GBEVLO LARTEY STRIKES AT KIA

…over 600 jobs set to be on line
Posted: The Chronicle Thursday, June 25, 2009

By Charles Takyi-Boadu
Tension is mounting at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) as private security companies currently operating at the airport face a possible termination of their contracts with their respective clients.
Credible sources at the airport have hinted The Chronicle of a directive issued by the National Security Coordinator, Lt. Col. Gbevlo Lartey (Rtd) to the various state institutions operating at the airport not to renew the existing contracts they have with the various private companies.
Not long after the directive was issued, Gbevlo Lartey was said to have issued another one asking the companies involved to terminate existing contracts with some of these private companies.
One of such companies being affected by this directive is Magnum Force Security Company Limited (MFS), a fully-Ghanaian owned private security company who has been holding the fort at the Arrival and Departure Halls amongst other sensitive areas at the airport for the past two and half years.
Though the company has managed to bring and maintain sanity to the international airport, Ghana’s first point of call which was once bedeviled with serious issues of theft, the National Security is said to be exerting excessive pressure on companies including Ghana Airport Company Limited (GACL), Ghana Civil Aviation Authorities (GCAA) and Aviance formally AFGO to terminate their contract without reason.
In all this, the National Security Coordinator who happens to be the main architect, has not offered any tangible reason why MFS’s and for that matter any of the private security companies should not remain at KIA.
Meanwhile, Gbevlo Lartey is said to be preparing the grounds to bring back the former private security company, Elite Security, a company he has a stake in, which used to be one of the many private security companies at KIA before Magnum Force bided and won the tender on merit from among nine other bidders in the year 2006 to take over security operations at the airport.
At the time MFS won the contract, there was a lot of talk and controversy from members of the then New Patriotic Party (NPP) government, surrounding the selection of the company because the Managing Director was known to have worked with the previous National Democratic Congress (NDC) government.
It is however not clear why the company is suffering this fate under the new administration.
If the directive is carried out to the letter, it is feared that well over 350 individual jobs are likely to be loss under Magnum Force alone, not to talk about the remaining companies who may be equally suffering a similar fate.
This is likely to have a telling effect on the already highly approaching economic crunch, with a bearing consequence on unemployment.
To a large extent, this will surely be a variance to President Mills’ much-avowed promise of job creation considering the fact that it stifles local business initiatives.
The situation has compelled some individuals and group of persons operating at the airport to raise questions about the prudence of any such decision since it appears to be like ‘robbing Peter to pay Paul’.
But Lt. Col. Gbevlo Lartey is not forthcoming with information on the issue.
When The Chronicle contacted him to ascertain the truth or otherwise of the said directive, he feigned knowledge of it.
Instead of answering the substantive question of whether or not he indeed issued such a directive, he sought to know the papers source of information.

Logical conclusions

TONY AIDOO, DAN BOTWE SLUG IT OUT
…Over Transition team’s ¢1bn tea-time spending

By Charles Takyi-Boadu
Two stalwarts of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) government and the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), yesterday set the tone for what appears to have ignited the passions of political observers into a wide debate.
The two, Dr Tony Aidoo who has been made head of the Evaluation and Oversight Wing Presidential Policy Unit at the seat of government, Osu Castle and the NPP Member of Parliament for Okere constituency, Dan Botwe yesterday justified their positions on why they think the expenditure of the transition team was either within normal spending or overboard on Joy FMs super morning show yesterday.
Whilst the loud-speaking Dr Aidoo believed the cost involved was reasonable, compared to what was spent by the then NPP government in 2001 when it was assuming the reigns of power, Mr. Botwe thought otherwise, considering the fact that the NDC government had promised Ghanaians to cut down on what President Mills himself has often described as ‘profligate expenditure’.
Tony Aidoo juxtaposed his position with the argument of the accommodation, fuel and transportation of members of the team, some of who had traveled from other parts of the country to do what he described as national service to buttress his point.
Ironically, Dr Aidoo said allowances on accommodation, fuel and transport was arranged in a manner that cut across board since according to him, there was no means of determining who was renting and spending in other areas.
That notwithstanding, he said consideration was given to those who were coming from outside Accra in the area of accommodation, saying “but then those who were living in Accra had sacrificed their private means of earning to participate in this exercise, so whichever way you look at it, the across the board determination of the allowances, can be justified.”
“If you look at the number of people who were involved and you calculate that number or you multiply that number by the allowances that were given to these people, you will find that the amount of money paid to a person who performs national service for well over one month, and one month was a minimum because as at March other people were still working, then I think that was reasonable”, he emphasized.
He explained that the determination of the allowance was done on the basis or consultation with the Ministry of Finance and the Chief of Staff at the Presidency who decided to cut down on amount by 20%.
In all this, Dr Aidoo said what surprised him the most was what he described as Dan Botwe’s exhibition of “a serious deficiency in the intellectual articulation of the issues and honoured presentation of the facts.”
He described as quite illogical Mr. Botwe’s assumption that many of those who were paid these allowances for their participation in the process were appointed by the President, as though they were in the mind of the President or they had been assured of appointments by the President.
Now that most of these appointees have not received salaries, he wondered whether Mr. Botwe would recommend to Parliament for a special fund to be set up to pay these government appointees.
He sees no reason why Dan Botwe and members of his party, the NPP, will be making a mounting out of a mole-hill when an estimated ¢1.3billion, which constitutes a third of the cost of the transition on refreshment, stressing “virtually everybody who participated in the transition process were fed, including even the NPP personnel whenever they came to the conference centre.”
He also identified Journalists, security personnel and those he described as ‘the gate-crushers’ among those who were fed.
Dr Aidoo thus noted that the question of cost is not a function for the determination of the leadership of the transition team but the function of those who provided bill for the catering services.
For this reason, he emphasized “whether thy inflated the prices or not, they inflated the quantity or not is a matter that probably needs to be investigated.”
But Mr. Botwe ridiculed Tony Aidoo’s argument indicating that some teachers and civil servants who have not received their salaries for close to a year.
His wondered why a government that claims the country is broke would make such lavish spending on refreshment, wondering how for example, people like the NDC Chairman for Nadowli we be found among those noted to have benefited these allowances when indeed he was not a member of the transition team.
He thus emphasized that the allowances and the cost involved in the work of the transition team was too much.

