Former President Jerry Rawlings claims 60 per cent of “thieves” in government now hold positions in the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
The former president alleged that those people fou ... read full comment
VOTE MAHAMA OUT IN 2016.
Former President Jerry Rawlings claims 60 per cent of “thieves” in government now hold positions in the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
The former president alleged that those people fought for party positions just to protect themselves from a possible prosecution for their evil deeds.
Mr. Rawlings who was reacting to the acquittal of business man Alfred Woyome stated that prosecution presented a poor case just to protect some people in government implicated in the case.
Citing the involvement of former Attorney General, Betty Mould-Iddrisu in the Woyomegate scandal as an example, Mr. Rawlings questioned why she was left off the hook.
"Woyome the thief is now a free man because some of our people who were involved in the thievery like Betty Mould and one other person were not produce in court for interrogation to provide vital information to jail him," he fumed.
“When 40% of the corrupt people have lost their positions to enable us clean the party, 60% have now come in to protect themselves and we also vote them. Are we so stupid” he quizzed.
Whatever 9 years ago
Well I think NDC should be applauding themselves because if this mam says only 60% thieves are in govt. As for the NPP, he says all them, they are 100% thieves and specifically name Kufour as the number thief.
Well I think NDC should be applauding themselves because if this mam says only 60% thieves are in govt. As for the NPP, he says all them, they are 100% thieves and specifically name Kufour as the number thief.
Close Observer 9 years ago
Incumbent Chairman of the governing party Dr Kwabena Adjei has told starr news in an interview that he is being blamed by members of the National Democratic Congress, for the failures of the current Government.
“Everythi ... read full comment
Incumbent Chairman of the governing party Dr Kwabena Adjei has told starr news in an interview that he is being blamed by members of the National Democratic Congress, for the failures of the current Government.
“Everything the Government has done and has not done well from the energy crisis to lack of funds for GETfund scholarship to school feeding programme to poor road network to lack of potable water in certain places, all are government responsibilities, I’m not the person to be blamed, but when I go out they blame me, as if I was the minister of water resources works and housing, minister of roads, minister of energy, minister of this, they put it on me,” the two-time Chairman who is running for a third consecutive term told Ibrahim Alhassan.
The former Minister in the Rawlings Government, nonetheless conceded that the complaints of the party “mirror the general view” of Ghanaians in the country.
“…I take some of the blame because I’m the party chairman, and I can’t go out of my way to deny,” he said.
Daylight Highway Pen Robbers 9 years ago
I admire your summation or wrap-up:
"I hope one day when NDC is out of power, even if that will take another decade, Woyome, Betty Mould-Iddrisu, Barton Oduro, Samuel Nerquaye-Tetteh and Paul Asimenu would be prosecuted fo ... read full comment
I admire your summation or wrap-up:
"I hope one day when NDC is out of power, even if that will take another decade, Woyome, Betty Mould-Iddrisu, Barton Oduro, Samuel Nerquaye-Tetteh and Paul Asimenu would be prosecuted for their role is this gargantuan crime against the state. Ghana’s day of shame."
Here's the list of the thieves/conspirators:
Betty Mould Iddrisu
Barton Oduro
Samuel Nerquaye-Tetteh
Gifty Nerquaye-Tetteh
Tony Lithur
Marietta Brew Appiah-Oppong
Paul Asimenu
They must be jailed sooner or later.
DANGER 9 years ago
GET READY
GET READY
Kofi Ata, Cambridge, UK 9 years ago
Unfortunately or fortunately, because of double jeopardy rule, Woyome may never the prosecuted again, unless the Attorney General's planned appeal is successful, which I doubt.
Unfortunately or fortunately, because of double jeopardy rule, Woyome may never the prosecuted again, unless the Attorney General's planned appeal is successful, which I doubt.
Kenneth 9 years ago
Kofi's article is a serious indictment on our judiciary.He assumes that the judiciary is so incompetent that they are incapable of independent reasoning which will inform their judgement.This was a case which which was doomed ... read full comment
Kofi's article is a serious indictment on our judiciary.He assumes that the judiciary is so incompetent that they are incapable of independent reasoning which will inform their judgement.This was a case which which was doomed to fail anyway not because the prosecution did not try, but because it had to go to trial because of the influence of public opinion and political expedience.
When the sc gave their ruling that the contract was defective and therefore invalid,they laid the ground work for a criminal prosecution to fail because they implied that if it were not for the procedural impropriety there would have been a valid and binding contract.The argument has been made that certain vital witnesses were not called but it is the duty of the prosecution to call only witnesses who will help their case because it will be stupid to call witnesses who will help the defence case.
The ruling of the sc court though disgraceful and cowardly may rather have played in the hands of Woyome who will attempt an international arbitration because the sc had determined that it is a foreign contract and therefore ought to have gone through parliamentary approval.
The question of an appeal is just a whistle in the wind because any appeal will fail because the case itself is weak from the base.
Annorwuo 9 years ago
We should discount the rantings and ravings of critics,who are only exhibiting tunnel vision here!
I mean how anybody,including so-called attorneys,who believe they must necessarily comment on every case in this country,whet ... read full comment
We should discount the rantings and ravings of critics,who are only exhibiting tunnel vision here!
