SCANCEM Bribe: Pratt Calls For Probe

Mr. Kwesi Pratt Jnr., the Managing Editor of the Insight newspaper and a seasoned politician, has called for an official enquiry into allegations of bribery leveled against some former government officials in Ghana, including the former first couple, Jerry John Rawlings and Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings.

An ex-official of Scancem- a Norwegian cement company, Mr. Gerhad Heilberg, had told a court in Norway, where he was standing trial for financial malfeasance, that some of the missing money, amounting to several millions of America Dollars, went into the hands of Jerry Rawlings and his wife as well as other top government officials.

Mr. Pratt, explaining his position on the issue, told The Crusading GUIDE that: “… allegations of bribery against a former Head of State and wife are serious allegations. I also made the point that having regards to GHACEM’s own admission that it set up funds for the corruption of public officials and also the knowledge that CHACEM had paid substantial amount of money to political party leaders and so on, it is important to set up an independent committee of enquiry into the allegations made by the officials of GHACEM and also GHACEM’s claim, with all the political parties and political leadership”.

Mr. Pratt continued, “the committee of enquiry should determine the extent of which GHACEM had infiltrated the political establishment and corrupted government officials”.

Kwesi Pratt was speaking to this paper as a rejoinder to a story the paper had published on comments he made on the bribery issue while speaking on Radio Gold - an Accra based private radio station.

The said story was that Mr. Pratt had indicated that the allegation of bribery was no issue and that the bigger issue was the fact that all major political parties in Ghana as well as the country’s top politicians, also benefited financially and privately from the said cement company.

Mr. Pratt, in his rejoinder to the story said, “I did not say it is not a serious matter. I did not make any statements to the effect that the story should be ignored”.

On the said radio discussion, Mr. Pratt, who was captured on tape had noted, “…but for me, this is the big issue and I know that a lot of people would deny, but that is the truth. I want to hear any serious politician of a leading political party in Ghana denying that they have not collected any money from GHACEM. Let them deny, NDC , NPP, whatsoever. Because as a fact, GHACEM had been a major player in Ghana’s politics.

He maintained that GHACEM had paid money to all the leading politicians in this country and to the political parties.

“I may not be able to produce receipts and so on, but all of them know this is true. GHACEM money went to NPP, in the 2000 elections campaign, some GHACEM money went to NDC. So what is this holier-than-thou attitude all over the place when all of them have collected? Let them deny publicly that they did not take any money.

“Wouldn’t it be strange that President Kufuor takes office and one of the appointments he made to a very important country happens to be the person or one of the people who allegedly were paying money to Jerry Rawlings and Nana Konadu. Does it make sense? Does it make sense?

“In any case, if that appointment was made, it could mean that a certain relationship existed between the President and the person who was so appointed. If bribes were paid, and given the person’s position in government, why did it take us six years to find out? So look, let us wake up and stop this useless politicisation of this issue and so on.

“Master why, there have been serious allegations even about GHACEM in the media. I lie? If l lie tell me. Where hasn’t GHACEM money gone in this country? Why this useless finger-pointing and so on. All our leading politicians in government today, are they going to deny that they have never, never ever received papers from GHACEM and so on…?”