Explosive: Airbus confesses sharing bribes in Ghana as £3bn corruption fine bites

February 3, 2020 by with 0 comment

Aircraft manufacturer, Airbus, has confessed to paying bribes in Ghana and other countries between 2011 and 2015 in a corruption investigation of its business deals dating back more than a decade.

Court documents obtained by theghanareport.com show that Europe’s largest plane maker has been fined 3 billion pounds for greasing the palms of public officials and fixers over a string of hidden payments as part of a pattern of worldwide corruption to facilitate the sales of its wares.

According to The Guardian, the “planemaker agreed to pay the penalties on Friday after reaching settlements with investigators in the UK, France, and the US to end inquiries that started four years ago.”

The UK-based newspaper reports on the outcome of the UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) investigation that “Allison Clare, for the SFO, told the court the company had paid bribes in Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Taiwan and Ghana between 2011 and 2015.”

The company is reported to have “used a network of secret agents to pay large-scale backhanders to officials in foreign countries to land high-value contracts.”

Documents filed by US prosecutors alleged that Airbus used marketing team that had a $300 million annual budget to finance bribes and win aircraft sales in a number of countries around the globe.

Ghana between 2011 and 2015 acquired three Airbus C295 from the company as part of an effort to augment and modernise the fleet of the Ghana Armed Forces.

The first order of the military aeroplane arrived in Ghana on  November 17, 2011, followed by a second on March 19, 2012. The last order came in on December 4, 2015.

In November 2014, President John Dramani Mahama announced that Ghana would acquire an additional C295, in addition to other aircraft, including five Super Tucanos, Mi-17s and four Z-9s.

Ghana is said to have spent about $150 million on the three aircraft. One of them recently overshot its runway. The Defence Ministry explained that the accident happened because the aircraft had not gone for its scheduled maintenance.

In Ghana, Airbus is accused of hiring and disguising payments to a close relative of a government official with no aerospace experience in connection with a sale of military transport planes, the UK’s SFO investigations revealed.

Prosecution’s case on Ghana

The UK prosecutor’s case against Airbus was that between 1 July 2011 and 1 June 2015 Airbus SE  failed to prevent persons associated with the company from bribing others concerned with the purchase of military transport aircraft by the government of Ghana.

The bribery, the document said was intended to obtain or retain business or advantage in the conduct of business for Airbus.

According to the court document between 2009 and 2015 an Airbus defence company engaged an unnamed person, only identified as Intermediary 5, a close relative of a high ranking elected Ghana government official (also not named but referred to as Government Official 1), as its business partner in respect of the proposed sale of three aircraft to the government of Ghana.

“A number of ofAirbus employees knew that Intermediary five was a close relative of Government Official 1, a key decision-maker in respect of the sales.

However, “a number of Airbus employees made or promised success based commission payments of approximately €5 million to Intermediary 5.

“False documentation was created by or with the agreement of Airbus employees in order to support and disguise these payments. The payments were intended to induce or reward improper favour by the Government Official 1towards Airbus,” the document suggests.

The Airbus agreement with the United Kingdom, France and the United States of America is effectively a plea bargain that insulates the company from criminal prosecution that would have banned it from bidding for public contracts in the US and the European Union.

The fine is said to be the biggest corporate fine for bribery and will be shared among France, UK and the United States, the three countries that have worked on the investigation.

Airbus, which is also a military supplier was slapped with five charges under the UK’s Bribery Act over allegations that it failed to prevent firms from being offered financial incentives to buy planes and other equipment.

Curled from: www.theghanareport.com

New voters’ register wanted but not necessary – PPP

January 8, 2020 by with 0 comment

The Progressive People’s Party (PPP) has described as “wanted but not necessary” moves by the Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana to compile a new voters’ register for the conduct of the 2020 general elections.

According to the PPP, the compilation of a new voters’ register without the utilization of the National Identification System infrastructure is needless and a waste of precious and scarce resources of the Republic of Ghana.

A statement released by the PPP Wednesday and signed by its National Chairman, Nii Allotey Brew-Hammond, said a single national identification database to be shared by all state and private organizations is the best way to go, wondering why the ongoing national identification exercise by the National Identification Authority (NIA) could not be leveraged on by the EC for the conduct of the 2020 general polls.

According to the PPP, it beats their imagination to see state institutions like SSNIT, GRA, NHIS, EC, Birth & Death Registry, the Passport Office and all other state agencies go their separate ways in building a biometric database for their own use.

“Our reasons for not supporting this project are not political.  It is situated in economics and development.  Our position on the multiplicity of national identification systems should be well-known by all Ghanaians by now.  The PPP has been an advocate for a single national identification database to be shared by state and private organizations. SSNIT, GRA, NHIS, EC, Birth and Death Registry, the Passport Office and all other State agencies have gone their separate ways.  They spent taxpayer funds to build and maintain separate biometric systems.

The National Identification Authority has started and re-started their identification project to give one the impression that every political administration must put in their own system without regard to what had been done by the previous regimes.  The taxpayer suffers and the economy takes a backward step every time that happens”, the statement in part read.

The party said it does not also understand why the EC will be in the rush to spend GH₵440million to compile a new voters’ register twelve months to go for the general polls when the money could be used to pay for projects that have been executed on behalf of the government by some contractors.