I mean how anybody,including so-called attorneys,who believe they must necessarily comment on every case in this country,whether or not,they are seized with the facts pertaining to a particular file,believes a judge or prosecuting attys,can ever secure a conviction,with hostile witnesses is really beyond me!
Kofi Ata, Cambridge, UK 9 years ago
Kenneth, I did not make the assumption that "the judiciary is so incompetent that they are incapable of independent reasoning which will inform their judgement". I never apportioned any blame to the judiciary but put the who ... read full comment
Kenneth, I did not make the assumption that "the judiciary is so incompetent that they are incapable of independent reasoning which will inform their judgement". I never apportioned any blame to the judiciary but put the whole blame on poor prosecution by the State Prosecution.
Vuvuzela 9 years ago
"Kofi's article is a serious indictment on our judiciary.He assumes that the judiciary is so incompetent that they are incapable of independent reasoning which will inform their judgement."
Is it today that this becomes ev ... read full comment
"Kofi's article is a serious indictment on our judiciary.He assumes that the judiciary is so incompetent that they are incapable of independent reasoning which will inform their judgement."
Is it today that this becomes evident? That's been the fact for 58 years! Kofi's question is just probably proverbial: "Who is next?" The long list just keeps updating itself.
Oh, what a waste called Ghana!
Kwaku 9 years ago
IT IS $32 MILLION, NOT 52 MILLION CEDIS. LET'S GET THE FIGURE RIGHT. IGNORANCE SURE IS BLISS.
IT IS $32 MILLION, NOT 52 MILLION CEDIS. LET'S GET THE FIGURE RIGHT. IGNORANCE SURE IS BLISS.
Mallam Kankane 9 years ago
Kwaku, I am not sure of the amount involved but I think $32m was equivalent to GHc52m at the time. I might be wrong but I think that is why every one is quoting GHc52m.
Kwaku, I am not sure of the amount involved but I think $32m was equivalent to GHc52m at the time. I might be wrong but I think that is why every one is quoting GHc52m.
Kwaku 9 years ago
Yes Mallam, that was the equivalent when he conspired to defraud the country.
Yes Mallam, that was the equivalent when he conspired to defraud the country.
LONTO-BOY 9 years ago
MASSA KOFI, this is an impressive piece. As a Ghanaian, Woyome having been acquitted by the court turns my stomach. On the other hand, why should Ghanaians be surprised to see Woyome acquitted by the court? We should have see ... read full comment
MASSA KOFI, this is an impressive piece. As a Ghanaian, Woyome having been acquitted by the court turns my stomach. On the other hand, why should Ghanaians be surprised to see Woyome acquitted by the court? We should have seen this coming. Right from the beginning, there was no prospect of Woyome going to jail or this case ending in a conviction because of the duplicity and complicity of this NDC Government. The NDC Government was up to its neck in this fraudulent business of corrupt payment to Woyome. The NDC party benefited from that dubious payment to Woyome. Hence, this "NDC-stage managed and funded acquittal".
To answer your rhetorical question:...Who will be next? First of all, who will admit to organised political corruption and fraud in Ghana? Ghanaian Government ministers, politicians and their shady accomplices do not admit to corruption and causing financial loss to the State. Can you imagine the likes of Betty Mould-Iddrisu, Barton Oduro and others getting away with this in the UK? Sadly, this sends the message that Government ministers and their Woyome-like accomplices can get away with murder.
Prof Lrtungu 9 years ago
READ: "...Despite the above failures, President Mahama and his cronies are claiming that he is fighting corruption by arresting and prosecuting them..."
OUR COMMENT: Nuff said.
READ: "...Despite the above failures, President Mahama and his cronies are claiming that he is fighting corruption by arresting and prosecuting them..."
OUR COMMENT: Nuff said.
Dr. SAS, Attorney at Law 9 years ago
Kofi,
Your take on the pervasive chain of corrupt acts that brought about the Woyome scandal is correctly on point. And so is your conclusion that the case was fraudulently prosecuted.
But I disagree with you that the cas ... read full comment
Kofi,
Your take on the pervasive chain of corrupt acts that brought about the Woyome scandal is correctly on point. And so is your conclusion that the case was fraudulently prosecuted.
But I disagree with you that the case failed because of lack of certain witnesses or the lackadaisical attitude of the Attorney general.
The issue for this trial was not whether Woyome had any contract with the government. That issue was resolved by another court that improperly gave a default judgment against the government that implied that Woyome had a genuine case.
And with that judgment in hand and no pending appeal, the man was paid his judgment award. So how then do you take him to court on fraud by false pretenses? The man was awarded a judgment on which he collected. He did not misrepresent himself or falsify any documents or forge any paperwork in collecting his judgment. In fact, the government paid him with alacrity!
He collected on a judgment which the Attorney General was in a hurry to pay him. Was the attorney general and the others going to allege that the man defrauded them to pay him when he had a judgment in hand made out to him by a court of competent jurisdiction? So where is the fraud? There was no fraud in the execution of the payment to Woyome.
And I have also stated under one of your articles that the Supreme Court's ruling that Woyome's contract was void because it was not approved by parliament is the most stupid contract law ruling under the sun. in short, the ruling goes against the grain of international contract law and must be discarded for its grossness. Woyome will not pay a penny to the government.
