Accra, Ghana//-Members of the Coalition for Democratic Accountability and Inclusive Governance also known as the Citizens’ Coalition today demanded quick actions on key seven corruption and its related issues boggling the minds of Ghanaians.
According to them, corruption and impunity threaten to engulf and destabilise their Republic if “well-meaning citizens do nothing and look on. Now is not the time to be a spectator, we must assert our citizenship and demand accountability all the time”.
Reading a statement which contained the seven demands and other issues at a press conference held in Accra today, Director of Advocacy and Policy Engagement at CDD-Ghana, Dr Kojo P. Asante said the Citizens’ Coalition is demanding a full publication of the corruption-tainted Strategic Mobilisation Limited (SML) and Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) agreement.
He recalled in April 2024, Ghana’s President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo released a summary of KPMG’s audit findings on the controversial SML and GRA agreement, concerning revenue assurances in the downstream petroleum sector, following a series of investigative reports by the Fourth Estate, a news portal.
The summary of the findings confirmed multiple legal breaches and manipulation of procurement processes by public officers with the State having paid over a billion Ghana cedis to SML in performance fees up till the date of the suspension of the contract.
He also demanded a report from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the -Ghana Police Service on the source of money of Madam Cecilia Dapaah, the immediate past Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources.
“We urge the Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO) to reconsider its position on not investigating the Cecilia Dapaah case by Section 1 (3) of the Anti-Money Laundering Act”.
Also, in May, the Attorney General (AG) advised the EOCO against proceeding with money laundering charges against
Madam Cecilia Dapaah.
The Office of Special Prosecutor (OSP), which had referred the matter to EOCO, had found no predicate offence necessary for prosecuting a charge of money laundering.
According to the AG, Madam Dapaah had been exonerated of corruption by the OSP, effectively closing the matter. Following the advice EOCO returned the docket to the OSP.
Furthermore, the anti-corruption campaigners further called for stakeholder engagement in the preparation and development of accountability and anticorruption coordination legislation.
Dr Asante and his team of anti-corruption crusaders demanded Cabinet approval and laying of the Conduct of Public Office Holders Bill to regulate our weak asset and liabilities disclosure regime, gift giving in the public service, influence peddling, and conflict of interest, among other public ethics behaviours.
“We as a Coalition, are convinced that this is a critical piece of legislation in our fight against corruption, particularly in terms of prevention.
We are also convinced that the bill which has been languishing in the corridor of power for over a decade should include provisions on unexplained wealth, a strong sanctions regime, and publication of assets and liabilities of public officers”.
Dr Asante once again demanded a withdrawal of the appointment of the parliamentary aspirants to State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs).
“Apart from the obvious insensitivity to our economic situation, and the deepening politicisation of parastatals, the expansion of the already bad governance to appointing MPs to sit on the Board of SOEs is a real cause for worry”, he lamented.
For instance, in the last few days, the members of the Coalition also observed the appointment of the governing party parliamentary aspirants-Tweneboah Kodua Fokuo; and Joseph Kpemka as head and deputy head of National Investment Bank (NIB) and Bulk Energy Storage and Transportation Company Limited (BOST) respectively.
This is coming at a time when the IMF has flagged the leakages of SOEs as posing significant fiscal risks to the government finances.
Somehow the urgent need to secure a fully committed management team to reverse the challenges of these parastatals and stop the hemorrhaging that continues to blight our prospects for economic recovery has not dawned on those who have been entrusted with public power to serve our interest, they told the journalists at the press conference.
“We demand thorough investigations into the justification for selling shares in the four state-owned hotels, as well as other allegations of conflict of interest, abuse of power, lack of due process, and procurement breaches. We support the TUC and Organized Labour’s calls to halt the transaction immediately”.
Further exacerbating their concerns are revelations that SSNIT and the Rock City Hotel, owned by the current Minister for Food and Agriculture, Bryan Acheampong, are engaged in negotiations to purchase four hotels, including the Labadi Beach Hotel – one of Ghana’s most esteemed and profitable hotels in Ghana.
One may ask, what is the public interest justification for a decision like that and where is the Minister raising the resources to acquire these assets? They quizzed.
The civil society actors therefore welcomed the actions taken by Mr. Okudzeto Ablakwa, MP for South Tongu in his petition to CHRAJ, as it signals an important step towards addressing these issues.
“We also welcome the intervention of organized labour (TUC and CLOSAG) as owners of the pension funds.
Indeed, everyone who pays SNNIT contributions should be interested. These developments raise serious concerns about our fight against corruption and the prospects for accountable governance”.
On the Pwalugu Multipurpose Dam, they demanded the Ministries of Finance and Works and Housing, and other relevant sector agencies to publish the full details of the work done, including its current status, and disclose all payments made on the project.
Again, in May, questions were raised at the sitting of the Public Accounts Committee of Ghana’s Parliament regarding payments totalling $11.9 million made to a Chinese company, MS Power China International Group Limited, contracted to build the Pwalugu Multipurpose Dam and Irrigation Project.
Checks indicate that work on the dam supposed to deal with perennial flooding in the North caused by spillage of the Bagre Dam and heavy rains has not really started and yet significant payments have been made.
The Citizens’ Coalition comprising Coalition of Domestic Election Observers (CODEO), Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), STAR Ghana Foundation, Institute of Democratic Governance (IDEG), Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII), and Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), said: “The public deserves to know how our funds are being utilized”.
Amidu’s disruptive petition
Last Friday, 17th May 2024, news began to percolate on a petition by Mr. Martin Amidu, former Special Prosecutor to the President seeking the removal of the current Special Prosecutor.
Reports indicated that the President had forwarded the petition to the Chief Justice, Her Ladyship Justice Torkunno. Subsequently, the Chief Justice had written to Mr. Kissi Adjabeng, the Special Prosecutor to respond to the petition to enable her to determine a prima facie case.
The petition alleges several actions of the OSP, which the petitioner (Mr. Martin Amidu) deems sufficient grounds for the removal of the SP.
These include the OSP’s press conference, wherein concerns were raised about the treatment of the office by the Judiciary, deemed by the petitioner as an abuse of judicial processes.
Additionally, the petitioner cites allegations of violations of citizens’ rights through arrests and detentions, breaches of the right to information, and improper appointments of personnel to the OSP.
Other alleged breaches relate to the procurement of services for new staff and the refurbishment of the office. It is important to acknowledge that Mr. Amidu, the former Special Prosecutor who petitioned the President is well within his civic rights to do so.
The anti-corruption campaigners noted that the President fulfilled his mandatory obligation under the Constitution by forwarding the petition to the Chief Justice.
“Moving forward, we expect the President to remain consistent and forward all petitions before him to the Chief Justice without delay. The issues raised in the petition have been thoroughly discussed and the petitioner has publicly and strongly presented his position on these matters through several epistles.
Some of us here have disagreed with these positions when they were presented. However, the matter is now before the Honourable Chief Justice to determine by due process and we will be following keenly how the matter unfolds”.
Amid these, they expect the OSP to continue to perform his duties diligently, even as he responds to the allegations. It is imperative for his office, alongside other key anti-corruption agencies like the CHRAJ among others to continue to play their respective roles in combating corruption.
Voice out
Contributing at the press conference, the Executive Director of Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII), Mary Adda called on Ghanaians to come out and voice their concerns on the widespread corrupt activities being perpetrated by officials of the current regime.
It is imperative on the part of the citizenry to always keep the government and politician on their toes, she said.
Madam Adda noted that the fight against corruption must be in the interest of every responsible person because Ghanaian democracy is being threatened by corruption.
