Ghana Water Company pleads with government to bail them out
Spio
Garbrah fires a salvo - ‘I asked Obed to resign’
‘Suicide bombers’ run wild in NDC
NPP ready for Wulensi seat - Botwe
‘Chiefs must be elected’ - Prof Nkrumah
Two hundred and fifty ‘ghosts’ sighted at Korle-Bu
Institute says Oil Refinery’s debt must be public debt
One
out of five students smokes
Accra (Greater Accra) 24 April 2002 - The Ghana Water
Company Limited (GWCL) has made representation to the government to take up the
payment of a £3 million loan it contracted for the construction of 13 overhead
water tanks in Accra. It said the repayment arrangement, under which the
company pays ¢55 million daily, is having a terrible effect on the finances of
the company.
The tanks have been sited at Ashongman village, John Teye Memorial School,
Kasoa, New Achimota (Hotel de Joko), New Madina (Atraco area), Adenta Housing
Down and Sakumono/Lashibi. The rest are Teshie, Accra Girls, Tantra Hill,
Nungua, Pantang and Accra Academy.
The sector minister, Mr Yaw Barimah, who confirmed this in an interview at
Agomanya, said he was compelled to endorse the request of the company because
the payment of the daily amount is threatening to overwhelm the company, which
is already facing liquidity problems.
He said discussions are currently underway with the finance ministry to see how
best the company would be salvaged. Mr Barimah said “I intend seeing the
finance minister in the course of the week and I hope some satisfactory
arrangement would be reached on the issue”.
He said although most of the overhead tanks are not being used, the GWCL is
compelled by the terms of the contract to pay back the loan. Mr Barimah said
the tanks are not being used to a very large extent because there are no
pipelines in the areas where these tanks have been sited.
Apart from the Accra Girls, the company has not laid any pipelines in all the
other areas where the tanks have been sited and are, therefore, of no relevance
in the short to medium term. He wondered how the tanks would be filled with
water to serve their purpose, adding that consider-
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Accra (Greater
Accra) 24 April 2002 - The NDC caucus within Parliament that makes up the real
force that make the party tick do not appear to have any favourite of the three
horses on the race track for the chairmanship.
Honourable
John Mahama, NDC spokesman on information on Tuesday expressed surprise at the
ferocity of the contest and wondered why such an innocuous position as chairman
could generate such heat. “Unless people are thinking of turning the position
of the chairman into an executive one, it is surprising why they are
quarrelling over it so much.”
His
explanation was that it is the general secretary who is the chief executive of
the NDC and not the chairman, who merely presides over national executive
meetings and congresses.
The
minority leader, Alban Bagbin, was not giving much away, but had a few words to
describe the contenders. Dr Obed Asamoah, in his books, is inclined to
arrogance and dictatorial tendencies despite his commitment and
resourcefulness.
Alhaji
Mahama Iddrisu, he said, has not shown himself to be a man of his own, despite
his affability and strong Moslem qualities. As for J.H. Owusu Acheampong, he is
clearly an underdog who stepped into the race rather belatedly and though in
between Obed and Alhaji, in terms of qualities, he is not likely to sway
delegates, particularly the parliamentarians.
Pressed to
stick his neck out on who carries the day, Bagbin only said that would depend
on what outlook congress will expect the NDC to assume. “If the party wants to
become respectable, then Alhaji comes tops,” he added.
From the
start of the race Dr Asamoah, who is currently chairman of both the Finance and
the Re-organisation Committees, seemed to be at an advantageous position and
was going to take the mantle without sweat. But the punches now appear to be
slipping through the guard of Obed, who is several hours short of his 70th
birthday- and still with no visible wife in sight- arguably, the hot favourity
for the chairmanship of a party, coming face to face with truth, transparency and
the arcane of democracy for the first time.