And all the above have become possible because of the high crime committed by key people in government against our country. The people who betrayed the country by failing to defend it against a fraudulent law suit, a judge who gave a default judgment without examining the validity of plaintiff's claim, and high government officials who quickly authorized payment and took their share of the loot.
Unfortunately, Woyome's case is only one example of the numerous grand schemes concocted by this government to fleece the country. Even as we cry foul, new schemes continue to be hatched......
.
Kwaku 9 years ago
Dr. SAS, the judgment awarded this guy was not by a court of competent jurisdiction. You are looking at this fraudulent award with one eye closed. The court (the AG office, the MOF, BOG, and the president's office) that con ... read full comment
Dr. SAS, the judgment awarded this guy was not by a court of competent jurisdiction. You are looking at this fraudulent award with one eye closed. The court (the AG office, the MOF, BOG, and the president's office) that conspired to hurriedly "award" the misjudgment to him has with alacrity distanced itself from the legitimacy of the award. I agree with you that the collaborators were the same court "prosecuting" the case; they filed the wrong charges, because they were not interested in pursuing the case and knew those brain-dead charges would not succeed. Furthermore, they did everything to lose the case; I am surprised the judge did not throw the case out of court sooner.
But in all this, let's not lose sight of the fact that this fraudster did not have a contract with the government. His claim of a contract with the government was shown to be false. This guy was "smart" enough to wait for a government that was willing to conspire with him to further pursue his crime. To me the most important declaration for all the opposition parties should be that they will retrieve the money stolen by this guy and prosecute EVERYONE involved in the crime. If the opposition parties do not think that Ghanaians are extremely upset with the corruption and financial crimes being committed in the country, then they should stop "campaigning" and let the present government continue to plunder the coffers of the country by saddling the next generation with unnecessary and crafty loans.
Kofi Ata, Cambridge, UK 9 years ago
Dr SAS, you are right that we disagreed on the issue of contract law on my previous articles on this matter. The facts of the claim even without the Supreme Court ruling on lack of parliamentary approval were that Waterville ... read full comment
Dr SAS, you are right that we disagreed on the issue of contract law on my previous articles on this matter. The facts of the claim even without the Supreme Court ruling on lack of parliamentary approval were that Waterville and Woyome did not have a (valid) contract with Government of Ghana (GoG). That, Waterville was awarded a contract by GoG. A contract for which Waterville subcontracted Woyome to deliver certain aspects of it. In other words, Woyome was an agent of Waterville and never had a contract with GoG.
Second, for lack of delivery, GoG terminated the contract with Waterville and re-awarded the contract to a Chinese company, who paid Waterville for the work done. For that reason, Woyome should have been reimbursed by Waterville for work done for them.
Since the Waterville contract was terminated and paid for work done there was no outstanding questions on contract law, whether local, regional or international.
It was therefore strange that Waterville and Woyome were able to sue GoG and successfully claimed judgement debt by default through deception and fraud and that is where we both agree that government officials and civil servants colluded with Waterville and Woyome to loot the state.
If what I heard Kwaku Baako say on Newsfile this morning is accurate, then your argument on the High Court default ruling is out of date. According to him, the Supreme Court declared the High Court default judgement as non void and set it aside because the facts available to the court were such that no rational judge would have granted the default judgement. In that case, this new judgement is a bit interesting.
Dr. SAS, Attorney at Law 9 years ago
I agree with you that Woyome had no contract with the government. Still, he brought a fraudulent breach of contract petition against the government which failed to defend itself. As a result, a default judgment was awarded to ... read full comment
I agree with you that Woyome had no contract with the government. Still, he brought a fraudulent breach of contract petition against the government which failed to defend itself. As a result, a default judgment was awarded to him by a judge who also failed to examine the value and validity of the plaintiff's case.
It is altogether strange that the government did not appear in court to defend itself against a fraudulent lawsuit, and even stranger that the judge granted the default judgment without examining the veracity of the plaintiff's claim, but the strangest thing of all is that the government never filed any motion to set aside the default judgment nor appealed against it in any higher court. Rather, government, as defendant in the case, agreed to the judgment and paid up with all alacrity. Once government did that, the case was effectively closed, and there was no procedural path to retrieve the money except probably to go after all the officials involved in this grand scheme upon a separate criminal enquiry. So far, government has shown no appetite to do this, and those officials are all walking free.....
Now enter, a citizen vigilante filing a writ at the Supreme Court for whatever basis. Instead of rejecting the writ upon sound legal arguments, the Supreme court returns a unanimous verdict strangely impugning invalidity to a supposed contract based on the presumptive fact that it had no parliamentary approval.
That ruling was very stupid, given that in international contract law, a government cannot reap the benefits of a defective contract (assuming there was one) and then turn around to say that its parliament did not approve of it. If the government signed a contract without performing its part of the conditions precedent, the performance of such a contract makes it valid under the equitable theory of quantum meruit and many others. And in this context, Woyome would have been deserving of his reward one way or the other.
And by the way, I maintain also that the citizen vigilante had no locos in the case and his writ of certiorari should not have been entertained at the Supreme Court because the matter was res judicata insofar as it had been completely resolved by the court to the apparent satisfaction of all parties involved. The lower court's judgment had already been upheld by the actual parties in litigation by a satisfaction of the judgment debt. And the matter was therefore effectively closed.
