‘This government reminds me of Alibaba and the 40 thieves’ - Osman Ayariga

A deputy youth organiser of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Osman Ayariga, has taken a swipe at the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo government over the numerous corruption scandals it has seen.

He said that the current government is full of thieves who only come to power to enrich themselves at the detriment of ordinary Ghanaians.

The NDC deputy youth organiser added that excessive thievery in the current government reminds him of the fictional storybook ‘Alibaba and the 40 Thieves’.

He made these remarks in an interview on TV3 on Friday, August 11, 2023, while reacting to reports of more money being found at the home of the former Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources, Cecilia Dapaah, who is being investigated by the Office of the Special Prosecutor after US$1 million, £300,000 and other properties, including Kente and pieces of jewellery belonging to her family, were reportedly stolen from her home.

“I remember a book, I used to read, growing up, ‘Alibaba and the 40 Thieves’ … and this government honestly reminds me of that book. This government is a classic example of Alibaba and the 40 thieves, just that in this case, we have more than 40 ministers and appointees... so maybe 'Alibaba and the 1000 Thieves',” he said.

He went on to list instances when appointees of the government were caught with huge unexplained amounts of wealth, including that of the former Chief Executive Officer of the Public Procurement Authority (PPA), Adjenim Boateng Adjei.

“This is a clear example of a very bad case for the government and this is not the first. Remember the recent one of the PPA boss, where so much money was found in his bank account?

“… you also remember the recent reportage of a presidential staffer who also lost about $117,000. And you do the mathematics and the numbers are mind-boggling, … the numbers are so unbelievable,” he added.

Background:

A document from the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) sighted by GhanaWeb, showed that substantial amounts of money, both local and foreign currencies, were found at properties belonging to the embattled former minister after a search of her properties at Cantonments, Abelemkpe, and Tesano.

At the Abelemkpe, where US$1 million, £300,000 and other properties, including Kente and pieces of jewellery belonging to the ex-minister and her husband were reportedly stolen, the OSP has found more cash.

The document disclosed that the OSP found a cash amount of US$590,000 there.

It added that a sum of GH¢2,730,000 was also found at the same residence.

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