Acheampong's reply to his accusers!
By 2003, the Public Utilities Regulatory
Commission (PURC) will increase electricity tariff from the present 5.35 cents
per kilowatt hour to 8.60 cents per kilowatt hour. That will be after the end
of the PURC’s three-year transitional plan period of (2000-2003) on electricity
rates.
This is a compromise between the PURC and the
Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and Volta River Authority (VRA) which had
proposed 10-6- cents per kilowatt hour as the economic rate at which they could
operate efficiently.
This was announced at the last workshop by the
PURC to sensitise the public on its transitional plan for electricity rates
adjustment and quality issues of Akosombo at the weekend.
The workshop was for 25 members of the Finance,
Mines and Energy, and Legal and Constitutional Affairs committees of
Parliament.
Briefing them on the transitional plan, Mr A.E.
Quayson, a commissioner of PURC, said since any tariff hikes would affect
domestic users, it was important to solicit the support of the MPs to appeal to
the people to accept the increase.
The tariff increases had become necessary
because over the years the utilities had degenerated to a point that they could
ground to a halt if no intervention is made. But with the 35 per cent of the
population who had access to power calling for affordability, there needed to
be a solution to the problem.
Mr Quayson said the government needed to
empower the utilities to be able to revamp their equipment to ensure quality
services to justify any increase in the power hikes. The Commissioner called
for a consideration of a living wage for workers during the period so that
workers would have the capability to pay the rates when the came into force.
In his opening address, Nana (Dr) S.K.B.
Asante, Chairman, PURC, said the workshop was to outline the Commission’s
programme for achieving efficient and economic rates as well as ensuring
corresponding quality service.
He said the commission did not set tariffs in
isolation but insists on a linkage between tariff setting and improvement in
quality of service.
More…/
The President of the Association of Ghana
Industries (AGI) Mrs Elizabeth Villars has appointed the following elected
members of the AGI as her executive for the year 2001 to 2003.
They are Mr Eric Benyarko, Managing Director of
Cadbury Ghana Limited as first vice- President, Mr Samuel A. Appenteng, General
Manager of Intravenous Infusions Limited, second vice-President, and Mr John
Atta-Nyamekye, Managing Director of Densu Industries Limited as member.
An AGI statement issued in Accra on Monday said
that these appointments were endorsed at a special AGI National Council Meeting
held on Wednesday, November 28.
The AGI President called for cooperation and
commitment from the national council to lead AGI to achieve its objectives of
ensuring the growth and development of Ghanaian industries.
More…/
Two people will appear before a Cape Coast High
Court on Tuesday to answer charges of failing to settle their over ¢884 million
debt to the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) at Cape Coast.
They are Robert Andoh and Albert Andoh, both
residents at Cape Coast and owners of the Bomband Enterprise Limited at Cape
Coast. The amount is an outstanding balance on ¢500 million overdraft facility
granted to Mr Robert Andoh by the plaintiff to support his business.
‘Times’ investigations revealed that the
facility was granted to the accused last April upon his request to support
their business. However, the accused had failed to honour their financial
obligation to the bank after several repeated demands.
The investigations revealed that the facility
was to mature on March 2002, at an interest rate of 46 per cent per annum or as
such other interest rates as the plaintiff might from time to time determine.
The two accused persons are expected to appear
before Justice Gyamerah Tawiah of High Court Two.
GRi…/
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An 11-year-old girl was among the 80 reported
cases of HIV/AIDS victims at Korle-Bu last month, according to Prof. Neequaye
of the Fevers Unit. But what is unusual about the case is her mode of
infection.
Children normally become HIV positive either
through blood transfusion or by the disease having passed to them at birth from
an infected mother. Yet, this schoolgirl from Accra, two years away from being
a teenager, contracted the virus from sexual intercourse.
This very disturbing case is, grappling with
the awful story of how a man in his fifties infected a 14-year old girl with
AIDS at Huni in the Western Region. The girl was said to have been sent home
from school for her school fees but her parents were not in.
Just then she saw a friend of her father who,
on learning why she had come home at that hour, asked her to follow him to his
house for the money. On reaching the house the man raped the girl through the
anus. That was all it took to infect the girl with the dreaded AIDS.
The story was narrated by Grace Omaboe,
popularly known as “Maame Dokono,” at a forum on Violence Against Women,
organized by the Gender Studies and Human Rights Documentation Centre in Accra.