And the
reality is that just as the disdain for the NDC played a major part of the
NPP’s victory in the polls of 2002, the man’s seeming popularity is singularly
premised on one single factor- that he is the one who has learnt to bite
hardest at the hand that fed him, the hand of Flt. Lt Jerry Rawlings (rtd).
Of all the
players in the NDC, none had the kind of leverage, power and good fortune that
Dr Obed Asamoah had- access to state resources and funds, proximity to Mr and
Mrs Rawlings, his own pet Verandah Boys and Girls project, untrammeled
political power, Minister for Foreign Affairs for 13 years and concurrently,
the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Ghana.
When
Rawlings sough to appoint someone else to take the slot after Obed had held it
for so long- in fact, the longest serving Foreign Minister in Africa- the man
from Bala Likpe desperately tried to squelch poor Ibn Chambas, his deputy.
Usually
credible sources attest to his use and abuse of the Serious Fraud Office that
he headed by virtue of his position as Attorney General. Former Acting
Executive Director of the SFO and the first legally and properly appointed
Executive during the transition from the dreaded Investigative Commission to
the SFO has gone on record and spoken under oath that Obed operated the office
like a mafia organisation to terrorise political opponents.
Mr Dominic
Degraft Aidoo last month testified in an ongoing hearing at the Commission on
Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) before panel member Mr Ken
Attafuah that Obed and Brian Anku Sapati, the just departed SFO boss, ran an
illegal terror organisation.
Significantly,
Obed apparently tried to undermine his boss, ex-President Rawlings, by hiding
the truth from him and always tried to cover and protect himself, as became
evident during his secret meeting with yours truly and two others at Teshie. In
1996, he sought to save his skin by getting a friend of his to plead on his
behalf to stop The Chronicle from harassing him. This was when he had had his
own bodyguards arrested and put before court for allegedly helping themselves
to monies under his bed.
The
Chronicle had then exposed the ¢300 million or so that he had kept under his
bed while his bedroom was not that sacrosanct and all sorts of people had
access. Chronicle paparrazi had secret meetings with the hapless cops and were
shocked by the accounts of his persistence in grounding these men who had been
loyal to him all those years.
Certain
elements within the NDC are getting nervous about the apparent support of the
NPP to the Obed Asamoah cause. And for good reason. There are real genuine
fears that Obed would be easier to sink than Owusu Acheampong and Mahama
Iddrisu. That perception may be real and a Trojan horse may be lurking for an
Obed ticket.
Two key
members of the NDC on Tuesday publicly lashed out at Obed with Mr Ekwow Spio
Garbrah abrasively laying into Obed and almost threatening an exposure of the
grand old warhorse who deceived Mr Kwame Pianim and lulled him into a legal
battle he knew he would lose. “Ever the unprincipled man,” said one Obed
watcher. – The Ghanaian Chronicle.
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Accra
(Greater Accra) 24 April 2002 - With barely two days to go to the fifth
national delegates congress, the factional struggling for power within the
National Democratic Congress (NDC) on Tuesday reached its zenith with the
exposure of Dr Obed Asamoah’s past misconduct in the party.
Reacting to
Dr Asamoah’s press statement on an Accra private radio station, the NDC
wordsmith and former Minister of Education, Mr Ekwow Spio-Garbrah, said there
are “things” which Dr Asamoah did in the party, which warrant disciplinary
measures, but were kept indoors in the interest of the party. He further
revealed that he had on one occasion asked Dr Asamoah to resign his post
because of misconduct.
“I myself
have asked him in a meeting in December to resign his position as the finance
committee chairman in the presence of 50 other people at the National Executive
Committee; he knows why I asked him to do that, but again out of respect for each
other, the party and for our members we tried very, very hard to keep these
matters indoors so that we can resolve them appropriately.”
He
continued, “But if now getting to congress we realised what is going on and the
council of elders have made recommendations, and in spite of that he feels so
much intransigent, we feel very sorry for him,” Mr Spio-Garbrah said. According
to the eloquent Spio-Garbrah, an intricate analysis-of-accounts of allocations
and management of vehicles by the NDC council of elders indicates that the
Finance Committee chairman (Dr Obed Asamoah) “has not conducted himself
properly.”
