Bagbin Fights Jake Over STX Deal

Posted: Daily Guide |Wednesday, 28 July 2010

The Minister for Water Resources, Works and Housing, Alban Kingsford Sumani Bagbin, yesterday took time off his obviously busy schedule to brief the media about the much-talked-about $10 billion STX Korean housing deal which has been a subject of heated controversy, taking the matter to the door-steps of the National Chairman of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey.

With television and radio stations carrying live feeds to the homes of millions of Ghanaians, Bagbin described Jake as a “property looting chairman”, to the amazement of media personnel gathered at the event.

The Mills-led National Democratic Congress (NDC) government has been working on the US$10 billion housing deal with STX Korea for the construction of 200,000 houses across the country in the next five years, putting the average cost of each house at $50,000.

The agreement, which was initially placed before Parliament, was quickly withdrawn by the government upon realising that the loopholes in it included the non-provision of a lender for the $10billion funding.

Though government claims the deal is the best answer to the over one million housing deficit in Ghana, the NPP and some stakeholders including civil society organizations, such as the Danquah Institute and the Imani Centre, have all raised issues with the terms of the agreement.

No costing was made for each of the housing unit, raising questions about its transparency.

But in his almost two-and-half hour presentation, Bagbin, Member of Parliament for Nadowli West, sought to justify why he thinks all Ghanaians including the NPP must stop bickering and buy into the housing deal.

The Minister used the meet-the-press to launch scathing attacks on Minority Members of Parliament (MPs) and NPP Chairman Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey for accusing him and other ministers- Attorney General and Finance and Economic Planning- of trying to kill the local real estate industry.

“Now let’s be clear here. I must state that these widely publicized claims are not only false but are motivated by mischief and I daresay naked jealousy,” he said, describing Jake as a “self-confessed property-looting chairman”.

The Minister said he could not understand why the NPP Chairman could liken the STX housing deal to “another M&J scandal in the making”.

Bagbin, who until his appointment as a Minister not too long ago, described Prof Mills as slow, was full of praise for the President this time around, with regard to the housing deal.

Bagbin said: “It is the aim of STX Korea to use Ghana as the launch pad to an integrated building and construction industry in the West African sub region.”

Sounding more like a Public Relations Officer of the company, the Housing Minister said, “Indeed, under this housing venture, STX Korea has proposed to build major cement, steel and power generating plants/factories here in Ghana to anchor the economy in its movement to the middle income status”.

Apart from supplying building materials to support its construction project in Ghana, “the operations of STX Korea in other African countries will be anchored largely on the cement and steel factory to be located here in Ghana,” he noted, stressing, “Indeed, the planned construction of the cement factory is expected to create over 40,000 jobs in Ghana alone.”

To his Minority MPs, Bagbin said: “I am fully aware we haven’t agreed much on every issue on this huge housing deal.

And I know there are certainly times in the future where we will part ways on how to best tackle the dire housing needs of our people”, describing the deal as the largest and single most ambitious project in the country.

The STX deal, according to critics, would lead to the eventual mortgaging of Ghana’s yet-to-be-explored oil.

On May 4, 2010, the Government of Ghana sought to push through several loan agreements under a certificate of urgency when Parliament was on recess.

One was a Suppliers Credit Financing Agreement between the Government of Ghana and STX Engineering and Construction Limited (a subsidiary of the STX Group, Korea) for an amount of $1,525,443,468.00 to construct 30,000 housing units for the Security Services - with 20,000 units for the Police Service (including 10,240 units), and the remaining 10,000 to be spread among the other security agencies, including the Military and the Prison Service.
Vice President John Dramani Mahama led a government delegation to South Korea to complete agreement formalities on the housing project and sign another MOU on an infrastructure establishment project with STX, targeting Ghana's oil.

Road Block For Kofi Boakye

Posted: Daily Guide |Tuesday, 27 July 2010

By Charles Takyi-Boadu
Credible reports available to DAILY GUIDE indicate that former Director of Operations of the Ghana Police Service, ACP Nathan Kofi Boakye has been cleared of any impropriety in connection with the missing MV Benjamin cocaine scandal.