The most horrifying aspect of the story is that
the man has been let loose after eight months in custody, giving him the
opportunity to spread the disease further.
Ms Omaboe blamed the judiciary for its indecisiveness
and for allowing unscrupulous men to inflict women.
GRi…/
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Mr David Sarpong Boateng, a former Minister in
the NDC government was last Thursday elected unopposed as Chairman of the
Koforidua Constituency branch of the party at a delegates conference at
Koforidua.
Other officers elected included Alhaji Nuru
Abubakari, first vice-Chairman, Mr Opoku Nontwiri, second Vice-Chairman, Mr
Kudjo Ahiakpo, Secretary, Mr Amergago Kpornor, Assistant Secretary, Alhaji Bab
Kankani, Treasurer and Hajia Fati Awudu, Deputy Treasurer.
Others were Mr Isaac Sarpong, Organiser, Mr
Baba Tanko, Deputy Organiser and Mr Emmanuel Ampofo, Propaganda Secretary.
Addressing the conference, Mr Kwesi Denkyi,
Regional Vice-Chairman expressed optimism that the party would win the 2004
elections. He, however, stressed the need for hard work by all members towards
that victory.
He said the party was in an era, which required
sacrifices from all its true supporters and urged them to start organizing
wherever they found themselves without counting the cost.
Mr Boateng thanked the delegates for the trust
reposed in the new executive and gave the assurance that they would be in
constant touch with the rank and file to find solution to what caused the
party’s defeat in the last elections in the constituency. He advised the
members to forget about the past and unite to tackle the task ahead.
In another development, the New Juaben North
constituency branch of the party also elected a seven-member executive headed
by Mr Owusu Boahen Kukuro.
GRi…/
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There
are stark indications that the forthcoming December 28 national delegates
congress of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) could be a make or break
event for Ghana’s main opposition party.
Snippets
of information gathered by the Chronicle suggests that the party is already
struggling to keep itself together, as the emergence of two main factions led
respectively by ex-President Jerry John Rawlings and former Attorney General
and Minister of Justice, Dr. Obed Yao Asamoah, threatens to break the party’s
front.
So
far, the emerging rivalry between the two factions remains hushed-up from
followers of the NDC, but party insiders say a break-up of the party is
inevitable if events prior to December 28 are not handled well.
Though
the recent media reports on the meeting between the NDC’s Youth Forum and
former President Rawlings, Messrs Ekow Spio-Garbrah and E.T. Mensah gave
indications of the rift on the party’s front, sources say the fight to control
the party has been raging for some time now.
Sources
say a letter went off to former Vice President John Evans Atta Mills recently
reminding him to come back to push for the election of his favourites if he
wanted to remain as the candidate of the party in the 2004 elections.
The
letter is believed to have been written following fears of the Rawlings-led
faction that the December 28 elections would be determined by another
declaration: not the Rawlings-inspired Swedru declaration. This time, party
insiders say the elections would be determined by the powerbrokers that control
the financial base of the party.
Most
party officers would not talk on the issue when reached but incredible reports
from the meeting between Rawlings and the Youth Forum indicated that the former
Education Minister personally read some names that the Rawlings-led faction
would like to have in control of the party. The names included his name, that
of Honourable E.T. Mensah (he is reported to have sought leave and left the
meeting midway) and Alhaji Huudu Yahaya, who was cited as someone who needed to
be rewarded for his loyalty and services to the party.
Mr
Ekow Spio-Garbrah has however, denied the existence of any formal list and the
mention of names at the meeting.
Dr
Benjamin Kumbour, MP for Lawra-Namdom and a member of the party’s
Re-organisation Committee told Joy FM, the Accra-based FM station on Monday
afternoon that the tendency to select preferable candidates for the party was
undemocratic.
He
noted his dissatisfaction with the ganging-up for positions, saying it would
not be in the interest of the party. He said a list of names might, for
example, have an effective chairman and other people who may not necessarily be
better candidates for the positions, which would not bode well for the party.
The NDC, he said, is a party of opportunity that must remain open at all.
More…/
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The
Swedish government and Mr Amarkai Amartefio, ex-PNDC minister and Honorary
Consul of Sweden in Ghana, have come under massive condemnation from
international human rights organisations and the Swedish Parliament for dumping
illegal deportees in Ghana.
The
Swedish Parliament and Swedish political parties have bemoaned the deportation
of one Mr Peter Ekwiri, a Ugandan political asylum seeker who was painfully
deported to Ghana on the orders of Mr Amarkai Amartefio. Amarkai had told the
Swedish government that Ekwiri was a Ghanaian.