To this
end, Mr Spio-Garbrah expressed fears that if certain individuals who held
positions below the chairmanship of the party and misconducted themselves are
given the chance to take the chairmanship, a higher position, then the NDC has
a problem. He further expressed concern that the manner in which Dr Asamoah has
monopolised the party’s resources, assets, and vehicles for the past several
years has made most of the party faithful uncomfortable with his candidature
for the national chairmanship of the NDC.
According
to him, the former Attorney General and Minister of Justice is using the
afore-mentioned party machines to ascend to the position of chairman in a clear
disadvantage to the other candidates.
On the
much-debated issue of co-chairmanship, which Dr Asamoah is strongly opposed to,
Mr Spio-Garbrah said that the
issue is
being embraced by many other former ministers and other functionaries. He,
however, saw no reason why Dr Asamoah should be opposed to the idea of
co-chairmanship when even his other colleagues are in favour of the idea.
He wondered
why Dr Asamoah should be so much interested in the chairmanship of the party
when, in effect all that the chairman does is to preside over national
executive meetings, adding that the “chairmanship of the NDC is not an
executive chairmanship, which allows the chairman to wake up in the morning
instructing the secretary general and party organisers do this do or that.”
He said for
Dr Asamoah to assume or suggest that if he is a co-chairman he cannot implement
his innovative ideas, is totally wrong because “you have to submit the
innovative ideas to the national executive committee and if they are adopted
then they can be implemented under the day-to-day direction of the general
secretary.”
On the
return of Dr Kwesi Botchwey, Capt (Rtd) Kojo Tsikata and Mr P.V. Obeng, which
Dr Asamoah promises as part of his campaign bait, Mr Spio-Garbrah said these
individuals have not been contacted and as for Tsikata he has never been a
member of the NDC. He again accused Dr Asamoah of being the one who ran the
reformers out of the party because he was opposed to the idea of democracy
within the party.
But in a
swift reaction to that of Mr Spio-Garbrah, later on the same programme, Dr
Asamoah regretted how he should be described as intransigent when in fact he is
playing by the rules of the game. He also described as ‘simplistic’ an opinion
that the role of the chairman is only restricted to presiding over national
executive meetings. – The Ghanaian Chronicle.
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Accra
(Greater Accra) 24 April 2002 - In Palestine, however, deplorable their methods
may be, suicide-bombers seem to have a cause, which is to claim back their lost
territory – a land to which they have a legitimate birthright.
But, can
the same be said of the leading opposition party here in Ghana? On Tuesday, the
Statesman’s editorial aptly described the crisis in the National Democratic
Congress: “It is as if a significant arm of the party is seeking Martyrdom,
however, senseless, by operating as suicide bombers through the corridors of
the nerve-centre of their own dilapidating political enclave.”
The people
raining terror on the very existence of the 10-year-old political party are
made up of supporters on each side of the two most powerful personalities in
it, Dr Obed Asamoah and Jerry Rawlings. While the Umbrella tears itself-apart
with spokes flying at each other and punching holes in the very structure it is
there to support, the Elephant looks down at the pantomime with an I-told-you-so
grin, and the Cockerel and others look up with expectations of vacancy and
grandeur.
The
front-page of Tuesday’s Crusading Guide, a paper whose editor has called for
the NDC to be placed on divestiture, re-affirmed the depth of the conflict within
the party and the recklessness of both protagonists to destroy each other,
showing the two sides slinging missiles at each other.
Former Vice
President J.E.A Mills arrived in the country over the weekend and walked
straight into the crossfire, looking for shelter as allegations over how funds
used for his cause in the 2000 elections were handled are also thrown in. For
the former First Lady, Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings, the debate over the
status of her 31 December Women’s Movement seems to have been closed by the
almost official confirmation that it was and certainly is part of the NDC
campaign machinery.