“Teachers are crying for arrears to be paid.  Contractors are desperately waiting for certified projects to be paid.  As a result, completed projects are not being certified.  Some indigenous financial institutions have lost their licenses because of the “no money syndrome” and the unwillingness to clear so-called “legacy debts”.  And yet, the NPP Administration can find GH₵440 million for a “wanted but not necessary” new voters’ register. We weep for our country Ghana! We must rise to the occasion and claim independence from our own elected colonialists to prove to the world that after all the Ghanaian is capable of rejecting wasteful regimes”, the statement in part further read.

It however, urged the EC to use the current biometric register for the conduct of the 2020 general elections, stressing that “If it becomes necessary for the EC to compile a new voters’ register in future, we strongly recommend that the register should be compiled from the National Identification System. That project has already started and it can be given the same presidential and parliamentary impetus to be completed within the same period that the EC would propose to use to compile a new voters’ register”.

On Saturday, December 21, 2019, Parliament by a majority voice vote approved a budget of GH₵440million for the electoral management body. The Minority Caucus (MPs from the National Democratic Congress) did not participate in the discussions and approval of the EC budget.

Some few hours after the approval of the EC budget, the National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, at a political rally in Tamale in the Northern Region said the umbrella family will resist it.

He said the introduction of the new register forms part of a grand scheme by the EC and the government to dissipate scarce national resources.

“We will use legitimate democratic means to stop the Electoral Commission and the Akufo-Addo-Bawumia government from dissipating our scarce resources the manner they want to do,” he told his audience.

The EC insists its intentions are without malice.

The Deputy Chairperson of the EC, Mr. Samuel Tettey, at a press briefing reiterated the need for a new register saying “The current register is credible but it has been stretched to a point where you don’t want to take that same risk. We want to have something that is more credible.”

He added “If you remember, during the exhibition some of you heard that some people were not captured because of the equipment we are using…”.

 

Aspiring Subin NDC Parliamentary candidate found dead in his room

January 8, 2020 by with 0 comment

The death is reported of an aspiring National Democratic Congress (NDC) Parliamentary candidate for Subin Constituency in the Ashanti Region, Linford Owuo.

Owuo popularly known as Siddi, was found dead in his room Wednesday morning.

Sources say for three days his neighbours had no knowledge of his whereabouts.

A resident who had gone to inquire about his whereabouts from his next door neighbours triggering an action for them to break into his room.

To their surprise, Siddi, was found dead. What led to his sudden demise is immediately not known.

The Police have since taken the remains to the mortuary whilst investigations are ongoing.

Ghana committed to ending plastic waste menace – Akufo-Addo

October 1, 2019 by with 0 comment

The President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has launched the Ghana National Plastics Action Partnership, which seeks to stop the growth of global plastic pollution, and also ensure, amongst others, that plastics do not find their way into the country’s marine bodies.

Speaking at the launch of the initiative on Tuesday, 1st October, 2019, at the Labadi Beach Hotel, President Akufo-Addo noted that the menace of plastic pollution has become one of the most pressing challenges facing mankind today. 

With the menace affecting the day-to-day activities of the human race, the President indicated that confronting this challenge demands the active partnership and co-operation of all nations.

“When I took office in 2017, I requested the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, headed by its Minister, the globally acclaimed Ghanaian scientist, Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, to develop an effective strategy to meet the challenges associated with the management of plastic waste in Ghana,” he said.

The President continued, “The result is the National Plastics Management Policy of Ghana, whose blue-print has attracted the attention of the global community, and has led us to this exciting partnership with the World Economic Forum.”

Ghana’s Plastic Management Policy, he explained, is not focussed only on how to address plastic waste, but takes also a holistic view of the entire value chain of plastics, and seeks to achieve several objectives.

Amongst them are to develop a working circular economy framework for plastics in Ghana; to reduce Ghana’s reliance on the use of plastics and promote their replacement with green alternatives; to nurture the development of new business models for job creation throughout the value chain; to develop systems and infrastructure across the country that will ensure that we are not littering our plastic waste, but using them as resources for value-addition; and to ensure that Ghana has a long-term and sustainable means of funding plastic waste management.

Through Ghana’s partnership with the Global Plastic Action Partnership (GPAP), President Akufo-Addo was confident that progress will be fast-tracked in Ghana “towards that collective goal, which is to achieve zero leakage of plastic waste into our oceans and waterways.”

The President, thus, pledged the full commitment of the Government of Ghana towards the successful implementation of the programme, that will be outlined under National Plastics Action Partnership (NPAP).

“Whilst the eventual outcome of NPAP will be owned by the people of Ghana, it is my expectation that its example will contribute to the resolution of this problem on the African continent, and be a shining example of the global achievements of GPAP,” he added.

President Akufo-Addo, in his address, also applauded the initiatives being taken by private sector operators to build plastic waste recycling plants, to create bio-fuels that are being used as alternatives to fossil fuels that pollute the environment, and produce building blocks that are used to construct roads and pavements.

He also acknowledged the efforts being made by civil society and the media to raise awareness of efficient waste management, and existing opportunities for waste recovery in our country.

“Government is ready to partner with all stakeholders, especially private sector and academia, to drive investment and research into this area. I believe that there is the need for significant behavioural change, and I am happy with the prominence that has been given to it in the implementation plan of the draft National Plastics Management Policy,” he added.

