Kyerematen loan scandals

Most of the programmes under the President’s Special Initiative (PSI) which are being manned by Mr. Alan Kyeremanten, the outgoing Minister of Trade, Industry and Private Sector development seem to be running into problems. Last week, the mother of all scandals reared its head when the latest introduction into the Kyerematen’s portfolio, PSIs- the Microfinance and Small Loans Scheme (MASLOC) was buffeted by what appears to be an extortion racket up north.
Investigations by The Chronicle have revealed that Chairmen of the Tamale North, South and Central constituencies are championing the alleged extortion scandal, which has attracted the fury of some people who were made to believe that they were going to benefit from the programme.
The paper uncovered that, the chairmen and some people close to the Tamale Metropolitan Chief Executive (MCE) had employed all manner of strategies to make some money themselves, and have promised some unemployed party members of granting them loans under Alan Kyeremanten’s MASLOC programme.
It was also established that 90 different groups with 25 members each had been ensnared by the three chairmen and other top party executives to pay a fee of 1.5 million cedis per group for the development of “comprehensive business proposals” to enable them access the MASLOC loans.
Each person from each of the ninety groups according to our investigations paid ¢60,000 mounting to about 200 million cedis.
Some of the group members who stormed the Northern Regional office of The Chronicle out of anger, said they were demanding a refund of the amount paid, due to unnecessary delay in accessing the promised loan. They also sought the assistance of this paper to expose the “bad deeds” of the party executives, which they claimed was a calculated attempt to further impoverish them.
Meanwhile, the Regional Coordinator of MASLOC, Mr. Yakubu Tanko, who, on several occasions has been accused of conniving with the Tamale MCE in perpetrating the act through the three Constituency Chairmen, confirmed the alleged “extortion” but denied his involvement.
According to him, no official from MASLOC had asked any individual or group of persons to take any money from the public before accessing loans from the facility.
Mr. Tanko who was flanked by his lieutenants, cautioned those who were associating him with the collection of the ¢60,000 to desist from that and directed those aggrieved NPP members to chase after the three party chairmen for their monies.
He observed that the benefit of the MASLOC could be overturned if such acts were not discouraged and halted.
On the other hand, Mr. Abdul Ganiyu, the Chief Administrator of Northern Link Consultancy Limited, the firm that was to have been contracted for the preparation of business proposals for the group also admitted the collection of the ¢60,000 from the people but bluntly disassociated his company’s direct involvement.
He insisted that his organization was only contracted by the three Constituency Executives to prepare comprehensive proposals for all the ninety groups. According to him, the MCE of Tamale, Mr. Mohammed Adam Amin-Anta who was linked with the matter had no hands in the deal. “The fact that the MCE is a former Chief Executive Officer of NorthLink does not make him responsible for matters that arise within the company,” he remarked.
Mr. Amin Anta used to be the CEO of the company until he was appointed to the political position. The Tamale MCE is also a known supporter of the presidential bid of Mr. Kyeremanten. The MCE was part of the meeting of Brong Ahafo Delegates in Techiman during which meeting some ¢300million was blown.
When contacted, the chairmen for Tamale North and Central, Mr. Abraham Adumanko Nunoo and Alhaji Mahamoud Mohammed Tanko respectively, admitted their various roles in taking such monies from the people.
According to them, there were no strings attached to the monies collected but was only meant to source loans for them to improve upon their livelihoods. They observed that the group members were demanding for their monies because there had been some kind of delay in the release of the loans from the MASLOC secretariat.
Contrary to earlier claims by the NorthLink Consultancy Limited the NPP executives in separate interviews singled the company out as an associate in the development of the alleged comprehensive business proposals in that respect.
They insisted that the executives were educated enough to develop such proposals to meet MASLOC’s requirements.
The Tamale North Chairman, Mr. Nunoo who sounded angry during the interview abused the MASLOC Coordinator and described him as someone who was creating series of problems for the party. All efforts however to contact the Tamale Metropolitan Chief Executive Mohammed Adam Anta were frustrated as he never picked any call on his cell phone.
It is speculated that under the programme, some people, especially influential party kingpins would be afforded the opportunity to access credits to buy mini buses to run public transport business. It is also speculated that those likely to benefit from the car credit facility are party leaders who would be supportive of the Presidential bid of Mr. Alan Kyeremanten.
Applicants for the credit facility would have to apply to access the facility through the Prudential bank whose Board is headed by Mr. Sekyere Abankwa.
The Minister’s office is currently before a Takoradi Court over the non-payment of monies owed to some outgrowers, and the challenges seem to have infested the Garment PSI, the tomato farmers in Upper East Region (Pwalugu tomato factory) and Volta Star in the Volta region.