Swedish
Minister of Migration, Maj. Inger Klingvall, has so far been summoned on two
occasions to the floor of the Swedish Parliament to answer questions on the
unlawful deportation of other nationals to Ghana, particularly Peter Ekwiri.
She was also questioned on why he paid thousands of taxpayers’ money to Mr
Amarkai Amartefio.
Inger
Kligvall, who came under pressure following the disclosure of the deportation
syndicate in Ghana, has resigned as minister.
According
to Chronicle investigations she resigned due to what has been described as
“failures in the field of legislation and asylum procedures”.
Before
her resignation, the Minister lost her seat on leading boards of Social
Democrats. The final blow to her
political career was when she again lost a very important vote in the Swedish
parliament on a reform of the Aliens Appeals Board. All these were as a result of the deportation syndicate, which
was reported in the Ghanaian Chronicle and in a documentary by Nordisk film TV,
a Swedish television station.
Members
of the Swedish Parliament, including Mr Kerstin Maria Stalin, have questioned
the Minister of Migration on the deportations of other nationals to Ghana.
Kerstin has also asked for a justification of the “thousands of dollars” paid
to Mr Amarkai.
The
practice was described in Swedish Parliament as “unethical and illegal.” The
minister was also warned to ensure that such practices should come to an end
and that the nationality of deportees must be established by the Swedish
authorities before they are deported.
Chronicle
has gathered that the Greens and the Left Parties, supporters of the current
government, have made these illegal deportations to Ghana a very serious issue
in Sweden.
According
to information reaching the Chronicle, the Danish Centre for Human Rights has
also begun investigations into the circumstances, which led to the deportation
of Peter Edwiri to Ghana as well as the other cases of dumping of illegal
deportees in Ghana by the Swedish government.
GRi…/
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your comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
The
Minority Spokesman on Mines and Energy, Mr Abraham Kofi Asante, has describe
the government’s stand not to reduce fuel prices in line with falling world
market prices of crude oil as totally unfair. He said since the world market
prices assumed a downward trend, Ghana has been reaping a windfall which
benefit fuel consumers and Ghanaians in general.
In
an interview in Accra on Monday, Mr Asante said, ‘An exceptional gain of at
least $54 million has been made from
the unexpected drop in world market prices of crude oil. ‘It is therefore,
unacceptable for the government to resort to window dressing to erode the
relief that is supposed to be enjoyed by the customer,’ he added.
He
recalled that after the increase in fuel prices in February, this year, the
Minister of Energy, Mr Albert Kan-Dapaah, assured the nation that the
government would adopt a formula to adjust petroleum prices automatically in
response to international oil prices and the exchange rate of cedi.
Mr
Asante further quoted the energy minister as saying that, ‘so transparent will
the formula be that every Ghanaian living everywhere should be able to do his
or her own calculation to verify future adjustments in fuel prices.
Besides,
he said the formula for determining fuel prices by the government is based on
ex- refinery prices, cost involved in lifting, freight, distribution margins
and related charges, and said once those factors have changed, then fuel prices
must change accordingly.
According
to Mr Asante, the government has fixed the petroleum import parity at a price
for carrying the product from Northern Europe, ‘whereas we are all aware that
the bulk of our crude oil is from Nigeria.
He
said apart from that, “there should be ways of removing the glaring
inefficiencies in the procurement of petroleum, such as the Sahara contract,
refining and distribution, which all affect the petroleum sector.” He said the
formula for determining the prices of petroleum products is government’s own
policy and has no legal backing.
“So,
if they do not want to implement it any longer, then it is not only proper they
tell Ghanaians about it,” he said.
“They
should also tell us how much they are using from what has accrued so far, to
service the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) debt,” he added.
He
said any further delay by the government in giving fuel consumers what is
rightly theirs, “we will be unfair”.
More.../
The
Minister of Energy, Mr Albert Kan-Dapaah, has describe as inappropriate calls
from the minority on the government to undertake the immediate reduction in the
ex-pump prices of petroleum products.
He
pointed out that while there has been a reduction in the ex- refinery prices of
petroleum products, the increase in petroleum taxes and other variables which
collectively go to determine ex-pump prices of petroleum products has virtually
wiped off any prospects of fuel prices reduction for now.
The
energy minister was shedding light on the government’s energy policy and import
parity formula used in determining the prices of petroleum products in the
country.