President Akufo-Addo thanked the Ghana Office of the United Nations Development Programme is to be saluted for facilitating the establishment of the “Waste Recovery Platform” for Ghana, and also the Governments of the United Kingdom and of Canada for their commitment and financial support for the GPAP initiative.

He reiterated that “Ghana, after this process, will make best efforts to be a model for other countries in the region and on the continent on issues related to plastic management.” 

Abomosu residents demonstrate in Akufo-Addo’s backyard over poor roads

October 1, 2019 by with 0 comment

Some Opinion Leaders and residents of Abomosu in the Atiwa West District of the Eastern Region are have embarked on a demonstration against the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) over the deplorable nature of their road network and other failed political promises.

The demonstration was staged in the early hours of Tuesday, October 1, 2019, was targeted at their Member of Parliament (MP) who is also the Minister of Roads and Highways, Hon. Kwesi Amoako Atta and to a larger extent, the President of the land, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo who hails from the region.

Though, turn out for the demonstration was low due to inadequate awareness, the few residents including traditional rulers, unemployed graduates, commercial drivers and commuters who joined the exercise say the governing NPP has disappointed the community which is a very stronghold of the party.

They accused their MP for denting the image of the NPP as a result of his failure to lobby for developmental projects to the area.

Wearing red and black attire, the demonstrators displayed placards some of which had inscription; Abomosu/Anyinam road is now a death trap and safe haven for armed robbers; The only project in Atiwa West is his house; We don’t need you anymore; Atiwa West the home of uncompleted projects in Ghana among others.

They demanded their MP fix the roads and also ensure the completion of all projects that were started by the previous government or forfeit their votes in the 2020 Parliamentary elections.

Nana Boadu Peprah, Regent of Abomosu who addressed the media said although they have been voting for UP/NPP , all current social amenities provided in the community were done by CPP and the NDC while the NPP enjoys their vote

According to them, NDC under Jerry John Rawlings constructed and tarred the road to the community and also ensured that the are connected to the National grid.

He said residents will stop voting for the NPP if their current developmental challenges are not fixed by President Akufo Addo who was born in the community .

Some of the demonstrators accused the MP for sabotaging a Senior High School which was being established in the community by World Joy, an NGO forcing the NGO to abandon the project.

Again, they accused the MP for failing to help the community to put a police station and also help upgrade the Abomosu Clinic.

Some unemployed graduates who claimed to have served as polling agents for the NPP said the MP has failed to honour promise of securing them jobs.

 

 

 

C/R: NPP fires Vice-Chair over fraud claims

July 16, 2019 by with 0 comment

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has indefinitely relieved the embattled Central Regional First Vice-Chairman of the party, Horace Ekow Ewusi, from his position.

This follows his deliberate moves at ignoring directives from the party hierarchy in the region to respond to allegations of fraud by false pretense, jail break and auctioning and pocketing proceeds of excavators seized from illegal miners in a petition filed against him by one Edward Kraku Adum, also a party member.

Mr. Ekow Ewusi has in the past week been at the center of controversy following a petition filed against him by Kraku Adum.

Adum, who served a jail term at the HMP Ford Prison in the United Kingdom for drug trafficking demanded for the head of Ekow Ewusi because he is not fit and proper to occupy First Vice-Chair position of the elephant family in the Central Region.

In his petition addressed to the National Security Minister, Albert Kan-Dapaah, and copied President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the UK High Commissioner to Ghana, National Chairman of the NPP, Freddy Blay, and the Central Regional Chairman of the party, Robert Kutin, Adum called for the immediate removal of Mr. Ewusi from office.

He demanded that Mr. Ekow Ewusi, who is a member of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on illegal mining be probed, prosecuted and jailed if found culpable since he is not fit for the positions he is occupying both in the party and in government.

<strong>False pretense</strong>

Adum contends that Mr. Ewusi has allegedly defrauded him of an amount US$10,000 by false pretense.

Further to that, Mr. Ekow Ewusi has misrepresented himself as the official auctioneer for the Inter-Ministerial Committee on illegal mining where he has in his personal capacity, allegedly auctioned most of the excavators which were seized by the Committee but has since not rendered any accounts.

That notwithstanding, Mr. Ekow Ewusi, whom he described as a brother and a friend, is an alleged jail breaker from the HMP Ford Prison in the United Kingdom where he was serving a jail sentence after having been convicted of stealing a car from a car hiring company and illegally shipped to Ghana.

“I submit that, Mr. Horace Ekow Ewusi, in early 2005 was arrested, prosecuted and jailed in the United Kingdom for stealing a car which he had hired from a car hiring company. Mr. Horace Ekow Ewusi subsequently illegally shipped the car which did not belong to him to Ghana without the consent of the owners of the car”, he noted in part of his petition dated May 10, 2019.

<strong>Change of Name</strong>

He further narrated that the Central Region First Vice-Chairman of the NPP during the period he was serving the jail sentence was known as Horace Brown but surprisingly changed his name to Horace Ekow Ewusi after allegedly breaking jail and sneaked to Ghana to outwit the intelligence of the UK and Ghanaian security agencies.

Some sympathisers of the NPP who were troubled by the revelation called on the party heirarchy to demand that Ekow Ewusi be made to step aside until all the issues around him are resolved.

