NDC Government Communication Team Member Buys 50,000 Dollar Range Rover

The life of Mr Felix Ofosu Kwakye, a senior and powerful member of the NDC Government communication team and a key aide to his Excellency the President of Ghana, Professor John Evans Fiifi Atta Mills has transformed dramatically since he joined the waist expanding government communication team of the ruling National Democratic Congress.

Felix Ofosu Kwakye alias FOK(please don’t laugh) is also the co-ordinator of the Research Advocacy platform(RAP), an organisation dedicated to promoting the vision ideas and thoughts of Osagefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah and President Mills,a protégé of the late president. This organisation has replaced the Socialist Forum , led by by ageing Kwasi Pratt and the now silent Kwame Adu as the modern face of left wing politics in Ghana.

Mr Ofosu Kwakye, who claims he is a modern day socialist and an oil expert, is also one of the largest beneficiaries of government goodwill and largesse in Ghana. He received a scholarship to study oil and gas in Scotland. So far, the closest he ‘s got to oil and gas is Agbaa Maame’s restaurant in Tema where he regularly goes to have banku and palm oil soup and Smirnoff Ice, the equivalent of gas ,on Sundays.

We are yet to see him put the skills he learnt in Scotland to the benefit of mother Ghana, why spend huge sums of money to educate Ghanaians at public expense abroad only for them to come back to Ghana and not to use that knowledge to build our economy is baffling.

The latest story that has got political analysts tongues wagging is the ostentatious lifestyle he is leading in Accra.

Recently he took delivery of a top of the range Range Rover discovery vehicle in addition to the Toyota V8 he was given in 2010 by the state ,parked at the castle car park, which he uses for “special duties”. This Range Rover was purchased quietly in October 2011 at the cost of 50,000 Dollars from the company Helkens BV ,a car company that specialises in custom made left hand drive range rovers based in Rotterdam ,Holland and shipped to Tema and cleared without any duties paid at all to the state. This vehicle has rotational power steering, a 15 inch video player ,a small drinks cabinet and comfortable leather seats that can be operated electronically as well as an inbuilt satellite navigation system.

Ir order not to cause disaffection among some of his colleagues on the NDC government communication team, Mr Kwakye with the support of the Deputy Minister of Local Government the Honourable Elvis Afriyie Ankrah is hiding this car at a house in the Tantra Hill area. Perhaps this may account for the lukewarm attitude being displayed by some members of the team in defending and explaining the government’s policies and the accusations coming from Ex President Rawlings and the former first lady Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings about the” grab before i go culture” currently engulfing the Mills government.

We at the New Free Press take this opportunity to advice President Mills to curb the excessive lifestyles of some members of his government communication team and if possible recover this vehicle purchased by Mr Ofosu Kwakye, sell it and put the proceeds into government chest. The smoke of arrogance and ostentation that currently covers them is creating huge disaffection and if not curbed is setting a wrong example to our youth.

Roland Amankwanor Senior Investigative Reporter The New Free Press Accra Amankwanor40@yahoo.com