It
was also designed to answer the calls of the Minority for the government to
reduce the ex-pump prices of petroleum products in view of the significant fall
in the price of crude oil on the world market.
According
to Mr Kan-Dapaah, Parliament, sometime in July, this year, introduced specific
petroleum tax of about 200 cedis per litre of fuel but the government had to
wait until somewhere around September for a reduction in the ex-refinery prices
of petroleum products before effecting the law.
“I
concede that there has been a reduction of about 56 cedis per litre in the
ex-refinery prices of petroleum products, and this both the Majority and Minority
sides agree. However, this gain of 56 cedis has been swallowed by the
re-introduction by Parliament of the excise duty specific of about 200 cedis
per litre on petroleum products,” the minister explained.
Mr
Kan-Dapaah pointed out that three variables- the ex-refinery prices of
petroleum products, government taxes and the distribution margins of the oil
marketing companies (OMCs) were decisive in determining ex-pump of petroleum
products.
“If
only one of the variables decreases and the rest remain constant or increase as
is the case with government taxes and margins of the OMCs, one should not
logically expect an automatic downward revision of petroleum prices in the face
of this development alone, especially where the increase in taxes are disproportionately
large,” he stressed.
Mr
Kan-Dapaah labelled the Minority calls as an attempt to wish away the law
passed by Parliament in this respect.
“The
Minority insistence that there must be a reduction in the ex-pump prices of
petroleum products now, even as they are fully aware that Parliament has passed
a bill, amounts to their insistence that the law passed by the august body is
not acceptable and must therefore be circumvented” he stressed.
He
insisted that the rules governing the prices of petroleum products had not
changed and that the formula was being correctly applied by the government.
Mr
Kan-Dapaah declined to comment on the question of whether or not whatever gains
or windfall that had been made from the significant drop in global crude oil
prices had been used to defray the 2.3 trillion debt of the Tema Oil Refinery
(TOR).
An
oil industry source, however, opined that significant amount representing
savings made in this respect had been channelled into defraying the debt, which
is said to include 240 billion cedis charges for this year alone.
GRi…/
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A
total of ¢350 million was realised from court fines imposed on 850 drivers in
Accra Metropolis for various traffic offences, between January and September
this year.
A
large number of the drivers were found guilty of drunkenness, overloading,
reckless driving, non-maintenance of vehicle and unauthorised parking.
The
Commander of the Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU), Mr Victor Tandoh, who
disclosed this in an interview, said the majority of the drivers were arrested
at the suburbs of Abeka, Wato, UTC, Kaneshie and Makola.
He
said the unit has embarked on an exercise in collaboration with the Ghana
Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) and private vehicle towing company to
ensure that sanity prevails on the roads during the Christmas period.
He
said as part of the exercise, random test will be conducted on drivers, while a
special police traffic patrol task force will be on the roads to enforce
traffic regulations. Drivers who are found to be drunk will not be allowed to
continue the journey, the commander added.
Mr
Tandoh said vehicles, which are wrongly parked on the roads will be towed away,
and will only be returned to the owners after the towing fees have been paid.
He
cited residents along the Kanda Highways as notorious for parking their vehicles
on the sides of the highway, and warned them to refrain from that habit
immediately. He also asked travellers to stand firm against drivers who make
stops during their journeys purposely to drink alcohol.
Mr
Tandoh warned that any driver, whose unruly conduct on the road causes
discomfort to others will swiftly face the sanctions of the law.
More…/
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) Youth
Forum has denied that former President Jerry Rawlings submitted, during his
recent meeting with the forum, a list of people to be considered for national
executive positions at the party’s December 28 national delegates congress in
Accra.
“The former President called for real internal
democracy and expressed the need for those to be elected at the upcoming
congress to reflect the party’s vision to stay with the desires of the masses,
especially given the fact that the NDC is in opposition,” it said.
This was contained in a statement signed by
Messrs Baba Jamal and Fifi Kwetey, spokesman and member of the forum
respectively in Accra on Monday.
It said the ex-president did not, at any point
during the meeting, refer to any list of individuals as his favourites for
national executive positions in the party, neither did the meeting discuss who
occupies what positions within the National Executive Committee (NEC).
The statement said the meeting discussed a wide
range of issues, including the national delegates congress and unity within the
ranks of the party.
It said publications about the meeting sought
to create the impression that the ex-president was bent on foisting individuals
on the party, stressing that such publications contained” distortions,
inaccuracies and exaggerations.”
