Others, In The Gutters

News Desk Report

Mrs. Gina Ama Blay’s Daily Guide outfit has suffered another embarrassment as it tries to recklessly do the bidding of its NPP paymasters in an attempt to cause disaffection for the President Atta Mills-led-National Democratic Congress (NDC) government.

With signs of Mr. Williams Addo-Dankwa Akufo-Addo and his opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) being rejected in this year’s poll staring in the face, the Daily Guide with a screaming headline ALARM BLOW! TTB MD, MINISTER’S WIFE IN GH¢9m Deal, seeks to create the erroneous intuition that, the Deputy Minister of Finance, Fiifi Kwetey’s wife has been involved in a financial malpractice at The Trust Bank (TTB). These turn out to be far from the facts.
Obviously throwing the ethics of the journalism profession to the dogs, Madam Gina Blay and her newspaper on Thursday 5th January 2012 on their front-page, decided to push lies unto the throat of Ghanaians via a publication as part of their agenda to paint the Mills administration evil and to discredit his appointees who have become unbreakable by their paymasters.
Unable to draw the Honourable Deputy Finance Minister, Mr. Fiifi Fiave Kwetey into the dirty agenda, the Daily Guide decided to make wife of the Deputy Minister, Naomi W. Kwetey its target and accusing her of a crime that she has not committed.
However, investigations carried out by The Informer reveals that Mrs. Kwetey was not and has never been the Head of Finance at the TTB as published by the Daily Guide, when a sincere piece of good journalism would have required them to cross check their facts.
Claiming that the wife of the Minister is the Head of Treasury at the TTB, credible investigations also have it that there is no such position as Head of Treasury at the TTB as alleged, or at all; and that what the Bank does have is the office of Treasurer (a position once encumbered by Mrs. Kwetey)
The allegation by the Daily Guide that Mrs. Kwetey had bagged GH¢1.2 million is a complete fabrication and peddling of falsehood; and claims that she effected the payment of the GH¢9million on behalf of her colleague into foreign account was also not true, but figment the paper’s own imagination.
Regarding the redundancy package paid beneficiaries of the institution, it came to light during our in-depth search that the package was approved by the previous Board of the said Bank, payable to its Executive members and five (5) other heads of department aged approximately 55 years and above upon crystallization of the merger; and also not part of those Executive members, since she does not fall within the age requirement and could not have been a beneficiary of the redundancy package as published by Gina Blay and her paper.
This and many publications by the Daily Guide where they have been caught pants down and exposed, have qualified them automatically as members, personalities and entities that have flooded the airwaves with lies and engaged in the peddling of falsehood.
It would be recalled that, Franklin Cudjoe’s IMANI, days ago, on the US$3billion Chinese loan facility received their baptismal, when their lies were exposed by government.
However, the Solicitors (OASIS LAW CONSULT) of Mrs. Kwetey have written to Daily Guide demanding retraction and an unqualified apology, or else face the dire consequences.
The full text of the letter to Daily Guide is published below.

RE: ALARM BLOW! TTB MD, MINISTER’S WIFE IN GH¢ 9m Deal

We act as solicitors for and on behalf of Naomi W. Kwetey. Our client has referred your news article with the aforementioned screaming headline with instructions to reply thereto as follows:

1. Mrs Kwetey is not and has never been the Head of Finance at The Trust Bank as alleged or at all. A simple and sincere piece of good journalism would have revealed that our client is the Business Manager, Institutional Banking of the said Bank since 2009. Secondly, there is no such position of the Head of Treasury at the Trust Bank as alleged or at all. What the bank does have is the office of Treasurer (a position once encumbered by our client).

2.The redundancy package under discussion was approved by the previous Board of the said Bank payable to its Executive members and five other heads of department aged approximately 55 years and above upon crystallization of the Merger. Mrs Kwetey is not part of the said Executive members as you alleged or at all. How could she then have been a beneficiary of the redundancy package? This is irresponsible journalism.

3. In tow is the allegation that our client “bagged GH¢ 1.2 million”. We repeat paragraph 2 above and adds that this falsehood is nothing but utter fabrication.

4.In your article you also stated that Mrs Kwetey “effected the payment of the GH¢ 9 million on behalf of her colleagues into foreign accounts.” This is false. Our client will welcome any evidence to that effect.
5. It is our considered opinion that news organisations such as yours have an obligation to provide accurate, fair and balanced coverage of the news and strive to avoid sensationalism. It is a regrettable commentary that you opted for character assassination over responsible journalism with this very malicious and libellous publication.

6.reading the opening paragraph of your article, it became blindingly obvious to our client (and indeed to all reasonable persons that would have read the article) that what was at stake was not simply a question of regular and ordinary journalistic duties but a matter of giving the dog a bad name and hanging it by well calculated untruths. In fact, our client strongly believes the aim of the article is to attempt to collectively damage her reputation and by extension that of her husband and the government in which he serves.

7. Kindly be informed that your article regarding our client is a total falsehood. This has caused and continues to cause incalculable embarrassment and damage to her reputation. By this false reportage, you have singularly failed in your basic duty as a news organisation to be truthful and objective.

8.In conclusion there is no credibility to this article of yours. Given the seriousness of the allegations against our client and the harm it has caused her so far, we have her instructions to demand and we do hereby demand the immediate retraction of this false and misleading article against our client coupled with an unqualified apology. In addition our client demands that this rejoinder shall be published in the same forceful prominence and manners in which you published the mischievous and misleading reportage.

9.Kindly be informed that our client reserves the right to take any and every appropriate step to protect and defend her reputation from irresponsible and reckless claims.

Yours sincerely,

OASIS LAW CONSULT.
Cc:Mrs Naomi W. Kwetey
Accra.