So in sum, the Supreme Court's judgment was per se asinine, and it was upon this asinine judgment that the government brought a case of fraud against Woyome. And my post above has already explained that there was no way that that suit for fraud was going to pass legal muster, even if the government side had brought all those witnesses mentioned by the judge, or even if the Attorney General had marshaled all its best legal minds to pursue the case. This is because at this point, the only issue at stake was whether Woyome did anything fraudulent to secure the payment of this judgment debt. Woyome did not; but others did, and those others should have been the ones standing before the court, not Woyome.
I can understand Kwaku Baako's confusion because the Supreme Court confused him by returning a bad judgment; but that does not make his statement that the lower court's judgment was set aside any truer. It could have been set aside by a timely and proper application for a writ of mandamus; but as I have said, no person of standing filed any motion or writ at any time. Yet the Supreme Court went ahead and made a concurrent, albeit confusing ruling that Woyome should pay back the judgment debt, not even because there was no contract, but rather that there was a contract but it was not approved by parliament. And here, the Supreme Court's unanimous decision is a further testament of the cluelessness of its honorable judges.
Elsewhere, the whole government should fall upon this gargantuan fraud perpetrated against the people, but these criminals are walking about free, and the government is working hard to be re-elected while the people dance in circles over their treasure that has been soundly looted.
Kofi Ata, Cambridge, UK 9 years ago
Dr SAS, I agree with you in principle except that you still do not accept that the Waterville contract with GoG was properly and legally terminated and Waterville paid for work done. Therefore, there was no case of "if the go ... read full comment
Dr SAS, I agree with you in principle except that you still do not accept that the Waterville contract with GoG was properly and legally terminated and Waterville paid for work done. Therefore, there was no case of "if the government signed a contract without performing its part of the conditions precedent, the performance of such a contract makes it valid under the equitable theory of quantum meruit and many others. And in this context, Woyome would have been deserving of his reward one way or the other".
Enjoy the rest of the weekend.
Kwaku 9 years ago
Kofi, the point is that this guy did not have a contract and for that reason all his claims were fraudulent. The fact that he found a government and some its officials who were willing to conspire with him and commit a crimi ... read full comment
Kofi, the point is that this guy did not have a contract and for that reason all his claims were fraudulent. The fact that he found a government and some its officials who were willing to conspire with him and commit a criminal act does not make the court of jurisdiction competent or legal; especially, when the court is constituted by the same criminal conspirators. This fraudulent award does not pass the smell test, no matter how and where it is smelt.
Dr. SAS, Attorney at Law 9 years ago
I accept that the Waterville contract with GoG was properly and legally terminated......
That is why I have agreed that the judgment for Woyome was fraudulently procured. My point is simply that once the judgment was procu ... read full comment
I accept that the Waterville contract with GoG was properly and legally terminated......
That is why I have agreed that the judgment for Woyome was fraudulently procured. My point is simply that once the judgment was procured anyhow, the next stage is to use the proper prophylactic legal procedures to set it aside; but if the government abandoned its cause and paid up the judgment debt, then the case was effectively closed, albeit under very fraudulent circumstances.
It cannot be reopened by even the Supreme Court. That is why I said that the Supreme Court erred by opening it, and worse, by holding as it did that there was presumably a contract but that that contract was not approved by parliament....
Your problem here is that you are going back on the merits of the case which was foreclosed when the court granted a default judgment and when the government hurriedly paid up the judgment debt.
In sum, the question of the validity or otherwise of the contract and its concomitant lawsuit cannot be re-litigated or even re-opened insofar as that questioned was foreclosed upon a final judgment. And consequently, the Supreme Court's decision against Woyome remains a travesty on this account, and also, on account of its ridiculous basis.
And finally, this last fraud case was an exercise in futility insofar as it has no ingredient in fraud. I have already stated that Woyome did not use fraud in collecting his judgment debt because it was legally granted him by a court of law.
Finally, my comment on quantum meruit or promissory estoppel presumes, as the supreme court did, that Woyome performed some services to the government under a contract, albeit a defective one.....
C.Y. ANDY-K 9 years ago
Dr SAS,
It is good you stick to law, not politics!:-)
Of course, I have been spelling out the stupidity of this trial for years now but, except for you, no others were listening. You even wrote an article in support of ... read full comment
Dr SAS,
It is good you stick to law, not politics!:-)
Of course, I have been spelling out the stupidity of this trial for years now but, except for you, no others were listening. You even wrote an article in support of my position. Indeed, the SC "misjudgement" was against internationally accepted contract law. Even the caveat emptor - let the buyer beware -law was tampered with protection for the buyer since 1958. I am a bit rusty so can't recollect the name for that law. Caveat venditor? I was head of Business Dept. in the early '80s in a high schl in Nigeria and then some more business course in the 1990s. Ageing, you know?:-)
The AG can only win that case if all those key witnesses they failed to present to testify were parade tp prove to the court, and a discerning public, represented by me [and you], that they were conned, fooled and bamboozled by Woyome to support his claim, and thereby showing to us that they were just a bunch of idiots not fit for their offices and purpose. But as the leaked document revealed, a plea was made for them not to be "embarrassed" by being called to testify!