Startling
revelation contained in “NDC which way forward? The case for Dr Obed Asamoah,”
a document explaining the state of the NDC during and after the 2000 elections
and why aspiring chairman Asamoah should not take the stick for the party’s
current miserable state, offers the counter-attack.
Displaying
a list of Atta Mills praise groups like Atta Mills Fans’ Club, Mills for
President, Atta Mills Brotherhood and Atta Mills Brotherhood International, the
authoritative document questions the level of transparency and accountability
in the finances and operations of these groups.
“While
every Pesewa spent on the Veranda Boys and Girls Club was accounted for, the
Ways and Means committee, there has been no accountability or transparency in
the finances of the various Atta Mills organisations,” it quipped. The
document, which paints a gory picture on the NDC’s finances for the last
general elections campaign, plants Nana Kondau’s DWM firmly on the list of
organisations financed by the NDC, to advance its electoral fortune and
interests.
“If because
we lost the elections one is questioning its relevance,” referring to the
Veranda Boys and Girls Club, what about other organisations such as the 31st
December Women’s organisation…?” The Former First Lady’s DWM is currently
undergoing identity and credibility crisis; fighting tooth and nail to be
classified in the league of NGO’s after years of sharing the power and glory
with the NDC.
Spio
Garbrah recently described life in opposition as “hell,” with massive betrayals
and deserting by those who benefited from the party when the going was good. On
Tuesday, he said on radio that Dr Obed Asamoah, the NDC veteran, is free to
leave the party. – The Statesman.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 24 April 2002 - The General Secretary
of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Mr Dan Botwe, has said the party will fashion
a new campaign strategy to fight and win the Wulensi Constituency seat when the
Electoral Commission (EC) fixes the date for the conduct of a bye-election.
“The strategy that we used to eclipse the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in
the Bimbilla Constituency will be overhauled and infused with new ones that
will enable the party to increase its seats in Parliament and also serve as a
morale booster for the NPP as it prepares for the next election,” he said. Mr
Botwe, who said this in an interview in Accra on Tuesday, explained that the
NPP will not underrate the fighting ability of the NDC in the former’s quest to
wrest the seat from it in the bye-election.
“The NDC will not allow itself to be whipped mercilessly by the NPP for the
second time running and will, therefore, employ myriad strategies to frustrate
our efforts to add the Wulensi seat to our collection for the year,” he said.
The seat became vacant following the Appeal Court’s confirmation of the
decision of a Tamale High Court that the election of Mr Samuel Nyimakan as the
Member of Parliament (MP) in the December 2000 general elections was void.
The Electoral Commission has already initiated moves to organise a bye-election
for the election of a new Member of Parliament for Wulensi, which is in the
Northern Region. According to the NPP General Secretary, his party will not be
complacent because it won the Bimbilla election, stressing that the realities
in Wulensi might differ from those of Bimbilla.
He said the NPP will put on its full might by organising workshops for its
polling agents as well as initiating new and effective strategies that will
encourage the electorate to vote massively for the party in the bye-elections.
Mr Botwe said the party will prepare adequately for the Wulensi bye-election
immediately the EC gives the green light to political parties to file
nominations for their respective candidates.
“We will not in any way lose our guard in this nor future elections be they
bye-elections or general elections. The intention of the NPP is to win the
majority of seats in the next general elections, in addition to retaining
political power in the 2004 polls,” Mr Botwe said. – Daily Graphic.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 24 April 2002 - A retired professor of the School of Administration, Professor S.A. Nkrumah, has recommended the election of chiefs from members of the royal gates as a way of minimising chieftaincy disputes in the country.
He contended that if the royals paraded and the people asked to vote for them, the person who will emerge a chief will be the popular choice. Professor Nkrumah made the suggestion at a symposium in Accra on the theme “the role of District Assembly’s Substructures in the Decentralisation Process.”
