Minister Spreads Terror At Finance Ministry

Official Who Adviced Againat IFC Loan Chased Out
All is not well at the Ministry of Finance following the publication in last Friday’s Daily Graphic (read) that eight top public servants at that Ministry are to be redeployed in a shake-up “…meant to enhance efficiency and effectiveness in the operations of the Ministry”.

The report also said that the shake-up is meant to curb all forms of inefficiencies to enhance productivity to promote the country’s development agenda.

But the Independent reports that “At the centre of all these is the sector minister, Yaw Osafo-Maafo. Some staff of the Finance Ministry are accusing him of running a ‘terrordrome’ at the ministry. The redeployment of the eight officials has been done to ‘finish’ them and what a time to do it?

Osafo-Maafo himself is not in the country. “What Osafo-Maafo is doing can be labeled his own ‘Apollo Eight’ and president Kufuor needs to call him to order,” a Finance Ministry staff charged.

“When the Independent got to work last Friday in the aftermath of the state-owned daily Graphic publication to find out the basis for the re-assignment of the said officials, all fingers pointed at the mean style of administration of Finance Minister, Yaw Osafo-Maafo, also MP for Akim Oda. “He sacked his administrative assistant just because the man was not able to give him a file he had called for,” an officer of the ministry told the paper.

Some staff of the ministry said, “It is very bad on the part of whoever leaked the information about the so-called shake-up to have linked it to the so-called promotion of efficiency and effectiveness and the promotion of the country’s development agenda.

Of the eight officials affected by the shake-up, only three namely, Mr. J.A. Yamoah, the Chief Director, Alhaji M.N.D. Jawula Director of Administration and Dr. Kofi Anyimadu, Head of the Legal Unit, were mentioned in the daily Graphic report with the names of the five others not disclosed. Finance Ministry sources say Mr. Yamoah was seconded to the Ministry on assumption of office of the NPP government.

“Mr. Yamoah is happy that he is going back to Bank of Ghana. It is a known fact that Osafo-Maafo never liked him from day one, but he is a proper public servant who will not hurt a fly and Osafo-Maafo has taken advantage of that to embarrass him.”

Ministry sources say Osafo-Maafo made it difficult for the man to work. It is good that he is going back to Bank of Ghana to be free of Osafo-Maafo’s bullying. Yamoah himself has said that he is happy he is going back.

A letter has already been dispatched to Mr. Yamoah about his re-assignment.

In the case of Alhaji Jawula also former chairman of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), it has been found out that he got to know of the shake-up and his re-assignment in the Daily Graphic report. Perhaps reminiscent of the PNDC days, he had not received any letter directing him as to his new office or designation, “so our sources told us, he is waiting for Osafo-Maafo to return from his trip abroad to show him his new status.”

The report indicates that Alhaji Jawula is very much at home with his schedule and developments at the ministry such that it is almost a reckless action to pluck him off like that. “Jawula will need about some six months to do a handing over if it is really to do. You do not get rid of tried and tested public servants like Jawula in this manner,” sources say.

Alhaji Jawula himself told the paper over the phone that he has no comments to make and is awaiting further directives. “In the case of Dr. Kofi Anyimadu, the Independent found out that he has already been re-assigned to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Our sources said Dr. Anyimadu has been affected because he advised against the IFC loan, which Osafo-Maafo was championing.

It was found out that Dr. Anyimadu spent at least three-quarters of the day last Thursday at the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), for an offence that only exists in the mind of Osafo-Maafo. Dr. Anyimadu has not committed any crime and Osafo-Maafo is just using these calls to SFO as a smokescreen to bother the man,” the report indicates.

“The Independent has also learnt that Dr. Anyimadu’s deputy at the Legal Unit of the Ministry is not too well and flies out frequently for routine check-ups. This, a source said “is the reason why Osafo-Maafo should be careful about the way he is going about things. Everything we do here has a legal implication and you can not effect changes and leave a vacuum,” the source said.

In a bid to cover up the inappropriateness of his actions, Osafo-Maafo, according to sources has asked the Director of Budget at the Ministry to take over Alhaji Jawula’s duties. “The Director of Budget is a very busy person and will find it difficult doubling up with the Administration schedules as well.”

The Finance Ministry staff also accused the minister of running a one-man show and intimidating staff of the ministry whilst he seeks to surround himself with persons he worked with at Bank for Housing and Construction (BHC). There are also rumours to the effect that the minister intends to replace the officials affected by his shake-up with his pals from BHC.