Andy-K
NB
I've posted my article below for the records.
C.Y. ANDY-K 9 years ago
THE WOYOME CASE: I AM BAFFLED.
The date shows that I first wrote the piece below on 14 Feb. 2012 in reaction to the brouhaha surrounding the Woyome and Co. judgement debt payment. I am NO LONGER CONFUSED ABOUT IT but stil ... read full comment
THE WOYOME CASE: I AM BAFFLED.
The date shows that I first wrote the piece below on 14 Feb. 2012 in reaction to the brouhaha surrounding the Woyome and Co. judgement debt payment. I am NO LONGER CONFUSED ABOUT IT but still as baffled [and roundly just as cynical] about it as I was then regardless of the recent unanimous Supreme Court decision in the case brought by the former Attorney-General, Martin Amidu, against Woyome. Honestly, I am puzzled why he chose to sue only Woyome in view of my concerns expressed as far back as Feb. 2012, which concerns are still valid today, and which concerns some are just waking up to. After all, Woyome had told the whole world how he shared the booty and Waterville even took him to court for taking too much for his "expenses". And Martin Amidu wanted him to refund that money and the SC ruled that the money should be collected from Woyome alone?! How?!
All of a sudden, to all and sundry, Woyome had accomplices who must be arrested too and prosecuted! Are they just waking up from a deep slumber? To the Brotherhood of Nitwits that dominate Ghanaweb on the NPP side of the hood, the case was and must be tribalised (the culprit must be an Ewe) and politicised (it must be an NDC conspiracy to loot and share)! So, Woyome was the perfect fall guy who just fit the bill all too well: an Ewe and an alleged NDC financier, presto! Gosh! Did they relish and wallow in it? Forget the fact that Woyome was magnanimous in his largess. Even my former roommate and erstwhile NPP Gen. Sec., Sir John, got a car from him, for legal services rendered, of course! I must ride in that car by all means one day! Ha! Ha! Ha!
Meanwhile, here's what I wrote and published then. The issues raised then were just as topical as they are now but practically everybody were blind to them, and the comments and write-ups I am reading now hardly address them. Methinks, others cannot see the handwriting of the Costra Nostra all over this case, or they are just scared of the Mafiosi and so concentrating on only the hitman?
WOYOME CASE: I AM CONFUSED!
Honestly, folks, I've been wondering if I am the only person who is confused and cannot understand how Woyome allegedly defrauded the state. Reading through the jumble of information from government sources, including the EOCO Report, correspondences published by the press, and the tons of verbiage by self proclaimed judges and moralists who have poured out their venom on Woyome and all associated with him, I am still left puzzled how and where fraud emanated from. Maybe I might have missed something due to the information deluge, with so much dissonance in it. So I am writing this to seek some clarity.
Methinks, if you filed a case in court, believing in your rights as it were, and you won the case in the face of equally competent legal experts before a judge, or in this case when the defence threw in the towel, believing that they have a weak case, how can that be a fraud? If his claims were fraudulent, then it behoves upon the court to throw it out after the defence had shown stiff opposition and defence. If the defence claimed they had a weak case and did not defend and negotiated a settlement, how can that be a fraud on the part of the plaintiff? Payment to the wife of the Chief State Attorney? Naaw! A smart person can explain that: we were planning a business venture together! Tall tale? OK, in Ghana, we all know that plaintiffs and defenders alike and seekers of public services show “appreciation” for services well rendered. It is a pervasive part of the Ghanaian conundrum. So the payment could be an honest show of appreciation for the way and manner the Chief State Attorney handled the case expeditiously. But if the “weak case” claim was just a contrived and dubious copping out by the senior officials of the Attorney General’s Dept, in tacit collusion with Woyome, then I expect not only Chief State Attorney Neequaye-Tetteh and his wife to be under arrest and so charged. The A-G herself and her assistant, Barton Oduro, must also be in the dock for collusion and abetment of a “gargantuan crime” against the state! Or, have they claimed that they were fooled by Neequaye-Tetteh? With such a big sum involved and they never bothered to review the papers for themselves before going on the debt collection mission for Woyome? Were they so daft that they thought they could pull off such a rip off without detection in the future? I pray, if indeed they acted in collusion or they were conned, whatever is the case, then I put it to you that, that is one more solid evidence to support my hypothesis that idiotic thieves and/or morons have been ruling us!
Then, another puzzle. Some said there was no contract but we have read several times mentions of a contract being signed! They also said the alleged non-existent contract was not in Woyome's name ( ha! so there was a contract after all!) and hence he couldn't claim, but that is a porous argument, as obviously, Waterville and the other parties in Austria had given him power of attorney to collect the 2% fee for financial structuring of the loans that did not eventually materialise. Woyome in his own press statement claimed that 1% of the money he collected was to go to the Austrian consortium. But the consortium withdrew from the deal, they said, but was it after the “illegal” and unconscionable abrogation of the contract by President Kufour personally, just as many other contracts were unceremoniously and recklessly terminated by his regime at great cost to the nation, or before? Clarity, fellow Ghanaians, clarity!