It was organised by the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development as part of the “Local Government Week” which was opened in Accra on Monday by President J.A. Kufuor. Currently, chiefs are selected by kingmakers including some divisional chiefs, the queenmother and the elders, and the process had always been fraught with disagreements.
Professor Nkrumah said the numerous chieftaincy disputes have affected development activities in many parts of the country and noted that, “if chiefs are elected by their own people, they will be able to champion development projects in their respective towns with the full support of people.”
He also suggested that chiefs could be made mayors in their towns to enable them to play important leading roles in the development process. Professor Nkrumah said in taking up such a position, chiefs ought to be people who are well educated and trained to be able to take up such responsibilities.
He said chieftaincy disputes in most parts of the country have eroded the authority of many chiefs. The Chief Executive of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA), Mr Maxwell Kofi Dwumah, on his part, called for an intensive education of the public on the need to elect qualified and competent people in the up-coming district level elections. He said this is necessary because “we cannot afford to defer the most important facet of democratic governance to people who care less about the well-being of the public.”
Mr Dwumah also stressed the need for the government to appoint people with proven record of accomplishment to assemblies, town councils and unit committees. “This critical building block of our democratic experiment should not be allowed to be the dumping ground for the political patronage. If we do that, we are sacrificing our development for political expediency and that will be unfortunate and sad.”
Mr Dwumah further suggested to the government to take a dispassionate look at the appointment of a Deputy Local Government Minister for each region to create a clear reporting line for DCEs. Dr E.D. Quist, Akuapem North District Chief Executive, called on all to embrace the decentralisation concept. – Daily Graphic.
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Two hundred and fifty ‘ghosts’ sighted at
Korle-Bu
Accra (Greater Accra) 24 April 2002 - As result of either official connivance or breakdown of administrative procedures for personnel management at Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, a whooping sum of ¢1.44 billion was paid to “ghost” personnel in less than three years.
The amount was paid to 250 “ghost” officers of the hospital as salaries. A source close to the Auditor-General’s Department, which conducted an audit into the payroll of the hospital, said ¢1.2 billon was paid through banks as while ¢224 million was paid as other non-statutory deduction.
According to the source, the various heads of the management units affected have been requested to institute administrative action, to ensure the recovery of the total sum wrongly paid as personal emoluments.
Amounts recovered, the source said should be paid into Unauthorised Ghost Salaries Account Number 012360058000 operated at the Bank of Ghana. It is, not very clear, whether the audit recommendation that the money be refunded, is the basis for the resignation of the former Chief Executive, Dr Holbrook Smith.
According to the source, an unspecified amount was also wrongly paid as salaries and SNNIT contributions to 27 separate staff of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital. It said, a total of ¢259 million was also paid as staff and employers contribution to SNNIT, due to the weaknesses in the hospital’s coffers contrary to directives of the Controller and Accountant-General.
According to the directives, whenever staff units, their salaries should consequently be transferred within three months of the effective dates of the transfer. In total disregard to the directive, the source said, there were several instance said, there were several instances where the personal emoluments of the transferred staff of the hospital were maintained on government payrolls.
It said, as a result of the internal control weaknesses, payroll of the Korle-Bu Hospital was bloated by the inclusion of illegitimate names, resulting in wrongful payments of salaries. The source noted that, there is total absence of information flow between the various sections of the management units and the accounts sections. - The Evening News.
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Accra
(Greater Accra) 24 April 2002 - The Institute of Chartered Accountants, Ghana
(ICA), has advised government to treat the debt of Tema Oil Refinery as a
public debt and should not be tied to petroleum pricing. It explained that it
would have adverse effects on pricing in the event of rising crude oil prices.
“We also
understand that the pricing of the petroleum debt is currently tied to
relatively high interest rates making the servicing of interest on that
expensive. We believe that the government can refinance that debt using
Government of Ghana Index-Linked bonds, which as a lower fixed real interest
rate.”