The Central Regional Chairman, Robert Kingsford Kutin, having received a copy of the petition, informed the other executives where a decision was taken to officially write to Ekow Ewusi to respond to the allegations levelled against him.

Following the meeting, the Regional Chairman, Mr. Kutin., directed the regional secretary of the party, Richard Takyi-Mensah, to write to Ekow Ewusi for his side of the story, a directive which was duly honoured.

“Please I am directed by the Regional Chairman, Mr. Robert Kutin Jnr, to bring to your attention a copy of a petition that he has received. The said petition is against you and the petitioner is one Mr. Edward Okraku Adum. The petition was addressed to the Minister of National Security, but the Regional Chairman, the President, the National Chairman, the United Kingdom’s High Commissioner to Ghana, the CID of the Ghana Police Service, the National Security Coordinator, the BNI and the Chairman of the Council of State were copied. Surprisingly, you, the one the petition was against, were not copied. The Regional Chairman will be very happy if you can respond to this letter within a week upon receipt of this letter”, a letter written by regional secretary, Richard Takyi-Mensah, dated June 5, 2019 and addressed to Ekow Ewusi in part read.

However, Ekow Ewusi never responded to the letter. The matter was then brought to the fore of the Regional Steering Committee at a meeting held on July 5, 2019 where Ekow Ewusi was questioned as to why he was reluctant to respond to the petition filed by Adum.

The said meeting agreed that Ekow Ewusi responds to the letter within a week which he willingly pledged to do so.

However, the deadline has elapsed and Ekow Ewusi has still not honoured his pledge to respond to the issues raised by Adum in his petition to the party hierarchy.

The regional executives who are not enthused by seemingly blatant disregard of authority have in a letter signed by Chairman Kutin, and sighted by this portal, suspended Ekow Ewusi indefinitely and referred him to the Regional Disciplinary Committee of the party to further probe the matter.

“This is a gross disrespect to the Regional Party which should not be entertained in anyway. It is on this basis of Mr. Ewusi’s continuous refusal to reply to the letter and total disregard for party directives that I have taken the decision to suspend you. You are therefore suspended indefinitely and referred you to the Regional Disciplinary Committee of the party to do further investigation on the petition”, the suspension letter signed by Chairman Kutin and copied the President, the National Chairman of the party, General Secretary of the party and the Regional Minister in part read.

Meanwhile, Ekow Ewusi has refuted his suspension from the party, claiming that per the NPP’s constitution “only national can suspend the elected regional officer through the recommendations from national disciplinary committee”.

In a post on one of the social media platforms he represents, Ekow Ewusi said he has become a target by certain individuals in the region who see him as a threat to their political career and for that matter “they want to prevent him from contesting next regional election and the way to do that is to blackmail him and use it as bases for his removal from the party for him not to be able to contest any elections”.

He added “but it will not work that is why national party is treating this ghost petition the contempt that it deserves because they don’t see anything important in that petition”.

Source: kasapafmonline.com

Heads of public institutions making my work difficult – Special Prosecutor cries out

July 16, 2019 by with 0 comment

The Special Prosecutor, Martin A. B. K. Amidu, says his office is seriously being undermined by heads of public institutions making it very difficult to investigate and prosecute corruption and corruption related matter.

These institutions, he said, are simply not complying with his office by making documents available for them study on cases they are investigating.

Such conducts by these heads of public institutions are thwarting efforts by the Office of the Special Prosecutor to live up to its mandate.

In an emotional piece of article detailing challenges confronting his office in the execution of its mandate, Mr. Amidu said “Heads of institutions wantonly disregard statutory requests made by the Office for information and production of documents to assist in the investigation of corruption and corruption-related offences, in spite of the fact that the President has on a number of occasions admonished them on such misconduct. There have also been cases where some heads of institutions have made it their habit to interfere with and undermine the independence of this Office by deliberately running concurrent investigations falling within the jurisdiction of this Office with on-going investigations in this Office for the sole purpose of aborting investigations into corruption and corruption-related offences”.

 

Below is the full piece of article:

CHALLENGES OF THE OFFICE OF THE SPECIAL PROSECUTOR IN FIGHTING CORRUPTION IN GHANA: BY MARTIN A. B. K. AMIDU, THE S. P.

The biggest challenge facing the Office of the Special Prosecutor as an anti-corruption investigatory and prosecutorial body in spite of all the powers conferred upon it is not the President who promised the people of Ghana to establish the Office but the heads of institutions who simply refuse to comply with laws designed to ensure good governance and to protect the national purse by fighting corruption.

Heads of institutions wantonly disregard statutory requests made by the Office for information and production of documents to assist in the investigation of corruption and corruption-related offences, in spite of the fact that the President has on a number of occasions admonished them on such misconduct. There have also been cases where some heads of institutions have made it their habit to interfere with and undermine the independence of this Office by deliberately running concurrent investigations falling within the jurisdiction of this Office with on-going investigations in this Office for the sole purpose of aborting investigations into corruption and corruption-related offences.
Some of the foregoing malfeasance has seriously affected the ability of this Office to deliver on its mandate, particularly when it must depend on some of these very institutions for seconded staff until it employs its own. The questions of anti-corruption work values and culture, and condoning indiscipline by some seconded staff by their parent institutions have surfaced and become public in some instances.