I haven’t read anywhere that any documents presented by Woyome were forged, so I presume the letters of authority he presented from Waterville and whoever were genuine ones. So if there is no claim to be made, as claims have been made that Waterville had already been paid by the Kufuor regime for the abrogation of the contract and for work already done, especially at El-Wak, should the owners of Waterville and the Austrian consortium not be hauled to court too, [since Woyome in a public statement mentioned them as sharing in the booty too. Remember?]. I have gleaned that Woyome was their errand man. Or, am I wrong? I need some explanation here. I beg!
A lot of hot air is being blown over this case but I am not excited by it at all. Maybe it is because I am used to the gargantuan ripping off of Ghana since the early 1960s, to the really massive losses Ghana is taking right now due to the unconscionable oil block sell-outs under the shameful C19th mercantile trade-like agreements our brain dead and egoistic “leaders” have formulated; for the dubious assigning of their cronies to the oil companies as local partners and whatever bribes they are getting. Makes total judgement debts paid so far puny in comparison! But most Ghanaians seem to be totally oblivious to this fact! It is indeed pathetic to be “developing people”! So when are Ghanaians going to reach the mentality of developed people?
BTW, can someone locate the news article in which Betty Mould boasted of payments of judgement debts resulting from the NPP's actions as one of her achievements? She claimed she had saved the state many millions by re-negotiating such debts. That was last year, when she was still the A-G. And to think that Rawlings and the wife Konadu wanted such a woman to team up with Mills in 2008! Foisting two such disasters on us as President and the Vice! Wallahi!
Those of you close to Rawlings should tell him that he is screwed up and should stop trying to make decisional outputs on Ghana, as we don’t want any further disaster emanating from his judgement of persons, including that impostor Patrick Agboba he has been trying to impose on us Anlos as Awoamefia since 1999! Next time he should turn up in court to solidarise with him.
We all heaved a sigh of relief when my sister finally went on retirement from the A-G Dept. recently. We were counting the years, then the months and then the days! I know my even saying this small thing here will make her go into tantrums, she being the totally apolitical type who does not like to be drawn into anything political or controversial!
Andy C.Y. Kwawukume
cyandyk@ymail.com
kaketonti 9 years ago
Ask Thief K4!Blame only K4/NPP era for dubious cancellation of contracts.Good day.
Ask Thief K4!Blame only K4/NPP era for dubious cancellation of contracts.Good day.
Dr. SAS, Attorney at Law 9 years ago
J.J. and wife have a community property built with the five million dollar judgment debt which they secured by a similarly fraudulent lawsuit.
And you still want J.J. to intervene in the widespread corruption within a gove ... read full comment
J.J. and wife have a community property built with the five million dollar judgment debt which they secured by a similarly fraudulent lawsuit.
And you still want J.J. to intervene in the widespread corruption within a government he fathered? You are not serious!
kaketonti 9 years ago
DR SAS you've purely made a little mistake of identity.Another JJ could be you or Russia's Mr Putin.
DR SAS you've purely made a little mistake of identity.Another JJ could be you or Russia's Mr Putin.
luther king 9 years ago
Betty mould, neequaye, and asimenu were neck deep in this grand conspiracy to defraud the state. How could the prosecution have compelled them to give evidence to incriminate themselves. The judge for fear of public backlash ... read full comment
Betty mould, neequaye, and asimenu were neck deep in this grand conspiracy to defraud the state. How could the prosecution have compelled them to give evidence to incriminate themselves. The judge for fear of public backlash asked that these ppl could have been called to strengthen the case of the AG. The way forward is for all those involved to be prosecuted. Any further appeal without prosecuting the conspirators will fail.
luther king 9 years ago
I feel sad for the prosecutors NCOs of the public backlash. They did their best under the circumstances. No prosecutor in this world could have succeeded in a case where the government was determined to protect criminals. The ... read full comment
I feel sad for the prosecutors NCOs of the public backlash. They did their best under the circumstances. No prosecutor in this world could have succeeded in a case where the government was determined to protect criminals. The attorneys are competent but so long as the state prosecutor is under the justice ministry, we will continue to have such judgements
FRANK. Bilbao. 9 years ago
Kofi, may I please Know your legal qualifications. You sound as somebody who knows more than even the chief Justice. Are you by this writing telling us that the judiciary is incompetent and that they did a bad job and to some ... read full comment
Kofi, may I please Know your legal qualifications. You sound as somebody who knows more than even the chief Justice. Are you by this writing telling us that the judiciary is incompetent and that they did a bad job and to some extend connived with Woyome, just because they did not reach a guilty verdict on him? Did you hear of Mr Tsatsu's bogus case brought against him and how Kufour parked the court to reach a verdict against him? What is your take on that? I would have wished that, you blame Kufour for the legacy that he has left with the judiciary. In any case, it is the same court that did not reach quilty verdicts on npp criminals. So what is your beef here? Until we stop this hypocrisy, we will all continue like this. Am not the least supporting Woyome. Not at all. I do not condone with criminals who loot national assets at the expense of the majority. I did not know him and may probably never know him but let's face reality and stop these bias behaviour. There are many npp thieves and nation looters walking free who should have been in jail by now. But because the NPP, led by Kufour parked the court, they are free men walking about. I just want to tell you that, it is this same court that has trial Woyome's case. Good day.