These were
contained in the ICA’s Ghana Budget Digest - 2002, which espouses the
Institute’s views and suggestion’s on this year’s budget. The ICA noted that
the challenge for this year would be to ensure macroeconomic stability whiles
stimulating growth in the economy.
It said,
“this appears to be quite tricky, and it would require proactive management of
monetary and fiscal policies to avoid any surprises.” On interest rates, the
Institute said that the rapid decline in interest rates could put undue
pressure on the local currency. “We support the drive for a reduction in
interest rates but it is our considered view that interest rates should be
allowed to decline more slowly in order to be in tandem with growth in output
of the economy.”
On fiscal
policy, the Institute expressed concern about government financing most of the
capital expenditures from donor funding. It explained that it might not be
sustainable in the long-run and that more innovative schemes like “Build, Own,
Operate and Transfer” (BOOT) should also be explored whereby private capital
could play a role.
“We
appreciate the need to increase revenue mobilisation, reduce leakages. While
incentives are being provided, there is the need to put in place a more
analytical framework, such that increased revenues that are not related to
effort but form major price movements of exports and imports are not wrongly
attributed to collections efforts.
“Additionally,
during periods of shrinking revenues, the proposed incentive might prove
inadequate. On HIPC, ICA recommended that a thorough cost-benefit analysis
should be made so that real cost do not outweigh the reliefs. – The Ghanaian
Times.
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Accra
(Greater Accra) 24 April 2002 - Smoking Junior Secondary School (JSS) pupils is
alarmingly on the increase in Ghana. A survey on smoking related issues
conducted by the Ghana Global Youth conducted in 2000, states that out of a
total of
1,917
pupils randomly selected from JSS 1-3, 270 pupils or 14.3 per cent were found
to be smokers.
The ratio
of boys to girls was seen as 1:09 (14.7 per cent and 13 per cent). The survey
also noted that 19.3 per cent of the figure used any tobacco product, with the
possibility that 16.5 per cent of those non-smokers, contacted were willing to
initiate move towards smoking.
In terms of
accessibility and availability, the survey indicated that 52.2 per cent of the
smokers buy their products from the store but in spite of their age below 18
years, they are not refused purchase.
Concerned
about the adverse impact of such trends on the health of the larger national
society, the Health Research Unit (HRU) of the Ghana Health Services of the
Ministry of Health has launched “Quit And Win Ghana 2002 Campaign” with the aim
to help smokers and the general-public on the need to stay smoke-free.
Launching
it, in Accra on Tuesday, Dr Sam Adjei, Deputy Director General of the Ghana
Health Service, noted that about 55 per cent of the country’s overall diseases
are due to lifestyle issues. He indicates that behaviour change is a
fundamental issue in dealing with disease. “Certain disease like cancer,
tuberculosis, hypertension, heart attacks and diabetes are diseases that are
dependent on lifestyle and behaviour change,” he indicated.
Dr Adjei
further explained that sex-related diseases, “diet and dietary issue,” lack of
exercise, drug-abuses, for example alcoholism and inadequate education and
improper information on the partnership between health-delivery system and the
media, are equally important factors affecting the health of many Ghanaians.
He called
on people to “move for their health” by leading lifestyles that promote
smoke-free environment. “Currently, we spend about $6 dollars on the average on
the health of everybody. We need about $40 to ensure quality health delivery,”
he emphasized, adding that the issue of smoking put the national resources at
stake.
Dr Adjei
called for effective media support in mobilising and motivating people to make
a joint and sustained effort to stop smoking to make Ghana a smoke-free
society. The Campaign Coordinator of the “Quit And Win 2002,” Nortey Dua,
stated that the exercise is aimed at creating a supportive and conducive
environment for smokers to easily and freely quit smoking.
