Business News of Monday, 27 March 2023

Source: www.ghanaweb.com

£10,000 a day work: How Kwasi Kwarteng became victim of fake Korean company job

Kwasi Kwarteng served as former Chancellor of the Exchequer, United Kingdom play videoKwasi Kwarteng served as former Chancellor of the Exchequer, United Kingdom

The British-born Ghanaian former UK chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng, and four other British Members of Parliament (MPs) of the Conservative Party were victims of an apparent duping experiment by the campaign group, Led by Donkeys.

According to a news report by theguardian.com, Kwasi Kwarteng and the other Tory MPs agreed to work for £10,000 a day to further the interests of a fake South Korean firm.

The former UK chancellor met investigators acting as staff of the fake Koran company at his parliamentary office and agreed in principle to be paid the daily rate of £10,000.

A video of the said meeting, which was more of a job interview, shared by Led by Donkeys showed Kwarteng touting his competencies and connections to prove that he is the right man for the job.

After initially stating that he will charge £10,000 per month, the former chancellor increased his rate to £10,000 per day after the investigator told him they are willing to pay him between £8,000 to £12,000 per day for his role.

“I have been an energy minister for three years, I was chancellor. You know, I have got a lot of experience in the UK,” he said.

He added that his work as an MP will not be an impediment to his duties in his new role with the South Korean company.

Kwasi Kwarteng even went on to say that he can bring on board the former British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, whom he described as "a great campaigner".

The led investigative journalist for the expose, Anthony Barnett indicated that the document was an experiment to find out whether MPs will find time to take another job, “furthering the interest of foreign companies” during the UK’s cost of living crisis.

He also stated that MPs in the UK are allowed to take as many jobs as possible and charge the amount of money they want but a lot of citizens have been protesting against this freedom.

It can be recalled that Kwasi Kwarteng, who was UK's first black finance minister, was relieved from his post by former British Prime Minister, Liz Truss, in October 2022.

According to a Reuters report attributing the development to the UK Times newspaper, he was sacked over UK's mini-budget in 2022 which sparked financial turmoil in the markets and caused a revolt among Conservative MPs in the UK.

"I'm told that Kwasi Kwarteng is being sacked as Chancellor as Liz Truss prepares to reverse the mini-Budget," Steven Swinford, Political Editor of The Times said on Twitter.

Watch a video of Kwasi Kwarteng's ‘fake’ job interview below:



IB/FNOQ