http://www.dailyguideghana.com/?p=49105

NDC Stalls Woyome

says Martin Amidu

By Charles Takyi-Boadu

A former Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Martin Alamisi Amidu, yesterday released another statement in which he expressed fears that the ‘so-called legal team of the NDC’ is meddling in the prosecution of Alfred Agbesi Woyome in the fraudulent GH¢51.2million judgment debt to prevent justice for the state.
“What I fear is the so-called ‘NDC Legal Team’ some of whose members unethically make it their business to meddle in the professional affairs of the office of the Attorney-General while at the same time acting as lawyers for clients whose interests are opposed to those of the Republic,” Mr Amidu stated in the statement he personally signed and issued in Accra.
Mr Amidu was sacked as Attorney-General by President Mills after he put up a spirited attempt to retrieve the GH¢51.2million from the NDC financier through a court action.
Since then, there seemed to be delays by the AG’s office through several adjournments, with judges sitting on various aspects of the case expressing their frustrations about the frequent delays and handling of the case.
DAILY GUIDE has learnt the presidency is deliberately stalling the case, with a directive to officials linked to the scandal not to volunteer information to the police operatives investigating the case.
The Minister of Finance and other top government officials including the Chief of Staff at the Castle who would be needed to enable the security agents to make an appreciable headway in their investigations are unable to show up for further probing for unexplained reasons.
In a signed statement to support similar fears expressed by Nii Ayikoi Otoo, another former Attorney-General, Mr Amidu once again called on all committed Ghanaians to show interest in efforts to get to the bottom of the matter, stressing the belief that any further adjournment beyond June 4, 2012 would create the impression that government wanted to avoid concluding the trial before the 2012 general elections.

Martin Amidu

“I have read the worries expressed by Hon Ayikoi Otoo about the seeming delay in the prosecution of Alfred Agbesi Woyome and others for suspected fraud and other offences arising out of the ill-fated Government of Ghana and Waterville contracts. I entirely share his desire for expeditious justice through an early prosecution of the case,” he noted.
Mr Amidu, whose interest in the prosecution of the infamous Woyome scandal has earned him the nickname ‘vigilante,’ insisted on the police investigating the case thoroughly. However, he was ruled out by the president, who then directed the EOCO to investigate the case that gripped the nation last December when it came out.
“I had insisted on Prosper Kwame Agblor, the Director-General/CID, and his very able professional staff being allowed to investigate this matter for possible criminal prosecutions. The President told me to allow the Economic and Organized Crime Office to investigate the case and submit a report first. The Government’s inexperienced faction supporting Mr. Woyome did not want any type of police criminal investigations and surprisingly had their way,” Mr Amidu stated.
He considered the intense pressure from the public agitation against any cover up of the scandal in the circumstances of his exit from office and the subsequent decision to allow the Inspector-General of Police and his Director-General/CID to arrest and investigate Alfred Agbesi Woyome and the state prosecutor, Samuel Nerquaye-Tetteh, as a clear victory for Ghana.
“I have every confidence that if the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions is given a free hand to direct the police investigations, the resulting police docket will be solid for prosecution,” he emphasised.
The former A-G, who was dismissed on the matter of the payment to Woyome, said, “The Director-General/CID had to build a docket from the scratch. The case, to the best of my knowledge, is complex and could lead to others being charged for prosecution as well.”
“The police cannot just rely on the report and materials supplied by EOCO without taking their own statements and going through the requisite motions,” he stated, since “EOCO has the capacity, if left alone, to assist the police to trace assets and do many other helpful things for the police”.
“I also have an additional worry from Hon. Otoo’s. I hope the Director of Public Prosecution’s Office will have a free hand to review the docket professionally and advise the Attorney-General,” he stated, whilst appreciating the patriotism by his colleague, Nii Otoo, in keeping the matter alive in the eyes of the public.

‘Kokonte Boys’ London Trip Hits Rock

Posted: Daily Guide |Friday, 25 March 2011
By Charles Takyi-Boadu
A forum being organised by the UK and Ireland branch of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to enable some government officials, including newly-appointed Sports Minister Clement Kofi Humado, Deputy Tourism Minister James Agyenim-Boateng Presidential Aides Nii Lantey Vanderpuye and Stanislav Xose Dogbe, and a host of others to drum home support for President Mills, has suffered a major setback.

The government officials are expected to travel with party Propaganda Secretary and National Youth Organizer, Richard Quashigah and Ludwig Hlodze respectively to the heart of the United Kingdom this week for the stated reason.

But even before the government delegation sets foot on the Queen’s land, the UK and Ireland branch of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) have declined to participate in the event, saying the organizers want to use them to claim legitimacy.

The NPP says organisers of the event have created the impression as though the programme is a‘collaboration’ between all the major political parties which have branches in the UK including the NPP, CPP and the Ghanaian community there.

According to them, a handbill on the forum, currently in circulation, is “calling all Ghanaian Youths NDC, UK & Ireland Chapter in collaboration with Ghana High Commission, Ghana Union, CPP and NPP invite you to Ghana Youth Forum Theme: Ghana’s Youth: Partners in National Development.”

The hand bill is also said to be carrying the logos of the NPP together with that of the NDC, CPP and the trade mark of companies such as Cadbury Chocolate and Vodafone.

