General News of Saturday, 23 December 2017

Source: kasapafmonline.com

NDC will fail at smearing my government with corruption – Akufo-Addo

President Akufo-Addo believes the minority are desperately trying to stigmatise his government President Akufo-Addo believes the minority are desperately trying to stigmatise his government

President Akufo Addo has said the desperate attempt by the opposition National Democratic Congress(NDC) to smear his government with corruption will not work.

The NDC), has repeated severally that it is only under the watch of the sitting president Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo that a lackadaisical approach has been put up in the fight against corruption in the country.

The NPP government has been accused of alleged corruption, in the case involving the two deputy chiefs of staff, by musician and NPP sympathizer Kwame A-Plus, as well as the perceived corruption in the sale of contaminated fuel involving BOST.

Both the Criminal Investigation Department of the Police Service and the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice(CHRAJ) subsequently cleared the two deputy chiefs of staff of corruption while the Bureau of National Investigations(BNI) also cleared the BOST Managing Director of any wrongdoing.

There has also been perceived corruption in government’s handling of the Ameri Power Deal, in which the same firm that was being questioned over a supposed bloated contract, sponsored a committee from Ghana to Dubai to hold discussions with them.

Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta, was also accused of cronyism by the minority in one of government’s bond issue. Another major scandal, which many were unhappy with, was the allegations of corruption leveled against Boakye Agyarko, now Energy Minister during his vetting.

He was accused by some minority MPs of seeking to bribe them to enable him sail through his vetting with ease. The matter was later investigated by parliament, but the accusers were supposedly unable to prove their claims.

Speaking addressing a durbur held in his honour in Koforidua while rounding up his three-day tour of the Eastern Region, President Akufo Addo said he and his appointees came to do a good job for Ghana and not to enrich themselves through corrupt activities.

“There has been a systematic effort to try and stigmatize my government with corruption, when Boakye Agyako was being vetted by Parliament he was accused of bribing people to enable him sail through. That allegation was investigated and it was found to be spurious, there was no truth whatsoever in it. Then two young men in my own office were also accused of corruption, I directed the CID to probe the matter and they were found to be clean, but our opponents said that outcome was not convincing enough so CHRAJ, whose boss was appointed by ex President John Mahama also investigated the matter and cleared the two. Again, the latest is Alan Kyeremanten was has been accused of collected monies from expatriates, when the matter was heard we found out nothing.

“This desperate effort to stigmatize my government with corruption is not going to work. We came to do a job for Ghana and not to amass worthwhile the ordinary Ghanaian suffers. We came with a commitment to work and improve the living conditions of Ghanaians and that we shall certainly do.”