Kofi Ata, Cambridge, UK 9 years ago
FRANK, I blamed the State Prosecution or the Attorney General's Department for poor prosecution but not the Judiciary. There is a difference between the Judiciary (the courts/judges) and the State Prosecution (Attorney Genera ... read full comment
FRANK, I blamed the State Prosecution or the Attorney General's Department for poor prosecution but not the Judiciary. There is a difference between the Judiciary (the courts/judges) and the State Prosecution (Attorney General's Department and Ministry of Justice). The two are not the same because the latter is part of the Executive, though the two together with the Bar constitute the justice system.
For reasons given in my response to Dr SAS's comments, the former NPP government cannot be responsible for this fraud. There was no contract between Government of Ghana and Waterville let alone Woyome who was an agent of Waterville. The Waterville was terminated and paid for work done by the previous government so Waterville should have reimbursed their agent, Woyome who they subcontracted for the work he did on their behalf.
The gospel truth is that NDC politicians conspired with Waterville and Woyome to loot the state and tried to blame the previous administration but their luck run out when the fraud was exposed.
Does my legal qualifications or lack of it matter if what I am saying are reasonable and valid points?
Samuel Ansah New York 9 years ago
Kofi Ata you're a first class hypocrite leaving leaving in the UK .How many times have you commented on judgment debt especially between 2000 to date ?There were a lot of questionable judgment debts during Kufour's ... read full comment
Kofi Ata you're a first class hypocrite leaving leaving in the UK .How many times have you commented on judgment debt especially between 2000 to date ?There were a lot of questionable judgment debts during Kufour's time but I never heard you commenting but now you jumped into the wagon . Independent minded Ghanaians are waiting for the Judgment Commission to come out for all to see how rotten the system has been .You should have reserved your parochial and partisan comments and waited .Alfred might have some claims more than the shocking ones we will soon see in the Judgment Commission report
Kofi Ata, Cambridge, UK 9 years ago
Samuel Ansah, I do not know when you started following Ghanaweb but I started in 2010. My first ever article entitled "Lessons from a Landmark Ruling" appeared on August 21, 2010. I am sure since then I have commented on judg ... read full comment
Samuel Ansah, I do not know when you started following Ghanaweb but I started in 2010. My first ever article entitled "Lessons from a Landmark Ruling" appeared on August 21, 2010. I am sure since then I have commented on judgement debts in general as well as in particular in particular and apportioned blame wherever it lies. Ghana as a nation cannot move forward with the usual NDC/NPP politics of equalisation and blame game. This mess , fraud and huge financial loss to the state was manufactured and perpetrated on the state by the connivance of NDC politicians hoping to blame NPP and that is the gospel fact. I have no apologies to make for stating a fact and if that makes me a first class hypocrite as you claimed, so be it.
Kwaku 9 years ago
The NDC government should prosecute all crimes by previous governments. Failure to do so is a crime in itself. If, on the other hand, they do not have any facts for prosecution, then they should spare us the nonsense of thi ... read full comment
The NDC government should prosecute all crimes by previous governments. Failure to do so is a crime in itself. If, on the other hand, they do not have any facts for prosecution, then they should spare us the nonsense of this criminal equivalency. The NPP has dared the NDC to prosecute any wrongdoing, but the NDC has failed to win any court claims against the NPP.
Ghanaians are not interested in any accusations and counter-accusations. We are interested in prosecuting those who commit crimes against the state. The counter-accusations only reinforce the corrupt and criminal light in which most Ghanaians hold the present NDC government.
okaniba,atlanta,usa 9 years ago
it is unfortunate,but what can we do?in Nkrumah time ,when some of his ministers collected bribes from an Italian man who wanted to establish a chocolate factory in Ghana and the man tried to bring a british lawyer to Ghana t ... read full comment
it is unfortunate,but what can we do?in Nkrumah time ,when some of his ministers collected bribes from an Italian man who wanted to establish a chocolate factory in Ghana and the man tried to bring a british lawyer to Ghana to take up his case,have you forgotten Nkrumah issued a deportation order against the lawyer at the airport.shawcroos in shawcross out.woyome would have mentioned names, do you think the powers that be will let him mention names?
VOTE MAHAMA OUT IN 2016.
Former President Jerry Rawlings claims 60 per cent of “thieves” in government now hold positions in the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
The former president alleged that those people fou ...
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Well I think NDC should be applauding themselves because if this mam says only 60% thieves are in govt. As for the NPP, he says all them, they are 100% thieves and specifically name Kufour as the number thief.
Incumbent Chairman of the governing party Dr Kwabena Adjei has told starr news in an interview that he is being blamed by members of the National Democratic Congress, for the failures of the current Government.
“Everythi ...
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I admire your summation or wrap-up:
"I hope one day when NDC is out of power, even if that will take another decade, Woyome, Betty Mould-Iddrisu, Barton Oduro, Samuel Nerquaye-Tetteh and Paul Asimenu would be prosecuted fo ...
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GET READY
Unfortunately or fortunately, because of double jeopardy rule, Woyome may never the prosecuted again, unless the Attorney General's planned appeal is successful, which I doubt.
