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24.12.2009 General News

Gh@50 recommendations are unfortunate - Mpiani's lawyer

By Citifmonline
Mr Kwadwo Mpiani supervised Ghana's fiftieth birthday celebrations in 2007.Mr Kwadwo Mpiani supervised Ghana's fiftieth birthday celebrations in 2007.
24.12.2009 LISTEN

A member of the legal team of Mr Kwadwo Mpiani, the man who supervised Ghana's fiftieth birthday celebrations in 2007, has described recommendations by the Ghana at fifty commission of Inquiry for the prosecution of his client as unfortunate.

Mr Dan Agyeman told Citi FM on Thursday, December 24, that the recommendation by the Justice Douse led commission for parliament to cause Dr Wereko-Brobbey and Mr Kwadwo Mpiani to be tried before it for contempt makes “mockery of our separation of powers.”

The three Member Commission on Wednesday December 23, presented its report to President Mills in which it recommended, among other things, that Parliament may cause Dr Wereko Brobbey and Mr Mpiani to appear before it to be tried for deliberately disregarding and usurping the powers of parliament to exceed the amount originally approved for the celebrations.

Mr Agyeman contends that although the recommendations were directed to parliament, “the report was commissioned by the President and it's been made to the President,” for that matter “any recommendations asking parliament to take action seems to be ultra vires.”

Section 12 of the executive summary of the report, which was leaked to the media on Wednesday night, recommended further that the Government may also prosecute the two men for willfully “causing financial loss” to the state.

The committee stated in the report that the decision by the two officials “to exceed the approved budget was willful”, for which reason “the government has incurred serious loss.”

This conduct, according to the report has ballooned government's expenditure for the Ghana at fifty celebration “by reason of the fact that the government has to pay over two years of interest on all outstanding debts in the sum of GH¢ 12, 598,352.19 due and owed to contractors/suppliers/consultants and has to pay interest in the sum of GH¢ 3,082,955.20 on the authorized loan procured from Prudential Bank.”

These revelations notwithstanding, Mr Mpiani's lawyer maintains that his client is innocent and therefore the recommendations are totally misplaced.”

“The direct recommendations as to Mr Mpiani and Dr Wereko-Brobbey are very unfortunate because here is a chairman of a cabinet sub-committee taking decisions on behalf of the cabinet of the Government of the day and you want a member of that sub- committee to be prosecuted?

“I think what they should do is to go after the whole cabinet sub-committee if they want to follow the rules because Mr Mpiani didn't make any individual decisions of his own. He carried out cabinet's decision.” He said.

Although, government is yet to issue a white paper on the report, the Executive Summary of the report was leaked to the media on Wednesday, December 23.

Mr Agyeman believes the pre-emptive publication of the report in the media before a white paper is issued on it smacks of a calculated attempt by the Executive to paint his client black.

“It's unfortunate that if something like this is given to the President and then it leaks then I will just say it's calculated to the prejudice of the named people whose rights and interests are at stake.” He said.






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