“We, therefore, consider the publications as an
example of the usual attempt by detractors of the NDC to sow seeds of discord
within the party and to undermine the emerging unity within it,” the statement
said.
The statement assured all members of the party
and the general public that the forum will continue to advocate internal
democracy, especially at the forthcoming congress to ensure that the NDC
emerges from the congress stronger and more united.
GRi…/
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The road to 'tough justice'!
On 1st May, 1979, the government
(SMC 2) came out with a form of "punishment" for Acheampong alone,
apparently in line with the cock and bull story earlier sold to Ghanaians-which
they rejected-that Acheampong staged a one-man show between 1972 and 1978. By
the fiat of a decree-Armed Forces Miscellaneous Provisions Decree, 1979- the
SMC 11 divested General Acheampong of all honors acquired by him during his
tenure of office (But this did not affect conferred on them by Acheampong).
He was to forfeit the privilege of the use of
any military rank and was prohibited from entering any military installation or
establishment. Even though the government ordered the release of Acheampong
from custody, the General was to be restricted to his hometown, Trabuom, in the
Ashanti Region.
After saying that Acheampong would lose all
retirement benefits, the decree set out a long list of acts of economic,
administrative and other misconduct which the General committed against the
State and the people of Ghana while in office as follows:
(i)
Personally interfering in the economic and financial management of the
country.
(ii) Interfering with the normal operations of
the Bank of Ghana thus causing the over-printing and over-issue of cedi notes.
(iii) Indiscriminatory, personal and arbitrary
issue of import licenses to favourities and close associates and awarding
contracts to incompetent contractors.
(iv)
Taking dubious foreign loans to the detriment of the State.
(v)
Personally granting underserved concessions to favourite business houses
in contravention of existing government policies and regulations.
(vi) In furtherance of his inordinate ambition
foe political, he manipulated and vested all executive powers in his own hands
for his own advantage.
(vii) He disregarded with impunity the
principle of collective responsibility of colleagues in the SMC and NRC.
(viii) He reversed decisions in the name of the
NRC and SMC without prior consultation with any of his colleagues.
(ix) He employed at the State's expense the
services of numerous unofficial personal advisers and aides of dubious
competence, character and intentions who only saw to their good in government
to the detriment of the nation.
(x) He brought the Armed Forces to the brink of
disintegrate.
(xi) He showered generous favours on certain
officers and men known to be closely associated with him to the disadvantage
and annoyance of other officers of merit and the rank and file, thus
contributing to the breakdown of discipline in the Armed Forces.
(xii) He displayed immorality not befitting an
officer and a gentleman and much less a Head of State.
The reasons given for stripping General
Acheampong of his rank and titles and reducing him to Mr Acheampong were so
grave, fundamental and touched on matters which had such traumatic effect on
Ghana-socially, economically, politically and normally-that the exercise should
have been done with the thoroughness, propriety and with regard to due process
of law.
It was also difficult to appreciate how
Acheampong alone could have committed all these offences all that long without
the connivance, condonation or support of his colleagues. If currency notes
were "over issued" without the knowledge of other SMC members, whilst
the SMC was the "highest legislative and administrative authority in Ghana
responsible for the general direction and administration of the government of
Ghana", then one was bound to ask: were the other SMC members too ignorant
to know, or were they just irresponsible or were they connivers and
collaborators?
Head or tail, they could not escape blame. We
cannot forget that when the Service Commanders staged a palace coup against the
NRC resulting in the SMC, the top brass in the Armed Forces took control of the
government. Indeed, membership pf the SMC was by virtue of one's military
regime.
Could the Heads of the Navy, Air Force, Army
and Border Guards together not control Acheampong for so long? If not, what
were they doing on the Council? After all, many of the charges of corruption
had been public knowledge for years before SMC 11.
More…/
Acheampong's reply to his accusers!
"I pledge my full support for the Armed
Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC), which toppled the SMC 11 government headed
by Gen. Akuffo on June 4. In pledging this support, I am not in any way being
sycophantic because I am aware that the measures to solve the country's problems,
something my government and that of General Akuffo could not do.
"Measures taken by my government in this
direction could not achieve any positive results because some of the men placed
in positions of trust were themselves involved in corruption practices.
"If the AFRC, led by Flt. Lt. J.J.
Rawlings, continues to tackle the country's numerous problems in the manner it
has started, then there is very chance of the revolution succeeding.
