Accra, September 8, 2017//-The Secretary of the Komenda Sugar Project Management Board, Ransford Chatman Vanni-Amoah has accused a Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Robert Ahomka-Lindsay of perjury.
The Deputy Minister on 10th August , 2017 lied to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament that the Komenda Sugar Factory which was commissioned by the preview government has never fully processed raw sugarcane.
Mr Ahomka-Lindsay added that government at the time bought semi-processed sugar, which the factory refined for people to taste at the inauguration by former President John Mahama.
“The sugar you tasted at the time, the government …bought semi-processed sugar; then part of it was used to process and that is part of what you tasted. We have never put cane sugar through the full system of the Komenda Sugar [Factory],” Mr Ahomka-Lindsay said.
However, Mr Vanni-Amoah described the statements by Mr Ahomka-Lindsay as “untrue”.
To this end, he petitioned the Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee in a letter dated August 31, 2017 to sanction the Deputy Minister for lying on oath.
Mr Vanni-Amoah is asking the Committee to sanction Mr Ahomka-Lindsay for perjuring himself on the matter.
According to him, the Deputy Minister’s action is also in breach of the standing orders and constitutes contempt of parliament arguing his comments were intended to deceive parliament.
“Mr Ahomka-Lindsay has perjured himself before your Committee and I petition for his statement to be expunged from the hansard and the necessary sanctions applied,” he stated in the petition.
He assured the chairman of his willingness to appear before the Committee to provide evidence contrary to the claims of the Minister.
Setting the records straight, he said the factory produced sugar during the test runs session, indicating that the current state of processing plant makes it almost impossible to process semi-processed sugar.
African Eye Report