Sources at the seat of government, Osu Castle, and the police headquarters, have confided in DAILY GUIDE that ACP Kofi Boakye can now sleep well, with the allegations of professional misconduct unable to stand on their feet.

The former Accra Regional Police commander, who is now head of the police educational unit, was referred to the Police Service enquiry under instructions from the Police Council, headed by Vice President John Mahama.

However, there seems to a deliberate attempt by some current and former senior police officers including a former Inspector General of Police (IGP) who works with the current NDC administration, to mount a road-block on his path after he had been exonerated by the enquiry board.

This is in spite of an earlier reinstatement and restoration of full benefits to Kofi Boakye by President John Agyekum Kufuor and a subsequent Appeal Court ruling which cleared him of any wrong-doing and criminal liability.

Spokesman for Vice President Mahama, John Jinapor last week told DAILY GUIDE that the matter involving Kofi Boakye will be part of several issues that will be considered by the Police Council at its next meeting, possibly this week.

This was when the paper sought to ascertain whether the report of the enquiry was before the Vice President and what was being done about it.

Mr Jinapor therefore gave the Vice President’s word that nothing untoward will be done by the Police Council on the report of the service enquiry.

Castle sources have told DAILY GUIDE the officers involved in this scheme have even succeeded in writing to the President and the Police Council to either retire or not assign Kofi Boakye to any mainstream police duties that will put in him in public light but instead confine him to auxiliary duties.

This seems to have created tension among the top brass of the Police Service and even in government circles, since most of these former IGPs, except one who is still influential in the current administration, are said to have criticized any such move to either retire or confine a thoroughbred police officer like Boakye, who is known for his crime-busting credentials, to the fringes.

One of such IGPs is reported to have retorted: “We will be glad to have the names of those petitioners and compare their records to that of the young man.”

Vice President Mahama is however said to be more than willing to stamp his authority and do the right thing in line with the rule of law, justice and fair play.

Kofi Boakye has declined to make any substantive comment about the issue.

When contacted yesterday, he had this to say: “Nothing has been communicated to me and I don’t want to make any comment about it.”

He is therefore awaiting a final determination of his fate by the Police Council.

ACP Kofi Boakye was interdicted in 2007, following the recommendations of a committee chaired by the current Chief Justice, Georgina Wood, which investigated the much-publicized MV Benjamin cocaine scandal.

The recommendations of the same committee led to the prosecution and subsequent conviction of Kwabena Amaning alias Tagor, and Issa Abass for their involvement in the case; but they were later freed after an Appeal Court heard their case.

Though the Georgina Wood committee made recommendations for Mr. Boakye to be prosecuted, the police administration, which was then headed by Patrick Kwarteng Acheampong, decided to interdict him in order to conduct further investigations.

A day before leaving office, former President Kufuor ordered the reinstatement of Kofi Boakye and ordered the police administration to pay him all his entitlements.

However, on assumption of office, the Mills administration asked the Police Chief to remain on leave, until a final determination by the Police Council. He was subsequently recalled and asked to face a service enquiry.

The Appeal Court, in its ruling by Justices Peasah, Addo and Appau in the infamous MV Benjamin cocaine scandal, wondered why the Police Chief has been made to suffer what they described as an ‘unjustifiable fate’ for such a long time since in their wisdom, he did not do anything wrong to warrant his suspension or interdiction from service.

According to the judges, the then Director in Charge of Operations of the Ghana Police Service was desperate in clearing his name that had been linked to the 76 missing parcels of cocaine.

“The appellants could not have conspired by stating that they agreed to reap the benefits of the cocaine,” the judges said, emphasizing that “he (Boakye) was right in adopting lawful and unlawful means to establish the source of the 76 parcels of cocaine.

“The said conversation could not be termed as a confession statement.”

Meanwhile, the former Deputy Director and Head of Operations at the Narcotics Control Board (NACOB), Ben Ndego, who was asked to proceed on an indefinite leave after the disappearance of the MV Benjamin cocaine, has been re-instated by the government with full salary and benefits.