Kofi's article is a serious indictment on our judiciary.He assumes that the judiciary is so incompetent that they are incapable of independent reasoning which will inform their judgement.This was a case which which was doomed ...
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We should discount the rantings and ravings of critics,who are only exhibiting tunnel vision here!
I mean how anybody,including so-called attorneys,who believe they must necessarily comment on every case in this country,whet ...
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Kenneth, I did not make the assumption that "the judiciary is so incompetent that they are incapable of independent reasoning which will inform their judgement". I never apportioned any blame to the judiciary but put the who ...
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"Kofi's article is a serious indictment on our judiciary.He assumes that the judiciary is so incompetent that they are incapable of independent reasoning which will inform their judgement."
Is it today that this becomes ev ...
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IT IS $32 MILLION, NOT 52 MILLION CEDIS. LET'S GET THE FIGURE RIGHT. IGNORANCE SURE IS BLISS.
Kwaku, I am not sure of the amount involved but I think $32m was equivalent to GHc52m at the time. I might be wrong but I think that is why every one is quoting GHc52m.
Yes Mallam, that was the equivalent when he conspired to defraud the country.
MASSA KOFI, this is an impressive piece. As a Ghanaian, Woyome having been acquitted by the court turns my stomach. On the other hand, why should Ghanaians be surprised to see Woyome acquitted by the court? We should have see ...
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READ: "...Despite the above failures, President Mahama and his cronies are claiming that he is fighting corruption by arresting and prosecuting them..."
OUR COMMENT: Nuff said.
Kofi,
Your take on the pervasive chain of corrupt acts that brought about the Woyome scandal is correctly on point. And so is your conclusion that the case was fraudulently prosecuted.
But I disagree with you that the cas ...
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Dr. SAS, the judgment awarded this guy was not by a court of competent jurisdiction. You are looking at this fraudulent award with one eye closed. The court (the AG office, the MOF, BOG, and the president's office) that con ...
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Dr SAS, you are right that we disagreed on the issue of contract law on my previous articles on this matter. The facts of the claim even without the Supreme Court ruling on lack of parliamentary approval were that Waterville ...
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I agree with you that Woyome had no contract with the government. Still, he brought a fraudulent breach of contract petition against the government which failed to defend itself. As a result, a default judgment was awarded to ...
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Dr SAS, I agree with you in principle except that you still do not accept that the Waterville contract with GoG was properly and legally terminated and Waterville paid for work done. Therefore, there was no case of "if the go ...
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Kofi, the point is that this guy did not have a contract and for that reason all his claims were fraudulent. The fact that he found a government and some its officials who were willing to conspire with him and commit a crimi ...
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I accept that the Waterville contract with GoG was properly and legally terminated......
That is why I have agreed that the judgment for Woyome was fraudulently procured. My point is simply that once the judgment was procu ...
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Dr SAS,
It is good you stick to law, not politics!:-)
Of course, I have been spelling out the stupidity of this trial for years now but, except for you, no others were listening. You even wrote an article in support of ...
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THE WOYOME CASE: I AM BAFFLED.
The date shows that I first wrote the piece below on 14 Feb. 2012 in reaction to the brouhaha surrounding the Woyome and Co. judgement debt payment. I am NO LONGER CONFUSED ABOUT IT but stil ...
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Ask Thief K4!Blame only K4/NPP era for dubious cancellation of contracts.Good day.
J.J. and wife have a community property built with the five million dollar judgment debt which they secured by a similarly fraudulent lawsuit.
And you still want J.J. to intervene in the widespread corruption within a gove ...
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DR SAS you've purely made a little mistake of identity.Another JJ could be you or Russia's Mr Putin.
Betty mould, neequaye, and asimenu were neck deep in this grand conspiracy to defraud the state. How could the prosecution have compelled them to give evidence to incriminate themselves. The judge for fear of public backlash ...
read full comment
I feel sad for the prosecutors NCOs of the public backlash. They did their best under the circumstances. No prosecutor in this world could have succeeded in a case where the government was determined to protect criminals. The ...
read full comment
Kofi, may I please Know your legal qualifications. You sound as somebody who knows more than even the chief Justice. Are you by this writing telling us that the judiciary is incompetent and that they did a bad job and to some ...
read full comment
FRANK, I blamed the State Prosecution or the Attorney General's Department for poor prosecution but not the Judiciary. There is a difference between the Judiciary (the courts/judges) and the State Prosecution (Attorney Genera ...
read full comment
Kofi Ata you're a first class hypocrite leaving leaving in the UK .How many times have you commented on judgment debt especially between 2000 to date ?There were a lot of questionable judgment debts during Kufour's ...
read full comment
Samuel Ansah, I do not know when you started following Ghanaweb but I started in 2010. My first ever article entitled "Lessons from a Landmark Ruling" appeared on August 21, 2010. I am sure since then I have commented on judg ...
read full comment
The NDC government should prosecute all crimes by previous governments. Failure to do so is a crime in itself. If, on the other hand, they do not have any facts for prosecution, then they should spare us the nonsense of thi ...
read full comment
it is unfortunate,but what can we do?in Nkrumah time ,when some of his ministers collected bribes from an Italian man who wanted to establish a chocolate factory in Ghana and the man tried to bring a british lawyer to Ghana t ...
read full comment
Former president Kuffour will be next.