Posted: Daily Guide |www.dailyguideghana.com
Wednesday, 29 September 2010
By Charles Takyi-Boadu
It seems there is some confusion in government or a deliberate attempt not to tell Ghanaians the truth about the renovation works carried out by the Mills administration on the private residence of the mother of former First Lady, Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings.
This became evident when a deputy Minister of Information, James Agyenim-Boateng appeared before the Commission on Human Rights and Administration Justice (CHRAJ) to answer questions about the issue which became a matter of public interest, when the Ridge residence of former President Rawlings was razed down by fire on Valentine’s Day, this year.
Mr. Agyenim-Boateng told CHRAJ yesterday that some works including painting were carried out on the private residence of the mother in-law of former President Rawlings at Nyaniba Estates, Osu, Accra.
But government, in a statement to the commission, said no state funds were used for the renovation, raising questions about the credibility of the deputy minister.
Agyenim-Boateng, in reaction to a statement that the former first couple was homeless after the February 14 fire, had said that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government had spent money to renovate the private residence of Mrs. Agyemang to enable Nana Konadu to stay with her.
This statement was greeted with a petition by a pressure group, Ghana Youth Movement (GYM), in which its spokesman, Kwabena Tandoh charged CHRAJ to investigate the use of state funds being used to renovate the said private residence.
The group said it was illegal and unacceptable for government to spend state funds on the private residence of the former First Lady or her mother.
CHRAJ Commissioner Emile Short sought to know the basis of Mr. Agyenim-Boateng’s claim during an interview he granted Joy FM, in which the latter stated that the government had indeed carried out some considerable amount of work on the said building.
CHRAJ had meanwhile received responses from the office of the President and the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing indicating that no state resources were used in the renovation works on the former First Lady’s mother’s private residence at the Nyaniba estates.
But Mr. Agyenim-Boateng contradicted this other official account, insisting that at least some renovation works were carried out on the said residence at government’s expense.
“I have said that at least painting was done. That I still want to stay on the records,” he told CHRAJ.
Herbert Mensah, a businessman and close pal of the former First family, had said that he paid for the renovation works on the said house after fire razed down their Ridge-based official residence but had not been reimbursed by government.
The deputy Minister of Information said he could not tell which office funded or carried out the painting on the residence of Mrs. Agyeman because “it’s a security issue.
“Even though I serve as deputy Minister of Information, I am clearly not privy to every single issue that borders on the security.
There are issues that sometimes depending on the situation that one may or may not know. I think that clearly in this case, it is a security issue and the security people would have handled that. I don’t want to believe that My Lord, it took the former First family to move on their own.”
He added “the security authorities would have done reconnaissance, what they call Recce to be sure that they were taking them to a place that was safe and reasonably guarantee their safety” and “maybe what we are yet to hear is what the security authorities themselves have said about this issue.”
At the time he made those comments about the renovation works on the building, Mr. Agyenim Boateng told the Commission he was away on a duty tour in the Brong Ahafo region and that he was completely out of touch with base (his office in Accra) and therefore told Ghanaians what he knew about the issue.
This, he said, was because the state was duty-bound to ensure the safety of the former First family.
When asked whether his comments were based on facts or assumptions and where he got the information from, the deputy Minister insisted they were facts, noting “as deputy Minister I’m privy to all sorts of information within the set up.”