: (1) The National Secretariat of the School Feeding Programme claimed to have transferred GH¢363,549,000 to 10 districts in Ghana but they were not received by those districts at all. Typical Examples are as follows;
Region/District Amount Transferred per Secretariat Records Amount received per district records Amount Not Received by District
North-Tongu-V/R GH¢134,100.00 GH¢78,600,000.00 GH¢55,500,000
Wenaw-B/A GH¢146,553,000.00 GH¢65,403,000.00 GH¢81,150,000
Keta-V/R GH¢170,955,000.00 GH¢108,030.00 GH¢65,925,000

Some contracts were also awarded to companies that DID NOT EXIST at the time of the award of the contracts, E.G. The NPP gave a contract to a non-existent company called Dekoom Ventures to supply kitchen inputs to the school Feeding Programme on 16th January 2006, however on 16th January, Dekoom Ventures was NOT a registered company- Yes, that was J.A. Kufuor for you.
By December 2006, the NPP had paid more than GH¢5.7 billion to companies that had no Business Registration Certificates and some of these companies are as follows;
Name Of Supplier Total Payment made to Supplier
1. Supernatural Ventures GH¢789,283.000
2. Danving Enterprise GH¢8,281,760
3. F&A Investments GH¢4,042,107,558
4. Wendy Rose Enterprise GH¢285,121.000
5. Maami Leak Enterprise GH¢375,412.000
6. Royal Choice GH¢99,423.500
7. Chakan Enterprise GH¢96,756.000
Total: GH¢5,770,915,218
Two companies that were awarded contracts had the same VAT invoice number that meant that it was a typical 419 scam.
Look at this;
Invoice Date Name Of Company Invoice Number Amount GH¢
6th April 2006 Godish Enterprise 10803905 GH¢25,245.00
5th July 2006 Kaldal Ltd. 10803905 GH¢71,500.00

On 10th February 2011, was the “Ghanaian Times” banner head line publication thus “Ex-Minister’s wife secured contract by fake pretence? The Auditor-General’s report of 2005 on what happened at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs when Nana Akuffo Addo was Foreign Minister. US$1446, 396 Cash was withdrawn from the Ministry’s Special Accounts of Seven Embassies without the knowledge of the Controller and Accountant General and yet he told Ghanaians that he had never been cited for corruption- Is such a man trust worthy? The NPP must hurry up and elect him as their Flag bearer again in 2016 so that the NDC will give him DUKA- A FINAL BLOW!
MORE CORRUPTION BY THE LOOTING BRIGADE
When President Kufuor appointed Charles Wereko Brobbey of the NPP as the Chief Executive Officer of the Secretariat of Ghana @50 celebrations, the stage was set for the looting of the National Treasury by the NPP government.
When the NDC government set up a Commission of Enquiry to investigate the management of the celebrations, the findings were very devastating.
Dr. Wereko Brobbey and his team had spent GH¢97.8 million while Ghana @50 Secretariat owed Fidelity Bank GH¢15.4million. Parliament approved an amount of GH¢29.31 for the celebration, and by the end of the celebration, they had spent GH¢97.8 million cedis with more debts outstanding. Let the people know UCF Cadres and NDC Communicators must wake up from their deep slumber and expose the noisy NPP communicators and their SMELLY PRESS by stopping them from deceiving well meaning Ghanaians.
When the NPP stated that they were implementing a National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) to ensure affordable health care for ordinary people, little did Ghanaians expect that monies collected from the ordinary people would be used by the NPP government to enrich themselves and their friends, yet some dishonest NPP Communicators are breaking our ear drums on radio by saying that President Mahama’s government have come to destroy the National Health Insurance Scheme.
IN 2004, a company called Axis Advertising Ltd owned by the Ms. Oboshie Sai Cofie , then Minster of Tourism and Diaspora Affairs and a very close confidante of Ex – President Kufuor was awarded a media consultancy contract to monitor and revise media campaign and advertisement. Axis Advertising was sole sourced by the National Health Insurance Council as a media consultant.
However, two companies, Media Plus and Media Touch Production Ltd. (where Oboshie Sai Coffie was also a director) were also contracted by the council to post advertisement at various media houses. These two companies charged agency service fees/ commission totaling GH¢359, 286 for THE SAME SERVICES PROVIDED BY Axis.
Advertising Ltd. Talk About contracts for NPP Ministers and shoddy works undertaken and you will be shocked to the marrow, come on, what are members of the violent prone NPP Communicators talking about loosely on the various radio stations in Ghana?
The 2006 Auditor General’s Report revealed evidence of fraud subterfuge, thieving and gross disregard of the Procurement Act of 2003.
Getting to the end of the NPP government’s term of office, corruption and plain stealing of government monies was so blatant and rampant that it was hard to believe it. It was so bad that even when they decided on the RE-DENOMINATION OF THE CEDI, the old cedis were getting missing from the Bank of Ghana vaults in mysterious circumstances. It became so bad that some workers of Bank of Ghana began complaining and when they complained, they were quickly sacked and at that time Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia a. k. a Dr. Pink Sheet was the Deputy Governor of the bank of Ghana.
On the 28th May 2007 alone, a whopping GH¢234.15 billion were taken away from the vaults of Bank of Ghana without the knowledge of the Vaults manager. When he complained he was sacked in a letter dated 30th July 2007. Dr. Roko Frimpong was killed in his house at Tema in 2007 for objecting to the manner in which the re-denomination of the cedi was being carried out by the NPP government. He was the Deputy managing Director (Operations) of the Ghana Commercial Bank.
On 7th January 2001, President J.A Kufuor stated thus; “Under my administration, there will be zero tolerance for corruption and I will personally set the example”.
When he became President of the Republic of Ghana, he led a Negative Example by becoming The Senior Looting Brigade and the most corrupt and dishonest vicious President that ever ruled Ghana from 2001-2008.
Corruption was seen as a normal pattern of politics in Ghana as it was increased to over 150%. Here Him:” What do you expect me to do about corruption? After all, it’s a sin that dates back to the time of Adam and Eve”.
As I speak, Ex-President Kufuor had bought 12 plots of land at GH¢4,000 at Ridge- a suburb of Kumasi and a man shaved his beard for GH¢63,000 during the Ghana @ 50 celebrations and yet the late President Mills told NDC members to Let It Be- and we all obeyed him, so if me and You, or You and I are finding it hard to make ends meet today 2013-Who cause am? I leave the answer to readers. Keep your fingers, I shall return when the need arise. I am done!! Jaanbie lwaii!!” Aluta Continua!
……………………………..
Clement Sangaparee
United Cadres Front
Obuasi
E-Mail clementsang@yahoo.com
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