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03.02.2012 Feature Article

What about Mrs B. Mould-Iddrisu and Kwabena Duffuor, if Mr Martin Amidu misconducted himself?

What about Mrs B. Mould-Iddrisu and Kwabena Duffuor, if Mr Martin Amidu misconducted himself?
03.02.2012 LISTEN

Mr. Martin Amidu was subjected to intense and undeserving scrutiny after he openly declared discontentment with the actions of “a colleague Minister of State, who perceived that [Mr Amidu's] integrity and professionalism as a lawyer was a threat to the concealment of gargantuan crimes against the people of Ghana in which they might be implicated”. Subsequently a decision was reached, thus “as a result of Mr Amidu's misconduct at a meeting last Friday, January 13th, 2012 presided over by His Excellency” which decision, axed the “cool headed” Mr. Amidu in whose office there is no room to stomach “emotions, inexperience and crass incompetence in the practice of the law” because he has built a “well established reputation and integrity as a lawyer, a politician and the [former] Attorney- General of the Republic of Ghana.

To begin let me state the facts as unequivocally presented by EOCO which shall form the basis of this brief.

1. At the stage, “when the Hon. Minister-MOFEP ordered payment and the process for payment was initiated…when the instruction to pay got to the Bank of Ghana (BOG) and before BOG could effect payment, His Excellency, The President had intervened and ordered the Hon. Minister-MOFEP not to effect the payment…” (page 11 of EOCO interim report). After negotiations between the Ministry of Finance and solicitors of Mr Woyome, (this was a result of information from the AG to the Hon. Minister-MOFEP)

2. “Again before MOFEP could pay the first instalment of GH 17, 094, 493.53 as agreed, His Excellency, The President ordered the Attorney General to take action in court to set aside the court's order…”

It is undeniable to state that the president had knowledge of the “then on-going” dispute over the payment to Mr Alfred Agbesi Woyome. It would also be unerring to admit in view of the President's response during the recent interaction with the editors at The Castle, Osu that the President did not order the payment, though he had knowledge of it. Instead, the President at two separate occasions had intervened to halt the payment knowing “the plight of [his] people, when [he] know(s) [his] people are crying for water, the basic necessities of life, how can [he] be so criminally-minded, so irresponsible to say give 58 million to one person.”

But what I find intriguing and incomprehensible is that, the president who loads, reloads and fires ministers of state without rendering his action to interrogations and thereby not giving reasons for doing so could on one hand fire the “cool headed” Mr. Martin Amidu for misconduct but could not fire Mrs Betty Mould and Dr. Kwabena Duffuor for misconduct too. Upon discovering that the payment had indeed been effected regardless the President “ordered the Hon. Minister-MOFEP not to effect the payment...and also, subsequently…ordered the Attorney General to take action in court to set aside the court's order…”, which the Attorney General defied. One would expect a measure of this to be a grievous misconduct unless misconduct is an understatement or better still Mr. Amidu's misconduct is the first of its kind in existence.

Tell you what the Attorney General did?...”she was the one undertook all the negotiations…and should have made sure the suit in court was defended because there were enough grounds to defend the actions but this was not done. In the files of AG department could be found a lot of evidence which indicated clearly that at the least, Mr Woyome could not establish his case…”(page 13 EOCO interim report). Yet when the President “ordered the Attorney General to take action in court to set aside the court's order…” she refused to do so, and that was not misconduct for her to be fired likewise the instance of Mr Martin Amidu?

What about Mr. Nerquaye Tetteh, “the Chief State Attorney in direct charge of the Woyome case” whose actions have been described as delinquent by the EOCO report, who “concluded that the Government did not have a defence and therefore did not file one…which led to the seeming legitimization of Mr Woyome's claims”(page 14 EOCO interim report) but to whom (his wife) “evidence so far has confirmed that an amount of GH 400, 000.00 was paid on 16th June, 2011… as has been detected from the bank statement” of Mr. Woyome…”(page 14 & 15 EOCO interim report). What a gargantuan misconduct!

For the finance ministry “…when the instruction to pay got to the Bank of Ghana (BOG) and before BOG could effect payment, His Excellency, The President had intervened and ordered the Hon. Minister-MOFEP not to effect the payment…” yet what do we have today? Allegedly, a whooping GH 51, 000. 000 has wrongfully, criminally-mindedly, and so irresponsibly been given out to one person in defiance of the President's order, and that was not misconduct for him to be fired likewise the instance of Mr Martin Amidu?

What about Mr. Paul Asimenu, Director-Legal, MOFEP who wrote the opinion which eventually led to the decision that Mr Woyome was entitled to his claim…and who is responsible for assuming “a role which helped in creating the conditions which made it possible for Mr Woyome to get paid what he clearly was not due” (page 15 EOCO interim report). What a gargantuan misconduct too!

The action of Mrs Betty Mould Iddrisu at the time when she was the Attorney General was a grievous misconduct and she should have long been fired before she resigned. Further, the finance minister is still at post regardless defying the President's order and he has not been fired for misconduct. What a gargantuan hypocrisy. We love you Mr Martin Amidu, albeit your dismissal for misconduct.

Truly, I have admitted that the President had a factual knowledge of the matter; nonetheless he did not order the payment.

• Mr President what do you make of the report contrary to your initial claims that you had no knowledge of the matter and therefore the two ministries –Finance and Justice- should submit a report to you relative to the Woyomegate scandal?

• Mr President why did you not and have not fired those who defied your orders, which defiance, is “incompatible with acceptable standards expected of Ministers and Appointees of the President” when you fired Mr Martin Amidu for exhibiting behaviours “incompatible with acceptable standards expected of Ministers and Appointees of the President”?

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