What is worrying to this Office as an anti-corruption investigation and prosecutorial agency is the refusal of heads of institutions to take steps to enforce basic rules of discipline governing their institutions even when they know that their officers are under investigation, have been cautioned, bailed, and eventually even charged with corruption and corruption-related offences.
The Civil Service, the Local Government Service, the Police Service, and other public services have specific laws and regulations governing what should happen to public officers who are under suspicion for disciplinary offences (including crime), and prosecution for crime generally which heads of institution ought to apply, without prompting, to fight corruption in their respective institutions. The Public Service Commission has also issued binding circulars and guidelines on ordering the interdiction and/or indefinite leave of public officers suspected of serious misconduct and the commission of criminal offences.
Unfortunately, the experience of the Office of the Special Prosecutor is that when it comes to fighting corruptions and corruption-related offences, heads of institutions think that the rules on interdiction and/or indefinite leave of public officers do not apply to corruption and corruption-related offences.

Public officers have been charged, arraigned before the High Court and their pleas taken only for them to return to their work places and work normally as though they have never been suspected of committing any corruption offences. In the first place an officer under investigation for misconduct or crime ought not to be in a position to interfere with the investigations. This explains the law and rules on interdictions even before a charge is actually preferred against a public officer.
The Office of the Special Prosecutor invites public officers to assist investigations through their heads of institutions and there can be no excuse after those officers have been publicly arraigned and their pleas publicly taken in a trial court for their heads of institutions to wait to be told what to do by way of disciplinary action pending the completion of the trial.
The Special Prosecutor has been accused of sleeping on the job when he has only three seconded investigators from the Ghana Police Service with no prosecutor employed directly by the Office for obvious bureaucratic and technical reasons.

The Office has nonetheless managed to investigate and arraign a number of public officers before the High Court for prosecution, but their heads of institutions have failed or refused to apply the law on interdiction and/ or indefinite leave to deter others from following the same corruption path.

The Public Service Commission has an Appendix II in one of its circulars and guidelines on Public Officers on interdiction and/or indefinite leave. It is stated in (c) that: “During the permissible period of interdiction/indefinite leave, officers affected shall receive 50% of their monthly pay….” and in (g) it is stated that: “Responsibility for ensuring compliance with steps in (a) to (e) above rests squarely on the shoulders of institutional heads. If the institutional head defaults in this regard, their competent disciplinary authorities should impose on them sanctions not exceeding the value of the total loss to government or the employing organization, in terms of pay”.

What does the Government and the public expect the Office of the Special Prosecutor to do when heads of institutions refuse or fail to support the fight against corruption and corruption-related offences by not vigorously applying the regulations intended to aid the fight against corruption and other crimes? Corruption and corruption-related offences are offences committed primarily by public officers and one does not ordinarily expect heads of public institutions to protect public officers suspected of committing those offences even when they have been charged and put before the Court.

The two cases the Office of the Special Prosecutor has before the High Court for trial has surfaced the fact that heads of institutions do not take the fight against corruption seriously. This demonstrates that this Government’s fight against corruption has a long journey to go unless some drastic action is taken against defaulting heads of institutions as suggested by the Public Services Commission.

The perception that corruption and corruption-related offences are a systemic and pervasive low risk and high opportunity enterprise in Ghana was demonstrate beyond any reasonable doubt when the Office of the Special Prosecutor dared to charge and arraign before the High Court a member of the political elite (a Member of Parliament in this case) and some public officers for abuse of public office for private benefit and breaches of the procurement laws of Ghana.
A bi-partisan Legislature and the Executive machinery immediately invited the Special Prosecutor to commit to usurping the discretion of the Court by agreeing with Counsel for the accused on particular days for the trial of the case.

The Legislature, whose members also form a majority of the Ministers in the Executive, went a further step in a bi-partisan manner to attempt to direct the Court in writing in the exercise of the court’s discretion to manage its own proceedings in the name of parliamentary immunity.

A country whose Parliament and Executive coordinate in Parliament in a bi-partisan manner to delay trials and justice within a reasonable time when it comes to prosecuting any of its members for corruption cannot seriously convince the outside world that it is not only paying lip service to fighting the canker.

The Office of the Special Prosecutor Act empowers the Office to enforce the production of information and documents in the Courts against any public institution that fails or refuses to honour the lawful request of the Office. This Office can also go to the High Court to compel heads of institutions to obey the laws that support the fight against corruption. The consequence will be that in accordance with the civil procedure rules this Office will have to sue the Attorney General as the representative of the State.

Those who know the history and character of the Special Prosecutor know that he is ready, able and willing to go this route should that be the only option left for the Office to effectively execute the anti-corruption mandate entrusted to him by the people of Ghana who supported his appointment. But let everyone remember when that day arrives there would be no bi-partisan praise for the Government – it will become a partisan political power play. Those who think this is talking too much or complaining too much should remember that a stitch in time saves nine.

The Office of the Special Prosecutor cannot fight corruption unless the public and civil society give it their fullest support and put pressure on the political elite to obey the laws that enable the Office to achieve its mandate. The President, the Minister of Finance, the Chief of Staff, the Auditor General, the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice, and the Financial Intelligence Center have been very supportive of the Office thus far. But the response by other heads of institutions to the instructions from the Executive Branch appears to have been treated with impunity as far as the records show. Corruption cannot be fought on the so-called reputation of a few people. Every citizen needs to get involved now before the canker consumes the whole body politic.

