After three years of humiliation, anxieties, fear of offending The Fist Lady and frequent upstaging by his Deputy, Mr. Dan Abodakpi, 'Pretty Emma' hit ground zero last fortnight and snapped after a bust-up with the Amazons of 31st December Women's Movement. She quit The Service, the third Fanti Minister to redeem the terrible image of her tribe as cannon fodder for the (P)NDC within the last two years (Forson, Botchwey, Emma).
Pieces of collated evidence and "digital monitoring" of Emma's ordeal point conclusive to one indisputable reason for her resignation - a scrap over $50,000.00 (fifty thousand dollars) paid by a foreign inspection company that was then seeking a consolidation of its stake in Ghana. Emma's brief letter to the President unscrambled by Chronicle Intelligence did not assign specific reasons for her resignation. The Information Minister, Mr. Totobi-Quakyi, who was among the first to get wind of the contents of the letter quickly wrote a three paragraph "story" and planted it in The Daily Graphic to pre-empt a possible press leakage and embarrassment as happened in the Kwesi Botchwey case.
Totobi-Quakyi has virtually taken over Mr. Ato Dadzie's functions at the Castle following his serious motor accident in New Jersey last year. He is still undergoing treatment for his fractured backbones. Mr. R.B. Hesse has reportedly been shortlisted as the next Information Minister to take over from the scheming Quakyi. Emma, who has been enduring taunts in her hometown for her association with the NDC, had specific instructions to pay the funds to the DWM for "party financing". Dutifully Mrs. Emma Mitchell paid the money to a top official of the movement which is the Women's Wing of the National Democratic Congress. A source very close to Miss Sherry Aryittey who is the Treasurer of the DWM and Managing Director of GIHOC distilleries says that her name was mentioned as the 'collector'.
One highly-placed party source confirmed that the First Lady wrote a note to Emma asking about the money and Emma replied that she had passed it on to them. To Emma's horror Sherry denies receiving 'any $50,000.00'. Even the intervention of Obed Asamoah could not resolve the cash matter as Emma was allegedly described as "A liar" by Aunt Sherry. She crossed her tolerance threshold, her carefully nurtured reputation on the line.
What made matters worse was that it got to the President. At around 1.30p.m. on December 28, the resumed sitting of the Cabinet following Arkaah's groin-busting, Flt.Lt. Rawlings railed at the corruption among his men and made snide remarks that implied that Emma was now in a position to finance her children in schools abroad. The case has become a sore spot for Emma and friends of her husband have indicated that she has been wet-eyed at this stain on her reputation. Most of the ministers are privy to the ding-dong battle that was being played around Emma.
CUT-THROAT horse trading is rocking the headquarters of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) on a destructive scale and spilling over other units and regional branches of the party. At the centre of the storm are the hand-to-hand combat being fought in the regions by the District Chief Executives who are threatening the Mps with unemployment - most the 110 DCEs are billed to replace the largely ineffective NDC Mps, and the DCEs flaunt it.
In Cape Coast, for example, while the incumbent MPs Mr. Ekuban sits in Parliament brooding over the problems of his constituency, Mr. Akyianu, the Chief Fire Officer goes around loudly announcing his candidature as the next MP. This scenario is replicated all over the country and some MPs have vowed to stand as Independents and scuttle the votes. At party headquarters, the partymen who think they are doing all the hard work look at the ministers with green eyes as they come and go in their air-conditioned pajeros. One of the most disliked Ministers is Mr. E.T. Mensah of Youth and Sports. Through his connections with the First Lady, he has merged with Obed Asamoah as the most powerful party men and ministers in the party's hierarchy. Not satisfied, E.T. Mensah has all but grabbed Sam Garbrah's position as Boss of the ACDRs leaving stalwarts like Guzzy Tanoh and Larry Adjetey stranded and kowtowing to him like house geckos.
But what is causing the most bad blood is that E.T. has set his eyes on Huudu Yahaya's job as well- General Secretary of the party. The suspicion is that, stories about Huudu's alleged Swiss connections and acquisitions are going to be leaked to embarrass him and weaken him for a takeover. Huudu's wife lives and works in Switzerland. She is a dentist. Another big surprise is that Mr. Harry Sawyerr who carries the multiple Ministerial Portfolio of Trade and Education is also angling for the additional job of Chairmanship of the party, and the incumbent is shaking in his seat as unemployment stares him in the face. Ol'Harry sources say that he will move Heavens and Accra to "fix". He was one of the architects of the Arkaah must go campaign. He is Arkaah's classmate.