This is what compelled the NPP to distance itself from the event since according to its Assistant Youth Orgnizer, Godwin Adjei-Gyamfi, “we, the NPP UK & Ireland Branch have not given our permission or have ‘collaborated’ with the NDC to hold such an event as described above.”

They also claim to have gathered information which suggested that neither the CPP nor the Ghana High Commission and the Ghana Union in the UK played any role in the organization of the said event, let alone Cadbury and Vodafone.

In a statement, Mr Adjei-Gyamfi admitted to being contacted by the NDC Youth Organizer in the UK on March 14, 2011 just to invite them to attend the upcoming event, indicating that “we informed him it is the policy of our branch and our national party to co-operate and furnish support on issues which touch and concern Ghanaians in general and on issues where we have common ground but we objected to such an event being organised by a political party.”

He claims to have told the NDC Youth Organizer that such a forum would best come in the form of a non-political event which should be organized by either the Ghana Union or the Ghana High Commission, which he obliged.

Mr. Adjei-Gyamfi said he was therefore taken aback when he received an invitation and a hand bill on March 16, 2011, as described above.

The NPP expressed surprise and bewilderment at the action of the UK and Ireland branch of the NDC which has now proven to be the architects behind the scheme in a purely NDC programme.

They further expressed shock at the fact that patented trademarks of established companies such as Cadbury and Vodafone could be used without their consent, noting, “We are very much concerned of the legal implication and should either Cadbury or Vodafone resort to legal action, it will certainly bring our government in disrepute.”

This, they said, was because “this will ultimately affect the pockets of the ordinary tax payer in terms of a heavy legal cost and compensation to the companies”.

“We are therefore writing formally to distance ourselves from this event and state categorically that the event is a political event organised by the Youth Wing of NDC UK and Ireland and that NPP UK and Ireland are not in any way involved, and neither have we collaborated with it in any shape or form,” the statement said.

They suspect the event has been deliberately planned to coincide with the Ghana-England friendly football match, so members of government and, to a large extent, foot-soldiers of the NDC can travel to the UK for pleasure and entertainment in the name of soccer at the expense of the Ghanaian taxpayer.

It is not clear who is funding these Ministers and party officials to embark on this expensive trip.

They are scheduled to meet with members of the UK and Ireland branch of the party.

A memo informing and updating the UK members of the visit has been dispatched to London.

DAILY GUIDE sources in London have hinted of a planned protest against their visit by some local members of the NDC.

Sack Ministers: Bishop Tells Mills

Posted: Daily Guide | Thursday, 24 March 2011
www.dailyguideghana.com
By Charles Takyi-Boadu
The Presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church and President of the Christian Council of Ghana (CCG), Reverend Prof. Emmanuel Asante, wants President John Evans Atta Mills to sack his appointees who have cultivated the bad habit of insulting their political opponents.

Bishop Asante believes such individuals and group of persons do not set good example for the youth to follow as they have little or nothing to offer the country.

Rev. Asante was speaking on Accra-based Oman FM in reaction to recent insults heaped on the New Patriotic Party (NPP)’s standard bearer, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and other people by the Deputy Ministers of the Interior and Works and Housing, Kobby Acheampong and Hannah Louisa Bissiw respectively.

The President has been calling on Ghanaians to shun politics of insults, but strangely, insults seem to be part of the daily assignments of his appointees.

The two deputy ministers are on record to have made very disparaging remarks about their political opponents in the NPP when they addressed members of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) branch of the Tertiary Education Institutions Network (TEIN) of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in Kumasi.

Kobby, who is notorious for making unsubstantiated allegations, was caught on tape describing Nana Akufo-Addo as a ‘fruit cake,’ and later addressed him (Akufo-Addo) as an untidy person.

Dr. Bissiw, a Cuba-trained veterinarian, on the other hand, described leading NPP activist Ursula Owusu as a ‘disgrace to womanhood’ and Nana Addo as a ‘sexy old fool’.

Both initially denied the comments but when the tape was played to them, they were found wanting.

“People like this should all be sacked because they have nothing to offer us. That’s why I keep saying that people in government, whether members of the ruling NDC or the opposition or whichever individual who describes himself as a politician and would stand on a platform to trade in insults, politics of invectives…we should not think about such people,” he said.

He said it was high time government and especially President Mills stamped his authority and brought such people to order since their utterances did not only augur well for government and the country’s politics in general.

He identified the incidence of insults, threats and lying as the three main issues affecting Ghana’s politics and therefore admonished the country’s politicians to desist from indulging in them.

The Bishop likened governance to a person selling a product, noting that one only had to advertise the product and tell people why they needed to buy it.

“But, if you go and stand somewhere and insult a friend, or excuse me to say, a person who can give birth to you, it doesn’t bring anything, it doesn’t bring development but violence.”

The reverend Minister stressed that it was time Ghanaian politicians stopped these despicable practices since it did not inure to the country’s development, emphasizing, “Anyone who does that does not understand politics.

As pastors, these are the very things we say and people say we are doing politics but there is national politics and party politics.”

“What I want to say is that anybody who wants to use insults to look for power or wants us to vote for him, we will plainly tell our people that they should understand issues and that such people have nothing to offer them.”