...Delegation of NPP & NDC Members "Sold" Ghana For US$2,600?
The former Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, Hon. Albert Abongo has denied categorically that a 12-member government delegation that signed the STX Korea housing deal on behalf of the country in 2009 were bribed with US$2,600 by the Korean company.

Hon. Albert Abongo said members of the delegation merely received gifts from the Korean company which cannot be termed as inducement. He says the gifts could not have compromised their judgments in respect of the STX housing deal.

The Mail newspaper on Thursday July 15 quoted ‘a source’ as alleging that the delegation that signed the STX Korea housing deal were induced with a sum of US$2,600 each for “shopping” by the Korean company.

The report further stated that each member of the delegation which included the Minority Leader, Mr. Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu and Mrs. Cecelia Dapaah from the opposition benches took the US$2,600 bribe with the exception of a businessman, who refused the bribe.

However in an interview on the Citi Breakfast Show on Thursday July 15, Hon Albert Abongo dismissed the report describing it as a complete fabrication. He revealed that what they took were only gifts and not bribes to induce them.

“As the story goes, that we took some money is not the case, we were given gifts and those gifts if I can remember, my gifts included some souvenirs of their company, some flags, I was also given a watch and I think I was given a camera too for us to be able to take pictures if I wanted…and I don’t think that these are basically things that can compromise a high government delegation like ours”.
According to the former Minister of Water Resources Works and Housing, the story can not be true because the Minority Leader Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu was not part of his delegation but a later delegation which travelled to Korea separately and added that he cannot vouch for that delegation.

“Infact even the story mentions the minority leader but the minority leader was not in our delegation. Another delegation I understand went again and that was headed by the now Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, Hon Alban Bagbin and that delegation had the minority leader in and some members from the other side of the house”.

The Ghana government deal with the STX Korea would see the latter building units of housing in the country worth US$10 billion. The project involves the building of 200,000 homes in Ghana by 2015.

Meanwhile President John Evans Atta Mills has directed that the Supplier's Credit Financing Agreement that generated unending debate in Parliament on Wednesday be withdrawn and sent to a Joint Ministerial Committee for a re-look.

Mr Alban Sumana Bagbin, Minister of Water Resources Works and Housing, who announced the directive, said President Mills took note of the concerns The Minority raised and had referred the issue to the Committee to take a second look at the whole Agreement.