Another man whose head is shaking gbriri, gbriri is Health Minister Steve Obimpeh. A replacement has already been found for his job, Mrs. Eunice Brookman-Amissah of the Ghana Medical Association. "Sweets" and pajaros plus promises of "a free hand at the Ministry" have been dangled under the weakening nostril of Mrs. Eunice Brookman -Amissah, a private medical practitioner in Accra. Chronicle gathers that she has brushed aside family and friendly pressure and listened to other voices and agreed to join what critics describe as "a listing vessel". Dr. Mary Grant was said to have worked on her properly, though family sources say they will provide "ammunition" for the parliamentary selection committee for her vetting. Chief Whip Bosomtwi-Sam has been assured a ministerial job. NDC sources concede that he will lose his deposit in Sekondi the minute the Titan of Sekondi, the respected Owusu-Ankomah yielded to intense pressure to contest the elections. Sekondi is virtually on life support now. Problems in the Northern Region have still not been contained as charges and counter charges of corruption among party men has split the party into camps.
The Woes Of Dr. Adjei-Maafo, Presidential Staffer on Cocoa Affairs, deepened when the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) openly accused him of using his seven-year-old son and sister-in-law as fronts for two of his houses. According to the Commission, the Presidential Staffer had used the name of his seven-year-old son, Kofi Boateng Adjei-Maafo as a front for house number D50 at Tema.
The house, which Dr. Maafo had said belonged to a neighbor, Mr. K. Gyasi, was discovered by the Commission to have receipts of payment bearing Dr. Maafo's name. Moreover, Mr. K. Gyasi, who was described by Dr. Maafo at the previous sitting as just a "next door neighbour who had given out his house for hire" during the Friday proceedings metamorphosed into Mr. Kwakye, "a relative and close confidante" of Dr. Maafo. Unknown to Dr. Maafo, the Commission had sub-poenaed Regimanuel Gray for the receipts of payments.
Mrs. Dormakyerah, who chaired the Friday probe, queried: Dr. Maafo, have you ever made any payments to Regimanuel"?
The Presidential Staffer replied, "I think what K. Gyasi did was that he might have recited some in my name. And at a point, Regimanuel needed to be paid, so I asked my wife to pay for him, so that he would pay us back."
Mrs. Dormakyerah exclaimed, "why should she pay that money?"
Dr. Maafo came on the defensive, "Madam, the purchasing of that house had something to do with a family problem. If K was invited here, he would tell you why he did that".
Mrs. Dormakyerah: Dr. Maafo, you are at liberty to call K. Gyasi as your witness. Do you know any Lilly Kwakye?
Dr. Maafo: Yes
Mrs. Dormakyerah: Where is she staying
AM: She has been living with us since 1989.
Mrs. D: Our information from Regimanuel is that House No. D50 belongs to Kofi
Boateng Adjei-Maafo. What is your reaction?
AM: My reaction is that, No. K. Gyasi bought that house for his daughter Lily because he had certain problems with his wife, he felt that if he made the house in his own name it would cause a lot of problems. In fact, K did many things in my name because of these problems. The intention is that when Lily is 21 years old, then she can taken over. In summary that is what I would say.
Mrs. D.: We have got all the receipts from Regimanuel under Subpoena which bears your name as the one who paid for the house.
AM: Madam, No.
Mrs. D.: Are you saying that you have never gone to Regimanuel to make any payments for that house?
AM: No, I think when K wasn't able to pay, he made arrangements for payments to be made.
Mrs. D: If then, you and your son have been acting as fronts for Mr. Kwakye.
AM: Madam, I would say NO and Yes. We did that especially for the child.
Mrs. D: Alternately, you are using your son and Mr. Kwakye as a front for the D50 house.
The commission also pushed Dr. Maafo to accept that the next house his father-in-law's and his wife's names as owners. Moreover a house at Lashibi, where Dr. Maafo lives but had submitted as his sister-in-law's house was found to have payments in the name of Mr. Pinkrah, Dr. Maafo's paternal uncle. During the entire probe, Mr. Pinkrah's name has been bandied by Dr. Maafo as the owner of another big story building at Madina, which is alleged to belong to the Presidential Staffer. During Friday's sitting, Dr. Maafo accused the Secretary who had issued the receipts at Regimanuel for using Mr. Pinkrah's name instead of Seth Kwakye's.
Mrs. D: You are staying in your sister-in-law's house and she is not in Ghana, who makes payments for the house?
AM: I think her brother does the payment. He is Seth Kwakye.
Mrs. D: Your uncle, Mr. Pinkrah, did he have anything to do with the payments of the house?