Edith
Wellington of HRU stressed that there is the need for society to provide
certain interventions to create an environment that motives, supports and
facilitates smokers’ intention to quit. The “Quit And Win Campaign” will take
place between 2 - 28 May 2002 of which smokers who want to quit are made to
participate in a contest to stay away from smoking. After the four weeks, a
biochemical urine test would be conducted on participants to validate their
claim of smoking-free. – The Statesman.
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Accra (Greater Accra)
24 April 2002 - An interview of NPP’s activist Kofi Wayo who has been critical
of his own party accusing it of non-delivery, by George Sydney Abugre.
Question: Some people
say for a member of the New Patriotic Party, you are too critical of the party to
the point of sounding disloyal.
Answer: Maybe it is the undemocratic elements, the parasites in the political
system who fear the truth I speak.
Q: What truth do you espouse that people don’t like to hear?
A: I keep insisting that the present system that has prevailed for a long time
does not work. It is designed to exploit the people and not to build a truly
democratic society.
Q: How do leaders of your party take your frequent criticism of the government?
A: Some may not like what I say and how I say it and I have heard some
complaints, but I speak on behalf of the mass of the people who are suffering.
Q: Have you ever been reprimanded or threatened with suspension or dismissal
from the party?
A: Not a serious reprimand. I have received a mild reprimand, yes.
Q: Have you ever received threats to your person for the kind of things you say
in the media?
A: Yes, I have been threatened.
Q: What has been the nature of the threats?
A: I have received threats to the effect that someone could ram my car with
another one. I am well trained and well prepared. I will fight all who are
enemies of my people.
Q: What do you mean when you say you have been trained?
A: Just what I said. Besides, remember I am fighting for the people and the
people have power. That is why governments fear it when the people are
conscientised into a state of awareness of their living conditions.
Q: What major policies had you expected the government to pursue that it is not
pursuing?
A: I had expected a major programme of industrialisation to promote national
self-sufficiency, and economic growth while providing employment. I had
expected that within three months of coming into office, the new administration
would have announced a programme of free and compulsory education for children
between the ages of six and eight years at least.
Q: Is that realistic? It may be easy to declare education compulsory for all
children but with the prevailing national economic constraints, would free
basic education be possible in the short-term?
A: Yes, if the government knows how to find the financial resources. I know how
to access those resources.
Q: I have heard some people say you are a Blay-Meizah type — a flamboyant,
swashbuckling, garrullous, playboy and that you do not have the money you claim
to have.
A: I have never claimed to have money. I am a middle class millionaire. I am
able to pay my bills. I don’t trick people and take their money away as many in
the system are doing. I have heard this Blay Meizah talk. I had never heard of
Blay Meizah, until I heard I was being likened to him, so I went to check out.
You know what? The real Blay Meizahs are in the banks, the big corporate
organisations, the bureaucracy. They are the Blay Meizahs.
I have supported some businesses and individuals and helped the poor on the
quiet.
I have helped at least 17 businesses in this country to access credit, but I do
not talk about it. I have helped market women with capital they can repay under
very good terms. I began trying to help two public institutions to access US140
million and US$150 million respectively. I stopped the projects for reasons I
will not go into.
Q: You have frequently criticised the Honourable Minister of Energy, Mr
Kan-Dapaah over his running of the energy sector without really offering any
clear alternative agenda for the administration and operation of the kind of
energy sector you seem to have in mind. Some people have dared you to hold a
public debate with the minister on the state of the energy sector. Are you
amenable to such a debate?
A: I would love it. I really would love it! There is nothing I would love more
than a debate with the minister. Listen, buddy, I would knock him out so fast
the government would be embarrassed!
Q: From the state of the energy sector today, do you foresee a power crisis...
A: There is already a power crisis! I could have helped to avoid it.
Q: There are reports that you made a failed bid to buy the Tema Oil Refinery
and that the fact has left you quite peeved and bitter towards the government.
It has been said that you offered a dismally low purchase bid for TOR. What
really happened in your bid to get TOR?