DATED AT OSP, YENTRABI ROAD, LABONE, ACCRA THIS 15TH DAY OF JULY 2019

Suspend Ekow Ewusi or face our wrath – Aggrieved NPP supporters

July 12, 2019 by with 0 comment

Some aggrieved sympathizers of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) have sent a note to the Central Regional Chairman of the party, Mr. Robert Kutin, demanding an immediate action over the matter of an alleged criminal conduct against his First Vice-Chairman, Mr. Horace Ekow Ewusi.

Failure to act on the matter, according to the aggrieved followers of the Danquah-Busia-Dombo tradition, will leave them with no option than to embark on series of demonstrations against all the regional and national executives of the party.

In the view of the aggrieved supporters, it is very important for the leadership of the NPP in the Central Region and by extension, the national executives, to show leadership in this crisis moment by ordering Mr. Ekow Ewusi to step aside and fight to clear himself from all the allegations of criminality levelled against him by one Edward Okraku Adum, an ex-convict who is also a member of the elephant family.

“This is a simple straight forward decision. An allegation of defrauding by false pretense and jail break have been leveled against no other person than our First Vice-Chairman in the region, Horace Ekow Ewusi. This is a very serious matter and I expect our regional Chairman, the one and only Chairman Kutin, together with the other executives to immediately act on the matter. They should suspend Ekow Ewusi to give him enough space to clear himself. If Chairman Kutin and his men fail to act, they will see the other side of us”, Kofi Andoh, a resident at Hemang who is a sympathizer of the party told this portal in an interview.

Helena Awotwe, also a sympathizer of the NPP and a resident of Jukwa in the Central Region told this website that “The allegations levelled against Ekow Ewusi is denting the image of the party and I expect Chairman Kutin and his executives to suspend him until he clears himself of any wrongdoing. Chairman Kutin, this is the time to show leadership and we are with you else we will launch series of protest against you”.

Edward Okraku Adum, who served a jail term at the HMP Prison in the United Kingdom for drug trafficking is demanding the head of Ekow Ewusi.

He has in a petition addressed to the National Security Minister, Albert Kan-Dapaah, and copied President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the UK High Commissioner to Ghana, National Chairman of the NPP, Freddy Blay, and Chairman Kutin, called for the  immediate removal of Mr. Ewusi from office.

He wants the vociferous Central Region First Vice-Chairman of the NPP and a member of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on illegal mining to be probed, prosecuted and jailed if found culpable since he is not fit for the positions he is occupying both in the party and in government.

Adum contends that Mr. Ewusi has allegedly defrauded him of an amount US$10,000 by false pretense.

Further to that, Mr. Ekow Ewusi has misrepresented himself as the official auctioneer for the Inter-Ministerial Committee on illegal mining where he has in his personal capacity, allegedly auctioned most of the excavators which were seized by the Committee but has since not rendered any accounts.

That notwithstanding, Mr. Ekow Ewusi, whom he described as a brother and a friend, is an alleged jail breaker from the HMP Ford Prison in the United Kingdom where he was serving a jail sentence after having been convicted of stealing a car from a car hiring company and illegally shipped to Ghana.

“I submit that, Mr. Horace Ekow Ewusi, in early 2005 was arrested, prosecuted and jailed in the United Kingdom for stealing a car which he had hired from a car hiring company. Mr. Horace Ekow Ewusi subsequently illegally shipped the car which did not belong to him to Ghana without the consent of the owners of the car”, he noted in part of his petition dated May 10, 2019.

Change of Name

He further narrated that the Central Region First Vice-Chairman of the NPP during the period he was serving the jail sentence was known as Horace Brown but surprisingly changed his name to Horace Ekow Ewusi after allegedly breaking jail and sneaked to Ghana to outwit the intelligence of the UK and Ghanaian security agencies.

“Mr. Horace Ekow Ewusi was my colleague at the Ford Prison in the United Kingdom where I had also been convicted to serve a three year jail sentence for drug trafficking. Because he was a Ghanaian, I took him as a brother. We did everything together in the prison as brothers. It is important to know that, Mr. Horace Ekow Ewusi’s name was Mr. Horace Brown at the prison ward when I met him. The HMP Ford Prison is a low class prison for first time offenders and work force and those who want to better their lives. It was more like a rehabilitation center. That was where I met him and got to know him. He subsequently became my younger brother and a friend because we were all Ghanaians which I helped him to get the chance to go to the College which I was then attending. The name of the school is called Northbrook College in the south coast heading towards Brighton. It is situated 20 miles away from the Prison House”, he explained.

Ever since the issue came to the public domain, some sympathizers of the NPP who are worried about the harm done to the party want immediate measures to be put in place to save the image of the elephant family from further sinking, especially, as election 2020 approaches.

Albert Asare, a resident of Moree in the Abura-Asebu-Kwamankese constituency and a sympathizer of the NPP further told this portal that he can’t wait for Mr. Ekow Ewusi “to be dropped from the regional executives” in order to save the image of the party.

It therefore remains to be seen what action the leadership of the NPP in the Central Region will take against their own whom sources say is untouchable.

Source: kasapafmonline.com

C/R: Convicted drug trafficker calls for the head of NPP Vice-Chairman

July 11, 2019 by with 0 comment

An aggrieved member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Edward Okraku Adum, has sent a very chilling message to the President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, and the leadership of the elephant family, demanding the immediate removal of Mr. Horace Ekow Ewusi from office.

