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General News of Monday, 27 March 2023

Source: www.ghanaweb.com

The real reason behind Kwasi Kwarteng’s £10,000 a day work for fake Korean company saga

Kwasi Kwarteng was a victim of a fake consultancy job for a non-existent Korean company Kwasi Kwarteng was a victim of a fake consultancy job for a non-existent Korean company

In the last 24 hours, the British-born Ghanaian former Chancellor of the Exchequer of the United Kingdom, Kwasi Kwarteng, has been in the news over revelations that he agreed to work for a Korean company at a £10,000 a day charge.

What he didn’t know, however, was the fact that this company was a fake.

Actually, it was a non-existent creation of a campaign group, Led by Donkeys.

Also, Kwasi Kwarteng was not the only MP involved in this, as there were some four other British Members of Parliament (MPs) of the Conservative Party who were victims of this apparent duping experiment by Led by Donkeys.

Real reason behind this fake exercise by Led by Donkeys:

Details on parliament.uk indicate that a generation ago, the expectation of most MPs was for them to have another job, at least on part-time terms.

This was because until the reform of sitting hours in the 1990s, the Commons began work each day at 2.30pm, a schedule enabling many to continue with their profession at the Bar, or as a solicitor or journalist or doctor, the report added.

And then from the 1980s, another employment opportunity became widespread: MPs being able to act as consultants to lobbying companies or PR firms, and in explaining parliamentary procedure and investigating the likelihood of legislation being passed to them.

It is premised on such a conversation in the UK that the lead investigative journalist for the exposé, Anthony Barnett, set out to investigate this.

He indicated that the document was an experiment to find out whether MPs will find time to take another job, “furthering the interest of foreign companies” during the UK’s cost of living crisis.

He also stated that MPs in the UK are allowed to take as many jobs as possible and charge the amount of money they want but a lot of citizens have been protesting against this freedom.

What the investigators wanted to offer the former UK Chancellor:

According to a news report by theguardian.com, Kwasi Kwarteng and the other Tory MPs agreed to work for £10,000 a day to further the interests of a fake South Korean firm.

The former UK chancellor met investigators acting as staff of the fake Korean company at his parliamentary office and agreed in principle to be paid the daily rate of £10,000.

A video of the said meeting, which was more of a job interview, shared by Led by Donkeys showed Kwarteng touting his competencies and connections to prove that he is the right man for the job.

After initially stating that he will charge £10,000 per month, the former chancellor increased his rate to £10,000 per day after the investigator told him they are willing to pay him between £8,000 to £12,000 per day for his role.

“I have been an energy minister for three years, I was chancellor. You know, I have got a lot of experience in the UK,” he said.

He added that his work as an MP will not be an impediment to his duties in his new role with the South Korean company.

Kwasi Kwarteng even went on to say that he can bring on board the former British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, whom he described as "a great campaigner".

Watch a video of Kwasi Kwarteng's ‘fake’ job interview below:



You can also watch this episode of People & Places here:



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