Minority Moves To Impeach Kufuor

...NPP MP Rubbishes The Minority Accra, May 27, Joy Online -- The minority National Democratic Congress (NDC) in Parliament says it is investigating the 'hotel Kufuor saga' to establish the involvement of the presidency in its acquisition in order to begin an impeachment process against the President. The minority believes that it will make a good case if what is being speculated in the media is anything to go by.

Minority leader in Parliament, Alban Bagbin in an interview says the NDC will conduct an independent investigation into the case before seeking signatures of members of Parliament to file notice for impeachment against the president.

He is hopeful that the investigating team will finish its work on time to enable the minority file a notice latest by mid-June.

Mr Bagbin says reports in the media do not serve enough basis for impeaching the president, “ we need to establish a prima facie evidence'.

He says there are a lot of inconsistencies in the reaction of those who are speaking for and on behalf of the presidency.

Quoting Article 69 (4) of the 1992 Constitution, he says the minority's task will be to prove that the president has acted in a manner that puts the name of the presidency into disrepute.

Quizzed on whether he would have the support of his colleagues in the august house, Mr. Bagbin replied: “ If Parliament is concerned in combating corruption, this will be the opportune time to show it.”

According to the MP for Nadowli, the import of the action is not for victory but to remind public office holders that they are holding those offices in trust for the public, “ their actions and inactions are being monitored.”

Mr. Bagbin says it is ridiculous for President Kufuor to say that people should substantiate their allegations before he could act on them.

He alleges that government has crippled institutions like the Serious Fraud Office, the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice, the Criminal Investigations Department and the police that are to investigate such allegations.

“They need not act only on orders but can independently decide to investigate any case of corruption, he says. NPP MP rubbishes the minority The NPP MP for Assin North, Kennedy Agyapong says it is ridiculous for the opposition NDC in parliament to ask for the impeachment of President Kufuor following the 'Hotel Kuf” saga.

Mr. Agyapong says he agrees with calls that some investigations should be conducted into the whole saga to ascertain whether President Kufuor is guilty of anything but says it is incredible to think about impeachment.

“The allegation of intimacy with the president should be investigated to ascertain the truth because the woman is telling a lie. It will also clear the perception that Ghanaians now have about President Kufuor,” he says

Asked who should conduct the investigations Mr. Agyapong says he expects the NDC to start the investigations.

“ I agree with them, let them go out there but Bagbin will not even have the nerve to go out there and do the investigations,” he says.

When asked why, Mr. Agyapong says, “ because we know them. We were here in Ghana last year when a paper wrote that he had slept with his sister in law. If that is their line of impeachment then in Parliament and in politics, you will not even get 10 per cent who are morally genuine.”

“I want to state categorically that they did worse things, impeach whom, they should go and call all ex-presidents and impeach them for all the things they did before they come to President Kufuor” he says.

But in a reaction, Mr. Bagbin said he cleared himself in what the paper wrote about his alleged affair.

“He is talking about immorality hanging on my head, in what sense and in what position. At least I came out in the open, they should also come out and tell us,” he says

Answering questions on the fact that critics are saying that the whole scandal was masterminded by the opposition NDC, Mr Bagbin says “ Well I think the lady gave a good response that the matter broke out in 2003, if we wanted to make political capital of it, we could have used it for the elections.”

The minority leader says presidential spokesperson Kwabena Agyapong's assertion that Madam Gizelle Yajzi had dealings with the NDC is a 'straight lie'.

“The woman personally came to Ghana in 2002 on the invitation of his excellency the President: as a financial economist, she also did law to support them to repackage some of the loans that the NDC had arranged and that is how come she was referred to the finance minister,” he says.