He also wants the vociferous Central Region First Vice-Chairman of the NPP and a member of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on illegal mining to be probed, prosecuted and jailed if found culpable since he is not fit for the positions he is occupying both in the party and in government.

In a petition addressed to the National Security Minister, Albert Kan Dapaah, and copied the President of the Republic, the UK High Commissioner to Ghana and the National Chairman of the NPP, Adum, who himself is a convicted drug trafficker, contends that Mr. Ewusi has allegedly defrauded him of an amount US$10,000 by false pretense.

Further to that, Mr. Ekow Ewusi has misrepresented himself as the official auctioneer for the Inter-Ministerial Committee on illegal mining where he has in his personal capacity, allegedly auctioned most of the excavators which were seized by the Committee but has since not rendered any accounts.

That notwithstanding, Mr. Ekow Ewusi, whom he described as a brother and a friend, is an alleged jail breaker from the HMP Ford Prison in the United Kingdom where he was serving a jail sentence after having been convicted of stealing a car from a car hiring company and illegally shipped to Ghana.

“I submit that, Mr. Horace Ekow Ewusi, in early 2005 was arrested, prosecuted and jailed in the United Kingdom for stealing a car which he had hired from a car hiring company. Mr. Horace Ekow Ewusi subsequently illegally shipped the car which did not belong to him to Ghana without the consent of the owners of the car”, he noted in part of his petition dated May 10, 2019.

Change of Name

He further narrated that the Central Region First Vice-Chairman of the NPP during the period he was serving the jail sentence was known as Horace Brown but surprisingly changed his name to Horace Ekow Ewusi after allegedly breaking jail and sneaked to Ghana to outwit the intelligence of the UK and Ghanaian security agencies.

“Mr. Horace Ekow Ewusi was my colleague at the Ford Prison in the United Kingdom where I had also been convicted to serve a three year jail sentence for drug trafficking. Because he was a Ghanaian, I took him as a brother. We did everything together in the prison as brothers. It is important to know that, Mr. Horace Ekow Ewusi’s name was Mr. Horace Brown at the prison ward when I met him. The HMP Ford Prison is a low class prison for first time offenders and work force and those who want to better their lives. It was more like a rehabilitation center. That was where I met him and got to know him. He subsequently became my younger brother and a friend because we were all Ghanaians which I helped him to get the chance to go to the College which I was then attending. The name of the school is called Northbrook College in the south coast heading towards Brighton. It is situated 20 miles away from the Prison House”, he explained.

The jail break

According to the aggrieved petitioner, he was in his room one day after failing to attend classes when Mr. Ekow Ewusi came to him and narrated how he had acquired a E200 new Mercedes Benz 4 Matic which he had driven back from school and parked at the train station closer to the HMP Prison and his plans of breaking jail even though he was left with three months to complete his jail sentence.

“Each day, he walks out of the gate to the station and drive the car back to London. He stopped using the regular trains as we had always used. One day, he came to tell me that he wants to break jail because the prison officers and prison administration would extend his stay in the prison and impose further sanctions if they find out that he was using a car which was actually against the prison rules. Three months to complete his jail term, he escaped through the mesh wire. There was no brick wall. The whole prison was actually fenced with mesh wires. Horace Brown as he then was broke jail and immediately sneaked into Ghana. He then changed his name from Horace Brown to Horace Ekow Ewusi to prevent any traces or whatsoever”, he recounted in part of his petition.

He said he was constantly interrogated over the whereabouts of Mr. Ekow Ewusi but repeatedly denied ever having knowledge of that.

Borrowed Money

Then few years after his release from the HMP Prison, he got into contact with the Central Region First Vice-Chairman of the NPP where he asked him to borrow him US$10,000 with the promise of giving him his E200 Mercedes Benz 4 Matic in return.

Ever since he gave the said amount of money to Mr. Ekow Ewusi, he never heard from him again until his recent visit to Ghana where he had consistently been hearing of the regional NPP First Vice-Chairman and a member of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on illegal mining in the media speak on national and party issues.

No background checks

To him, he finds it so surprising that no background checks was conducted on Mr. Ekow Ewusi, thereby, paving the way for him to contest for the regional position he is currently occupying and by virtue of that being appointed in government to serve on the Inter-Ministerial Committee on illegal mining.

“By this petition, I am charging the security agencies to capture the fingerprints of Mr. Horace Ekow Ewusi and compare it to the finger prints of Mr. Horace Brown and they will be amazed at what they will see. The security agencies can even invite the services of the United Kingdom High Commission here in Accra to come and capture his finger prints and sent to the HMP Prison for them to verify if it was Mr. Horace Brown who escaped from that prison in 2005 around summer time. I respectfully submit that, by virtue of the attitude exhibited by Mr. Horace Ekow Ewusi, he is not fit to serve as a government appointee. He is also not fit to be the First Vice-Chairman of a distinguished party like NPP”, aggrieved Adum so submitted in his petition.

An assessment done on the nomination form for the selection of Regional Executives which was secured by Mr. Horace Ekow Ewusi in April, 2018, for completion for the primaries, has revealed that he answered NO in point 14 on the form which requested “HAVE YOU EVER BEEN CONVICTED OF ANY OFFENCE?”

