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17.12.2011 Feature Article

Who At All Is Kwesi Pratt To Demand A Full Scale Of Investigation From The Government?

Law Professor Kwesi PrattLaw Professor Kwesi Pratt
17.12.2011 LISTEN

Kwesi Pratt, the so-called Editor of the Insight newspaper, is calling for full scale independent
investigations into the circumstances surrounding how GH¢41,811,480.59 of state money was doled out in a court settlement to an alleged bankroll of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr. Alfred Agbesi Woyome. He is also asking for investigations to be conducted into all judgement debts carried out in the country saying “this is the biggest opportunity for the state to examine all this cases and come to a conclusion".

Is Pratt now the newly appointed Minister or the Deputy Minister of interior Affairs in Ghana or
the NDC government is so nice, free and liberal to such an extent that anybody at all can hold
them responsible for any affairs which should normally be determined by the government?

How can a normal "floor member" like Kwesi Pratt come out to say things like,"The bottom line is, it needs investigation, full scale investigation by independent committee of enquiry to answer these questions because more than 30million dollars is at stake and we don't have to take it for
granted. How come Ministry of Finance went for an injunction that they should pay first tranche
but you paid all the tranches? I'll be pained if the full scale investigation involves only Woyome, because the judgement debts paid by past and present governments runs into several millions of cedis, this is the biggest opportunity for the state to examine all this cases and come to a conclusion. We will be deceiving ourselves if we limit the investigations to only Woyome because there are a lot of people reaping where they've not sowed and some of the things don't make sense.”

The newly baked Ghanaian "law professor" Kwesi Pratt was commenting on the GhC42 million judgement debt awarded Mr Woyome, and the report that the government of Ghana under President Mills in 2010, paid a total of GH¢275,917,484.25 (nearly 2.6 trillion old cedis) in judgement debts. A High Court in 2010 ordered the State to pay an amount of nearly GH¢42 million in judgement debt to Mr. Woyome over what he describes as the illegal termination of his contract. He argues that there is no document to prove the erstwhile NPP government had any contract with Mr. Woyome for which he should be paid for any miscarriage of justice. He further contended that even if the NPP government signed a contract with the company, under what circumstance was the compensation or settlement paid to and in the name of Mr. Woyome.

Where is for God sake, Kwesi Pratt, an equally super money concious and corrupt citizen, getting the power to undermine the NDC government by making statements such as, "most of the explanations offered by the NDC stalwart and businessman are baseless, wondering why government should pay for the feasibility study of a company bidding for a contract; especially when the feasibility study forms part of the requirement for the contract bidding." He even has the ability to attack the Attorney General's office, questioning why two attorney generals from the same administration have varied opinions on the same issue which affects the nation gravely, as if he is a BNI boss or a high profile minister in Ghana.

According to law Professor Pratt “The first Attorney General agreed to Woyome's case and made
arrangement for settlement and now the current Attorney General who is also a lawyer is saying it is not true so government should not pay any money. Two Attorney-Generals for the same government with varied opinions, who is telling the truth and who is not doing his or her work well? Which of them is wrong? And the evidence that the second attorney general took to court that the settlement should be cancelled, was it not in the office already, how come it was overlooked by the first attorney general"?

Kwesi Pratt, the so-claimed Senior "greedy and money concious" Journalist further posited that all politicians and statesmen, especially in the last administration whose names have come up must be made to come clean. “I want to understand the conducts of some of the minister in the NPP administration, Osafo-Maafo's name has been mentioned several times since the case started and he must come out to answer some of the questions lingering around. All of those people whose names have come up must come and exonerate themselves.

"Who born dog", that a so-claimed (normal) journalist Kwesi Pratt can make such demands from the government. Is he an undercover NDC minister?

FRANCIS TAWIAH (Duisburg - Germany)

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