A: I brought in my people so that we could buy the refinery but we got no
support.
Q: What people?
A: O, engineers, financiers, lawyers. We tried talking to the government about
buying TOR but got no tangible response. I hear they have been talking to the
Koreans and others. I tried to buy TOR for one principal reason: to demonstrate
that it is possible to produce and sell petroleum and thermal power at rates
cheaper than the prevailing rates. I had intended thereafter, to sell TOR back
to the government to repay on favourable terms.
Why did the government not try me when I proposed to buy TOR? Had I been given
the chance and failed, the government could then justifiably have said: “There
is Kofi Wayo. He bragged a lot about making the energy sector more efficient
and we gave him the chance. See how he has failed miserably.”
Q: The NPP made a clean sweep of the votes in the last parliamentary elections
in many constituencies. Why do you think you lost the Nima seat in spite of
your concern about and apparent affinity with the underprivileged who are in
the majority in that constituency?
A: I did not lose it my friend, it was stolen.
Q: What do you mean?
A: After polling, I was initially declared the winner remember? Some people
later stuffed a ballot box with ballot papers to enable another candidate win.
I am glad I did not go to Parliament though.
Q: Why?
A: Parliament is a hoax. It is a joke. It should be better equipped. MPs have
no offices, secretaries, research assistants or equipment. If an MP has no
research assistant, how can he analyse and articulate the concerns of his
people? Tell me.
Q: Parliament has been engaged in very serious business in spite of those
constraints, don’t you agree?
A: Parliament should have been fighting for better education, medical reliefs
and improved social amenities, for the people. They should have been talking
about the misery of the majority of the people. Have you heard them doing that?
Q: What do you say about complaints from within your party that radio stations
have been giving you undue access to their studios to unfairly criticise the
government and to speak of some government appointees in rather uncomplimentary
terms?
A: Some radio stations invite me as a guest to share ideas with the public. I
sometimes call phone-in programmes to share my opinions on subjects of national
interest under discussion. Whenever I am in town I host a programme on Vibe FM.
The programme is called “Common Sense”.
What is wrong with all that?
The people of this country have been oppressed for a long time. Those who do
not want the people to be conscious of their circumstances bother me. How on
earth could anyone object to someone trying to make people aware of the nature
of the problems they face and how to overcome them?
Q: Are you suggesting that the people of this country are unaware of their
circumstances?
A: Many do not know why they are suffering so much.
Q: Really...?
A: They have always lived in a vampire state. They have had callous
governments, which have used the military to subjugate them while those in
power have plundered state resources. Those in power often suffer from “the big
man in the little pan syndrome”. They drive around in Mercedes cars while the
people suffer. If any among the people dare criticise those in power, the
people are persecuted.
Q: Can you tell me a little bit about yourself?
A: I am from Nima in Accra. I went to high school and later to college for six
months in the United States. Thereafter, I attended the “University of Hard
Knocks” and earned the kind of PhD that enabled me to make some millions of
dollars.
I have been an Honorary Consul of the United States to Liberia before (1992-1997)
and I am a member of the United States Army Association.
Q: What is that?
A: Well let us leave that out of it, shall we?
Q: I hear you are an international arms dealer and that you admitted having
tried to use a mercenary force to overthrow the administration of former
President Rawlings.
A: I surveyed the possibility with intelligence people from outside the
country. We came to the conclusion that there would have been a high civilian
casualty rate and abandoned the idea.
Q: Can you say in all honesty to your conscience that you are a loyal member of
the New Patriotic Party committed to the attainment of the party’s vision?
A: My loyalty to the party is unquestionable. I love the NPP. I am committed to
it.
Q: Do you mind if I ask exactly what the nature of your business in the United
States is?
A: I work with a company in Springfield in Illinnoise called OPA. OPA is
principally an oil refining and marketing company. It is a fairly small but
robust company. I am the company’s Vice-President. I can call the President on
my mobile phone so that you can talk to him if you like...
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