Rumor Mill of Wednesday, 14 October 2009

Source: Post

Kufuor to win Mo Ibrahim award

Intelligence available to the Daily Post indicates that ex-President J..A. Kufuor will win the 2009 edition of the Mo Ibrahim prize for achievement in African leadership.

The award was instituted a few years ago by Sudanese billionaire, Mo Ibrahim, to reward former African Presidents who have demonstrated exemplary leadership.

Having presided over the worst period of corruption in the nation's history, many believe that Mr. Kufuor does not deserve to be remotely connected to the award..

However, according to Daily Post intelligence, it's pay-back time and President Kufuor is set to reap where he sewed a couple of years ago.

In October 2008, President Kufuor and his henchmen at the Castle decided to sell Westel to Zain. Under the sales and purchasing agreement (as was in the Vodafone deal), Westel was sold to Zain, owned by Ibrahim Mo, for a paltry $120 million.

To add insult to injury, the Sales and Purchase Agreement,SPA, indicated that Zain would be enjoying a 5-year tax holiday. This tax holiday, clearly wipes away the peanuts Westel was sold to Zain.

The then Chief Executive officer of the Ghana Investment Promotion Council (GNPC), Mr. Ahomka Lindsay, was reported to have been so shocked by the 5-year tax holiday given to Zain that he tried to stop the sale only to meet the anger of, Mr. Kwadwo, Mpaini, the then Chief of Staff at the Castle

Mr. Lindsay thus retreated and the deal went on to the satisfaction of Ibrahim Mo. Now, it is pay-back time and the Sudanese billionaire, according to our intelligence sources, is bent on giving the award to Mr. Kufuor because he sold Westel very cheaply to him.

With scandals like the serial killing of women, the gruesome murder of the Ya Na Adani Yakubu, the murders of Alhaji Issa Mobila and Roco Frimpong, Deputy Managing Director of the Commercial Bank, Kufuor's purchase of the Hotel de Waa Waa and subsequently registering it in his son's name, the revelations by his party chairman that he takes kick-backs and his stealing of state resources, among others, makes it impossible for Kufuor to be considered for any serious award on good governance