This revelation has left many familiar with the issue wondering why the National Chairman of the party, Freddy Blay, and the Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Prof. Frimpong Boateng, who has oversight responsibility on the Inter-Minister Committee on illegal minining, has kept mute and or failed to initiate any action to address it since the details and sources as provided by the petitioner could easily be reached for verification.

Delusional Man

When Mr. Ekow Ewusi was contacted to ascertain the veracity or otherwise of the story, he charged the reporter to do his own background checks on him.

He described the petitioner as “a delusional man” who is being supported by “confused individuals”.

“These are very desperate individuals behind this so let them do what they intend to. I don’t mind if it’s in the newspaper nor radio”, he noted in his response when contacted.

Source: kasapafmonline.com

Ernesto Yeboah, 2 others arrested over #Dropthatchamber demo

July 5, 2019 by with 0 comment

A social commentator, Ernesto Yeboah, and two others are currently in the grips of the Police over unlawful protest in the public gallery of the Parliament of Ghana.

The trio, who are all members of the Economic Fighters League, Ghana, had stormed the public gallery of the chamber of the Parliament of Ghana, Friday, to demonstrate against the proposed new chamber block for the lawmakers which has now become the subject of controversy in the country.

It is against the Standing Orders of Parliament to picket or demonstrate in the public gallery of the chamber of Parliament.

It all started when Members began debating the Business Statement which was presented to them by the Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu.

The Majority Leader had earlier in a press briefing apologised to Members and indicated that he will be briefing them on the proposed new chamber soon but such an expression did not find way in his Business Statement which was presented.

This, however, provoked the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament (MP) for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, to enquire from the Majority Leader when he will be briefing Members about the proposed new chamber.

“Please Majority Leader, inform us when Members can be briefed on when this chamber can be dropped”, he noted.

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) MP for Suhum, Frederick Opare Ansah, contributing to the statement, demanded that the Business Statement be amended to have a date where a joint Caucus Meeting would be held to discuss the proposed new chamber block as well as other pressing issues before the House goes on recess.

His comment was supported by the NPP Member for Adansi a
Asokwa, K. T. Hammond.

In the view of K. T. Hammond, it was important for Members to know whether it was a government policy to build a new chamber block for Members or not.

He said Parliament is an important symbol of democracy, stressing that “you won’t have a democracy without a Parliament”.

He then sarcastically stated that ” Parliament won’t sit under trees so this chamber should be brought on the floor for discussions”.

As Mr. Hammond was about ending his statement, Ernesto Yeboah, who had positioned himself in the public gallery with two of his colleagues, to observe proceedings on the floor, then retorted, “Drop that chamber”.

He was immediately identified and whisked out of the public gallery together with his two colleagues by the security men and women in plain cloth.

They were later sent to the Parliament Police Station where they were transfered to the Ministries Police Station for further interrogation.

Court okays trial of Ofosu Ampofo

June 7, 2019 by with 0 comment

A Commercial High Court presided over by Justice Samuel Asiedu, Friday, dismissed an application filed by lawyer of the embattled National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Elder Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, seeking to dismiss some charges preferred against him by the State.

Elder Ampofo and Kwaku Boahen, Deputy National Communications Officer of the NDC, have been charged with conspiracy to commit crime to wit kidnapping. Additionally, Mr. Ofosu Ampofo has been charged with conspiracy to commit a crime to wit threat of harm.

It was the contention of Mr. Ofosu Ampofo’s lawyers that the second charge preferred against their client was frivolous and should therefore be dropped from charge sheet.

However, Justice Samuel Asiedu, ruled that the defence put up by Ofosu Ampofo’s lawyers were not fatal and that the charges were recognisable under the law.

He therefore ordered the commencement of the trial on July 8, 2019.

The Attorney-General on the other hand had argued that following the Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election debacle on January 31, 2019, Ofosu Ampofo met with some NDC party communicators on February 3, 2019.

The A-G explained that at the said meeting, Ofosu Ampofo and Boahen set out a road map of criminal activities, including violence against the EC Chairperson, Mrs Jean Mensa and the Chairman of the National Peace Council, Rev. Prof. Emmanuel Asante.

According to the State lawyers, an audio recording of the said meeting was leaked leading to investigations by the Criminal Investigation Department of the Ghana Police Service into the comments on the tape.

The prosecution added that on February 20, 2019, Boahen granted a radio interview in which he confirmed his participation in the said meeting and also revealed that the leaked audio recording was a true reflection of what transpired at the February 3, 2019 meeting.

BoG fines Barclays Bank GH₵4.5m for wrong doing

June 3, 2019 by with 0 comment

The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has fined the Barclays Bank of Ghana an amount of GH₵4,579,256.32 for making frivolous quotes on Ghana’s Interbank Foreign Exchange Market.

The action of Barclays Bank, according to the Central Bank, is in breach of the Ghana Interbank Forex Market Conduct Rules.

A statement dated Monday, June 3, 2019, and released by the BoG in Accra said it is committed to ensuring sanity, transparency and promoting best practices that serve to develop and deepen the Forex Market in Ghana.

“In pursuit of the above goals, the Bank of Ghana will not hesitate to sanction any market participant whose actions contravene Ghana’s Interbank Forex Market Conduct Rules”, the statement in part read.