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Opinions of Monday, 1 August 2011

Columnist: Amponsah, Jerry

Mills-Mahama gov’t has shot itself in the foot – Rejoinder

Raymond Archer: Mills-Mahama gov’t has shot itself in the foot – Rejoinder

A story with the above headline was widely published on Wednesday, July 27, across the country and beyond. This was from the coup de grace made public by one of the proud and well-known dogsbodies of the incumbent government, the editor of the Enquirer Newspaper, Raymond Archer, in a manner of apostasy.

Despite the affinity he has with the NDC government, he went public after being obsessed with the rat he smells over his boss’ iniquities. He launched a purposeful media blitz against his paymasters; yet, he will continue to receive his paychecks – with ease and with premium added on, in order to avoid any future embarrassments over the lousy government. He expressed shocked as to why the Mills-Mahama administration was freeze-dried and cordial with the current transaction of the EO Group with Tullow Oil from Britain.

Dr. Sekou Nkrumah, the former director of the crucial National Youth Council, was booted from his post in the broad day light, for expressing his humble and candid opinion under the much touted ‘Democratic Umbrella’. This cognizant fellow proudly fell on the dagger by shunning his own biological father’s political, CPP, in order to join the tiff-tainted political party, perceiving it to be a stable home for his rich political prowess. This is the same fellow, whom the ruling NDC government – in assuming power – spent a whooping figure of $40 million over, in order to celebrate his late father’s birthday. The NDC political party uses his father’s, name, political ideologies, and principles, while flaunting with the hypocritical, in order to serve as a cover up and to boost their party’s image.

Brogya Genfi, former PRO of Ashanti Regional Coordinating Council, was also fired from his post after the Mills-Mahama government perceived him to be Mr. Rawlings’ boy and supported Mrs. Rawlings.

In the face of the above, the NDC government’s mantra of “no nonsense,” Raymond Archer will still be the much hailed and praised darling boy of the Mills-Mahama administration. He had the chutzpah to honestly reveal the vicissitude of the ruling party in their relationship with the EO Group. Mr. Archer was puzzled with the drama on the part of the ruling government. He ranted like a witch confessing at dawn as he did well to hit it right on the nail. According to him, the NDC government: “After re-considering its previous stance of arresting and prosecuting the EO Group and its directors for causing financial loss of several billions of dollars to the GNPC, money laundering and conspiracy to forge official documents, among others. After months of unrelenting attempts by some elements in the ruling government to cause commercial and collateral damage to EO Group with planned prosecution of the group by the Attorney General’s office, reason has finally prevailed, thereby fine-tuning government’s earlier posture on the issue.”

The ruling NDC government “subjected the group to an incomprehensible campaign of character assassination, false allegations of misconduct, and abuse.” Major players in the oil industry fiercely debunked the ugly controversies that swirled the EO Group’s share in the Jubilee Oil Fields, and raised its possible fears over foreign investment into the country’s oil zone. Interestingly, on July 25, a boffo deal has been reached in relation to the conditional acquisition of the Ghanaian interests of EO Group Limited for $305 million with the British firm, Tullow Oil plc.

He couldn’t believe “why government was initially so keen on prosecuting the EO group on the basis of fraud but did a volte-face after two years to transact business with them.”

“We’ve been following this particular investigation even before the NDC came into office. We are aware from reliable sources that the investigations have been concluded, and that as at two, or three weeks ago, the Attorney General was preparing to press charges and so I am wondering why government will now be giving its consent for the company that they are investigating, a company that its operations were questionable … its registrations and its operations in Ghana was predicated on fraudulent activities to still sit down on one table with the same company and give its consent for them to do business…. I don’t think as a government all they can do is to conduct investigations and after two years, they don’t tell Ghanaians anything; only claims and counter claims then by the time we realize they are sitting down at the same table with the same people accused of criminality and fraud and doing business with them,” regretfully Raymond Archer said, without a chary in an interview with Shamima Muslim on Citi Eye Witness News.

It was reported that some persons in the NDC government were armed to the teeth to cause commercial and collateral damage to the EO Group, coupled with a planned prosecution by the Attorney-General’s office.

He expressed surprise at the decision by the ruling government to accept a lobby from the EO group to pay reparations of $15 million in exchange for the prosecution or any investigations to be halted.

“…I don’t see why the government should be involved in such a transaction,” he fumed. He was quite astonished by the hypocritical posture of the Mills-Mahama administration in respect to the publicly known duel.

For the sake of the ignoramuses and the unbeknown to the EO Oil: If today, Ghanaians can boast of oil in commercial quantities, it was in the wisdom of the EO Group, it was the only Ghanaian partners in the Jubilee Oil Fields. The EO group is an oil exploratory company formed by two Ghanaians, Edusei and Owusu, who brought KOSMOS to Ghana in order to find oil in commercial quantities, during the Former President Kufour’s led NPP government. The group is getting 3 percent of KOSMOS’ profit, not from Ghana's oil revenue. Because these two men are NPP members and presumably Ashantis, some NDC members were hell bent to destroy them and have them lose their share. The group brought in KOSMOS at the time when most renowned international oil companies had written off Ghana as a graveyard for oil discovery. The EO Group has since maintained that it acquired the oil block fairly, and is thus entitled to receive the same benefits any business venture could achieve through innovation, dedication and risk tolerance, when the effort results in a huge discovery of petroleum.

The vile propaganda-putrid NDC political party with its government has an absolute right to their opinion; but, it has no right, whatsoever, to turn the facts bottom up – the truth holds!

In the Mills-Mahama administration’s efforts of winning the Ghanaian public’s sympathy and support, it has engaged in numerous political vendettas and witch-hunting. And, this is not an exception. Many of these cases have hit the incumbent government right in its face. Initially, the NDC government blew it hard in pursuing the EO Group, in order to prove its “guilt” with all the panoply it commands, but it later swept the truth under the carpet, after exonerating the legitimate business organizations.

In addition to the seven deadly sins characterizing the NDC government, it’s also an investments and jobs killer! It will screw and rip any private entity it perceives to be wining and dining with the opposition political party.

The then candidate Atta Mills, in the 2008 electioneering campaign, assured Ghanaians of no “political vendetta” or “witch-hunting”, but the case of EO Group, being ballooned by Raymond Archer in an unusual fashion, clearly indicates that President Atta Mills, in assuming office, is tacitly engaged in his autarchy.

What has happened to the hijacked ship carrying oil from Ghana to Benin that was seized 55 kilometres off the Nigerian coast in the Gulf of Guinea on Saturday, July 16, reported by the Greek officials?

Hello, Mr. President

Jerry Amponsah (Sabbato) Communications’ Group NPP, New York.