Dollar sharing saga: Sammy Gyamfi hasn’t breached code of conduct; it’s silent on gift-giving — Edudzi Tamakloe

The Acting Chief Executive Officer of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), Godwin Edudzi Tamakloe, says the CEO of the Ghana Gold Board, Sammy Gyamfi, has not breached the code of conduct for appointees over his recent dollar gift to self-styled evangelist Patricia Asiedu, popularly known as Agradaa.

Sammy Gyamfi, who also serves as the National Communications Officer of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), was captured in a viral video handing an undisclosed amount of cash to the former fetish priestess.

The act has triggered widespread backlash, including criticism from within his own party.

The backlash forced the GoldBod CEO to issue an unqualified apology on Sunday, May 11, describing his action as unfortunate and regrettable.

Speaking on Accra-based TV3’s New Day on Monday, May 12, Edudzi Tamakloe, who is also a leading member of the NDC legal team, said the code of conduct only addresses the receiving of gifts, not the giving.

“I have read an online publication by someone that this conduct breaches the Code of Conduct launched by the President. Immediately it came out, I had a copy like a Bible on my phone so I can go through it easily as a guide. Basically, what the Code of Conduct does is that for ministers, deputy ministers, CEOs, deputy CEOs, we have responsibilities on gifts—and usually, it’s about you receiving.

“The code is silent on you giving. And from the interaction in the video, it was Sammy who offered. So the issue of a violation of the code, with respect, doesn’t arise because the code is completely silent on the issue of you giving. It’s about you receiving,” he stated.

Meanwhile, following the saga, the Executive Director of the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), Professor Henry Kwasi Prempeh, has called for the code to be revised to include gift-giving.

“The Code of Conduct must be amended to regulate specifically public acts of charity and displays of ostentation by government appointees, including a ban on the setting up of ‘private’ foundations by public officers,” he wrote in a Facebook post on Sunday, May 11.