The overbearing confidence

NANA ADDO SNUBS ELDERS’ COUNSEL
…and display perceived weakness - arrogance

By Charles Takyi-Boadu
There appear to be little or virtually no headway in bringing the two major factions, the Nana Addo and Allan camps that exist in the New Patriotic Party (NPP) together.
Credible sources within the high ranks of the NPP have been speaking with The Chronicle about how the party’s Presidential Candidate in the 2008 general elections, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has and continues to refuse to pay heed to advices for him to try and make amends with Allan Kyeremateng and his boys.
Information has it that though the two individuals exchange pleasantries in public as though everything is fine, a cold war exist between them.
Party sources attribute this to what they describe as ‘the overbearing confidence’ of Nana Addo.
“You see we wanted him to take the initiative to talk Allan down as a young brother so we could all go and add our voices to it but he has continuously refused to pay heed to these advice, thereby making it extremely difficult to broker a deal for him to go as a compromised Candidate in 2012 since Allan and his boys could pose a serious threat to his Presidential bid”, the source said.
Our sources have it that just after the 2008 elections; some key but influential members of the party advised Nana Addo to not only call but also thank Allan for his immense support during the electioneering campaign, taking into consideration that fact that he (Allan) buried his difference and accompanied him to almost every part of the country to canvass for votes.
This advice came in the wake of the party’s bid to present a formidable front to the 2012 elections in order to avoid a fully-fledged Presidential primary, with party elders and leadership trying to broker a deal to get a compromised Candidate to stand in the next elections.
However, this is said not to have yielded any fruits since according to sources, Nana Addo have relegated the counsel to the background as he was nursing an ambition to re-run for the position in the next NPP Presidential primaries.
On virtually all occasions that Nana Addo was said to have been advised to try and make amends with Allan who by all standards wield a large following and influence in the NPP, our sources say he has swept it under the carpet, boosting of being confident to floor Allan in any given elections and thus does not need his support to sail through, all in the name of pride.
This is said to have raised concerns among party guru’s, some of who have even sought to question Nana Addo’s sense of commitment to his claim of wanting to unify the party in the face of creeping and seeping divisions in the rank and file of the NPP.
As a result of this, the two are said to be engaged in a vicious media warfare, trying to make or unmake one another.
But former Spokesperson and close aide of Nana Addo, Dr Arthur Kobina Kennedy denies there is a rift between Nana Addo and Allan let alone for talks between them to break down.
According to him, the supposed rift is only perceived and not real in its original sense.
Interestingly, Nana Addo is yet to say thank you to the seventeen or so NPP Presidential Aspirants who rallied support behind him after party’s Presidential primaries which saw him emerging as its Presidential Candidate in the 2008 elections.
That notwithstanding Nana Addo seems to be making headway in his bid to make amends with former President Kufuor, having visited him at his residence for not less than three times within the month of May alone.
Not too long ago, Nana Addo was said to have visited the former President at his Airport with a team of prominent citizens as efforts to iron out their differences and presented Mr. Kufuor with a white goat to pacify him for whatever differences they might have had in the past.
Though the meeting was said to have been held and ended in a friendly atmosphere, Mr. Kufuor was said to have spoken his heart and mind out and after indicated his preparedness to make amends with Nana Addo since he was holding nothing against him.