Ahwoi Asked to Surrender Seized Items

The National Chairman of the erstwhile National Appeals Tribunal, Nana Addo-Aikins has asked the former Minister of Economic Planning and Regional Integration, Mr Kwamena Ahwoi to tell Ghanaians the

whereabouts of the moneys and properties confiscated during the provisional National Defence Council (PNDC regime.

In a statement to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Koforidua on Monday, Nana Addo-Aikins said Mr Ahwoi, who was one time chairman of the Citizens Vetting Committee (CVC), National Investigations Committee (NIC) and the Public Tribunals must be made to account for the fines collected and confiscated properties.

These included gold, diamonds, personal effects, commercial goods and cash in local and foreign currencies from some persons.

Nana Addo-Aikins, who is a private legal practitioner, pointed out that the disclosure by Mr Ahwoi would "conform to the PNDC's avowed principles of integrity, probity and accountability."

He said it would also dispel rumours and suspicions that those confiscated properties went to some high ranking members of the erstwhile PNDC and would also help in streamlining affairs at the archives of the erstwhile Public Tribunals for the on-going national reconciliation exercise.

Nana Addo-Aikins said: "Mr Ahwoi, who claimed to believe in integrity, should consider the challenge serious and come out to tell Ghanaians where the confiscated items are."

Mr Ahwoi told the Ghana News Agency in Accra that he was a member of the Citizens Vetting Committee for six months.

He became the Co-ordinator for the CVC, NIC and Public Tribunals but was never a chairman of any of them. He said not a pesewa was paid to him.

He said the bodies had separate accounts into which they paid monies and he was never a signatory to those accounts neither did he have access to them.

Mr Ahwoi said a full time committee was set up by law to administer all confiscated properties and if the records were kept properly any interested party could access them.

He said he ceased being a co-ordinator when he was appointed the Minister of Local Government in 1988.