"I have no regrets for staging the 1972
coup which toppled Dr Busia's government and looking back at my reign as
Ghana's head of state from January 13, 1972 to July 5, 1978 when Gen. Akuffo
and others removed me from office, I feel I have done enough for Ghana.
"I can't claim to be infallible. Perhaps
my only fault was that I was too lenient and kind. I helped people like J.H.
Mensah, Appiah-Menkah and Dr. Bilson to make money even though I was aware they
were my political enemies.
"Gen Akuffo and others have accused me of
running the government as "One-man show". They are liars and that
accusation against me is baseless because every action taken during my tenure
of office was a collective one.
"My overthrow from office was motivated by
personal interest of the other SMC members. At the time Gen. Akuffo and
Maj-Gen. Odartey-Wellington and others removed me from office, I was
contemplating dismissing some of them for their involvement in corrupt deals.
Gen Akuffo decided to remove me from office because he knew he was gong to lose
membership of the SMC in October 1978. I was not doing a "one-man
show" because I met other SMC members in my house once a week for
face-to-face chat and once every fortnight at the Cabinet level and even they
often overruled my decisions at meetings.
"Five days before I was removed from
office, I wrote a letter to all soldiers to ponder over the charges of
malpractices such as smuggling, hoarding and profiteering in which some of them
and their families had become so much involved.
"On July 5, 1978 when some SMC members asked
me to resign, I pointed out to them that it was not me, as an individual, that
Ghanaians did not want. I told Gen. Fred Akuffo that they were looking for all
of us. I warned Gen Akuffo that he would regret his action and that was going
to create more confusion. My removal was not endorsed by all the SMC members.
"After serving in the Army for 27 years,
it is not right and proper for Gen. Akuffo and his SMC 11 membership to strip
me of my military title of General. I should have been put before a court martial
to defend myself against whatever charges they had against me.
"When I was Head of State, I was honest, I
was not corrupt. Rather, Gen. Akuffo and others were not honest. It is not true
that I have huge sums of cedis and foreign country.
"It is also not true that when I was Head
of State, I printed millions of cedis. And I challenged the Governor of the
Bank of Ghana to come out with the facts if he has any, to establish my guilt.
"All these are the work of Gen. Akuffo and
my enemies who want to bring me down. Dr Kwame Nkrumah suffered the same fate,
and I am not surprised that it is happening to me. But the case is that
Ghanaians have very short memory.
"Everything I did to make Union Government
a reality was first and foremost done to ensure stability in the country's
political process. I still believe in the concept of Union Government even
though I like the wind of change brought about by the June 4 coup 'd'atat led
by Flt. Lt. J.J. Rawlings.
"I don't know how much money was spent on
the Union Government campaign but I never forced the Bank of Ghana to print
excess money to finance and propagate the Union Government concept.
"As far as the issuing of import licenses
was concerned, I had no control. There was an Import License Allocation
Committee headed by Gen. Akuffo. Even the bulk of the import licenses set aside
for government in the form of Contingency Fund was not directly under my
control.
"At separate times, My Kofi Anane-Binfo,
then Senior Principal Secretary, Ministry of Finance and Lt. Gol. Akompi were
those responsible and therefore if any of them diverted part of the import
licenses for their personal use I cannot tell.
"Before my overthrow, an investigation
into an aircraft deal had revealed that Air Vice Marshal Beausoleil, former Air
Force Commander, was seriously involved in the corrupt deal.
"After
the report on the deal was made to me, Gen. Akuffo approached me to say that
Air Voice Marshal Beausoleil has asked him Gen. Akuffo to beg me on his behalf.
"It is not true that I bought Golf cars
for my numerous girlfriends. I don't deny that I had girlfriends. All of us
have girlfriends. Even you, which of you flirt with only your wives?
"We all do it. And to me, I don't see hoe
girlfriends contributed to the ruin of Ghana's economy. "No one can claim
to be paragon of virtue. We all do it.
People say that Akua Boahemaa, a member of the
Osofo Dadzie TV Group is my girlfriend and that I gave her 2 million cedis
import license. It is a framed story because even if I approved 2 million cedis
import license for her, Miss Boahemaa could not have paid the cedi equivalent
of any allocation given her."
Gen Acheampoing’s submissions according to the
Crusading Guide, were excerpts of a speech he delivered at a Press Conference
at Army Headquarters, Flagstaff House on June 13, 1979, 72 hours before his
execution.
GRi…/
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