General News of Monday, 24 May 2004

Source: Chronicle

Top MDPI man nabbed over forged Castle letter

The Bureau of National Investigation (BNI) has busted the former Human Resource Manager of the Management Development and Productivity Institute (MDPI), Mr. Osei-Tutu Darkwah, for allegedly forging a letter from the Castle purported to dissolve the board of MDPI.

Police sources told The Chronicle last week that Darkwah was first arrested by the Ministries police and later whisked away by BNI since the issue concerned national security.

The suspect will be arraigned before court on May 28, this year.

The purported Castle letter terminated the appointments of the Acting Director and the Acting Deputy Director of MDPI, while it appointed Darkwah to act as the director until a substantive director was appointed.

The Chronicle learnt that on November 24, last year, Darkwah, in a petition to the President and the board Chairman of MDPI, requested to meet the board of governors of MDPI on the composition of the members of MDPI.

Darkwah was said to be at loggerheads with the Acting Director, Mr. C. A. K. Bibilazu, for allegedly refusing to accept his appointment after probation.

He had snubbed Bibilazu?s letter on the grounds that in line with employment rules and regulations, having served above six months probation he should be automatically employed even though there had not been a formal letter to that effect.

After the purported letter from the Castle that bore the name and signature of Chief of Staff, Mr. Kwadwo Mpiani, and the Head of Policy Coordination, Monitoring and Evaluation of the Office of the President, Prof. Kwaku Appiah-Adu, respectively, Darkwah in a letter to the editor of The Chronicle requested the publication of his condemnation of the author of purported letter.

Darkwa?s letter to The Chronicle editor stated: ?In fact, I am extremely traumatized and saddened that someone could use the name of my uncle (the Chief of Staff) and the signature of my mentor (Prof. Appiah-Adu) to create such mischief. In view of the fact that Article 70 of the 1992 constitution makes the president the appointing authority of board of governors/ directors of public organizations.

?I still do not understand how anyone could possibly decide, on the basis of his/her own imagination, to dissolve the board of governors of MDPI without the knowledge of the office of the president and expect such changes to be effected without detection. This is incredible!?

The letter noted that any casual observer might think that, such mischief was the work of some former employees of MDPI to draw attention to the poor leadership in MDPI or probably by someone working in the Office of the President without the consent of the Chief of Staff or Prof. Appiah-Adu to create mischief.

The letter said upon deep reflection one might be tempted to believe that some corrupt senior officers in MDPI in order to divert attention from their corrupt practices masterminded the plot as a ploy to avert their removal from office and subsequent prosecution in a court of law.

The suspect stressed in the letter that, ?MDPI is the last public organization in the world in which he would ever dream of using subterfuge and inappropriate means to become director.?

He said his determination was to ensure that the administration and management of MDPI as a public organization would be in accordance with standards of integrity, transparency, accountability, impartiality, fairness and honesty.

He lamented that he had been victimized and unfairly treated by the board since the Ag. Director had arbitrarily and vindictively changed the keys to his office and denied him access to his documents in the office.