He must be investigated*

It is rather unfortunate for such a noble gentleman like Dr. George Agya Sipa Yankey to lie to Ghanaians and the late Prof. John Evans Atta Mills that the Ghana Gas Project would be completed by the last quarter of 2012.

His sweat talk to the late Prof Mills got down to all meaning Ghanaians with the hope that the Gas Project would be completed before the deadline to curtail the flaring of gas into the Atlantic Ocean, therefore saving the country from wasting millions of dollars in importing gas for both domestic and industrial consumption by the government.

One interesting thing about this man, Dr Sipa Yankey is that, he has always failed to tell the truth especially when the issue is linked with national interest, in the early 2000 he was slapped with short jail term sentence which was in connection with the infamous ‘Quality Grain’ Scandal under the Kuffour-led regime which he failed to present a clean sheet to Ghanaians.

In 2009, he was for the second time in his life fingered for his alleged active role in another infamous Mabey& Johnson Scandal which led him to forcibly resign as a Health Minister, an enviable position.

The “Gas Project is in good cause”as he (Dr. Sipa Yankey) always assured Ghanaians through the media; to us the progressive youth of the Western Region, it is a blatant lie, since the project as we speak now has not even seen a bolt and knot fixed at the Atuabo site.

We can also point out that the filling of the site at Atuabo is a gross financial loss to the nation as compared to its initial location Domunli-Bonyele in the Jomoro District which does not require much filling; our intelligence tells us that the filling alone would take about six-nine months and since it was started, it has not even hit the first level out of the ten steps which is expected to be done before buildings and machines can be fixed, but still deceive we Ghanaians that the project is near completion.

Why should the Ghana Gas Project which is meant for all Ghanaians now become a personal business venture for Sipa Yankey and his apparatchiks who on daily plough millions of Ghana cedis without paying taxes to the nation?

We also ask that, who owns the tipper trucks, bulldozers, excavators that have been hide behind some companies that directly pay daily sales into the accounts Sipa and his boys.

Also, is the President aware that Sipa Yankey has been meddling himself into the pool of conflict of interest; where he is purported to receive monthly rent fee from his real estate in both Nzema and Takoradi from the same national company he serves as the CEO.

We therefore call on the President John Dramani Mahama to immediately revoke the position of Sipa Yankey as the CEO of the Ghana Gas Project and any future position and institute an independent investigative body to bring out the rot that has recently engulfedGhana Gas.

This move, we believe if immediately done would save Dr. Yankey the disgrace from retuning to jail in the future; should there be a new government precisely the NPP.

He must also be made to cough all monies that have all been paid into his personal accounts out of the sales made both in the filling of the site and the real estate business, since we see it as chopping to the detriment of Ghanaians. we also want to take this opportunity to wish all a happy new year

We hope our request would be given an immediate hearing

Best regards

*Asmah Arthur, Sec- Nzema Youth Association*

*Mariam Yaba- Media Watch*

*Kaku Andrews- Research Consultant, University of Aberdeen *