AM: Madam er....we..., I remember that Julie, my sister-in-law, rang me from Canada that she didn't understand why Seth Kwakye had paid in Mr. Pinkrah's name. According to Seth, he had been sent to do two things; one was to buy some building materials for Mr. Pinkrah and other was to pay at Regimanuel, he rather paid the money in Mr. Pinkrah's name.
Mrs. D: So are you saying that Kwakye made only one payment in Mr. Pinkrah's name.
AM: I think he made more than one.
Mrs. D. : We of the Commission believe that Mr. Pinkrah made the payment himself.
AM: No.
Mrs. D: Procedure at Regimanuel are that receipts are issued in the name of the particular person who pays. So that if Mr. A sent the money there he would be issued a receipt in his name. So if Mr. A, B, or C came to pay, they would be issued with receipts in their names. But finally the last receipt would be issued in the name of the owner.
AM: Madam if this is the procedure then that was a serious error, whoever issued the receipts didn't follow the procedure.
The Commission also grilled the Presidential Staffer for Cocoa Schedule on his role in the Walter Shroeder deals. Although Dr. Maafo said his role in the joint venture of Walter Shroeder and the Cocoa Board was a policy supervisor, and that he had gone out with the Ghanaian team to Germany and Britain to advertise government and also he had been made Chairman over WAMCO, he had not misused his office.
Mrs. D: Have you benefited officially or unofficially in any way by your association with this arrangement? I think the answer is obvious.
AM: No, Madam.
Mrs. D: But you have indicated that Bosompem Co. your company distributes chocolates. Don't you think by this way you have had an advantage?
AM: No, Madam, because if you look at the list of chocolate supply, Bosompim Co. is the 23rd in ranking on the list of the factory.
Meanwhile, the Commission did not give Dr. Maafo the date for his next appearance. Commissioner Short promised it would be his last.
THE AUDITOR-GENERAL, Mr. Osei-Tutu Prempeh, has lashed at the Controller and Accountant-General, saying it was clear intellectual dishonesty for the latter to described the Auditor-General's report on Public Accounts as "misleading, ambiguous, unfair and clouded among others."
Speaking at the Annual Conference of Directorate and District Auditors last Thursday, the Auditor-General debunked the several criticisms on the Accountant-General and described it as an attempt to ridicule the Audit Service. Mr. Prempeh intimated that the criticisms levered against his outfit were not new and added that the mode of dissemination of such criticism, that is through the media was in bad taste and cautioned that in administrative practice, "it is unacceptable for organisations in the same public service to use the press as a medium for the exchange of correspondence". He stated that in spite of the repeated criticisms which he noted, were totally unfounded, the Audit Service, in the interest of the nation has continued to forge improved relation with the Controller and Accountant General's Department.
Touching on the suggestions made by the Accountant-General said it was ironic for the Accountant-General to ask for the information of a high-powered committee to look into the issues the report has raised. "If the report is misleading, ambiguous, unfair and clouded as claimed by the Controller and Accountant-General, why should he call for such a high-powered committee to deal with a report which in his eyes has no value", the statement queried. That call, the address continues, is an indictment on the Accountant-General's criticisms since it goes to impress on all that there are significant issues in the report of the Auditor-General worth more that the "misleading, clouded ambiguous and unfair" tag.
Mr. Prempeh stated that apart from mapping out systems that will encourage the evaluation of procedures the projects, the Audit Service will ensure that public moneys are spent with due regard to economy, efficiency and effectiveness.
There were strong indications that the NPP's already long list of presidential candidates will increase even further with the additional name of one unlikely candidate on the line up - The respected Elder Statesman of the Party, Mr. J.H. Mensah. Bouyed by occasional references to his powerful electoral base - Brong Ahafo now decimated by the NDC in the last two bye elections in the elections in the region, J.H., a former Cabinet Minister in the Busia administration was reported to be staking his claim before next week's deadline of the party expires.
Reaction to a possible J.H. candidacy has evoked shock and dismay among journalists and a few informed members of the public. He turned from exile less that a year ago and is without any financial base whatsoever. J.H. is far older that Professor Adu-Boahe who at 65 is already being spoken of as too old. Other reactions have been more out o f pity that spite. Prof. filed his papers last Friday, still determined to grab the NPP's nomination though his reputation as an Anti-Alliance man may work against him. The NPP is expected to announce today that they have reached an understanding with the NCP, finalising a hotch-potch of alliances with the other Nkrumahist parties.
The Nkrumanist parties still remain weak on the ground and the last of the stronger wings, Dr. Hilla Limann's People's National Congress (PNC) remains out of the alliance. They can lay claim to a region that is under their wings, The Upper East region where the PNC is still strong but facing threats of disintegration because of Limann's anti-broad alliance stance.