Vetting of nominee deputy Ministers…

FIIFI KWETEY IS A TOGOLESE'
…Minority group claims
One of the President's nominee deputy Ministers of Finance, Fiifi Kwetey, might be disqualified on grounds that he is a Togolese national and therefore cannot be considered for any political office in the Republic of Ghana.

Fiifi Kwetey however laughed off the issue when this paper got to him for his comments. He described the Minority claim as absolute hogwash and said there was absolutely no truth in the claim. Apparently aware of such claims anytime his name came up in national discourse, Fiifi said “the vetting offers the appropriate platform to deal with the issue once and for all”.

Some members of the Minority caucus on the Appointment Committee who TODAY spoke to on the issue confirmed that they have in their possession credible evidence that suggests that the nominee deputy Minister is not a Ghanaian.

Parts of the minority evidence, this paper found out from the group, are contained in a memorandum presented to the Appointments Committee by some members of the general public who claim that they have substantial evidence that Mr. Kwetey is a Togolese national and therefore cannot hold any public office in Ghana.

They hinted that investigations into the family background of Mr. Kwetey indicate that he is not using his christened Togolese family name. They told this paper that Mr. Kwetey's real name as they found out from his place of birth in Lome, Togo is: Fifi Kweitey and not the current corrupted Fiifi Kwetey that he responds to.

A source in the group told TODAY that an underground search conducted by the minority in the Republic of Togo shows that Mr. Kwetey was born at a village called Vogan in the Aneho District of the Togolese capital Lome and attended preparatory or a private school in the same village.

The Aneho people in Togo are believed to have migrated from parts of the present day Ga State in Ghana and share many cultural practices and values with their Ga kinsmen.

According to the source, young Fiifi together with his family lived in the tiny village until they were chased out of Togo by the government of former Togolese President, General Gnassinbge Eyadema.

The source further disclosed that family members and age mates of the nominee deputy Minister at Vogan confirmed that Fiifi Kwetey's family relocated to Ghana in the 70's when the then Togolese government found out that some members of the Kweitey family were involved in one of the many demonstrations against the Eyadema-led military junta in the 70's.

When it became obvious their safety could not be guaranteed under the Eyadema administration, the source continued, “The Kweteys fled Togo and settled at Denu/Aflao in the Volta Region of Ghana”.

Young Fifi Kweitey, TODAY discovered from the group continued his education at the Bishop Herman Secondary School at Kpando where he had Distinction in the Ordinary Level General Certificate of Examination (GCE) and proceeded to the Achimota School for his Advanced Level GCE.

Fiifi read Economics for his First Degree at the University of Ghana, Legon. In fact Fiifi sat for the GCE O level when he was in form four.

Fiifi Kwetey has been one of the most vocal members of NDC's youth wing: The Youth Forum. He is currently the Propaganda Secretary of the NDC. Fiifi cut his political teeth during the first NDC administration and instantly gained notoriety for the indecent manner he addressed political opponents.

As an ardent Rawlings' loyalist, Fiifi spared no time in lambasting critics of the former President and his party, the NDC. His acidic language sometimes constituted a major concern to liberals within the NDC, but certainly not his mentor, the former Flight Lieutenant.

The obvious approval and support offered by the former President goaded Fiifi on to sometimes overstretch his outburst beyond his political opponents to some of his own party chiefs, notably, Dr. Obed Yao Asamoah.

Fiif openly endorsed the brutalities meted out to Dr. Asamoah at the last NDC congress in Koforidua by the notorious Azorka Boys, insinuating that the former NDC Chairman deserved every bit of the treatment because Dr. Asamoah dared criticize former President Rawlings.

Nonetheless, Fiifi remains one of the brilliant NDC youngsters who Professor Mills has nominated for various deputy ministerial portfolios. They include deputy General Secretary, Elvis Afriyie Ankrah, for Local Government and Rural Development; Baba Jamal for the Eastern Region; Samuel Ablakwah-Okudjeto, Information and Dr. Omane Boamah for Agriculture.

Source: TODAY newspaper