The “Sins” Of “Hercules” Edumadze

— He seeks to apologise to Prof. Mills

Palaver -- NPP Minister for Central Region, Isaac “Hercules” Edumadze, has committed many “sins”. His greatest “sin”, of course, was to have referred to NDC 2004 Presidential candidate, Professor John Evans Atta-Mills, as a “chamber pot”.

NPP MP for Asikuma-Odoben-Brakwa, Hon. P. C. Appiah-Ofori, catalogued about 20 of “Hercules” Edumadze's “sins” and wanted the Parliamentary Appointments Committee to investigate them. Of course with Freddie Blay, the CPP MP in the chair behaving as more of an NPP member than the NPP members themselves, nobody expected those allegations to be investigated. And they were not.

From time to time, “Hercules” Edumadze's “sins” hit the media headlines. Like when he “hijacked” a taxi from Suhum and drove it all the way to Cape Coast.

Like when he drove like “Jehu” and intercepted a taxi in the Ajumako-Enyan-Esiam district, scaring a church congregation in the process and having them pleading with him to “let the poor taxi driver go”.

Like when he caused the arrest and detention of a Cape Coast Municipal Assembly guard for daring to “clamp” his vehicle when he parked in a “No “Parking” zone.

We of the 'Ghana Palaver' have also been keeping our dossier on Isaac “Hercules” Edumadze, the man who, as a lowly IRS official, was sponsored by the Service then headed by Professor John Evans Atta-Mills to the IPS to try to better his education, failed, turned a politician, and turned his back on the same Professor Mills, calling him a “chamber pot”.

And now that he thinks the political fortunes of the NPP are changing for the worse, the news is that “Hercules” Edumadze has sent a delegation secretly and nicodemously like a thief in the night to Professor Mills' sister to apologise for his stupidity. We only hope it is not true.

But from our archives, here readers are with “The “Sins” of “Hercules” Edumadze”, the man President Kufuor is afraid to touch, obviously because of the President's own sins of commission and omission and his numerous acts of indiscretion and perfidy, many of which are now coming to light.

(i) The Central Regional Minister has been interfering in chieftaincy affairs in the Region, thus bringing his reputation into disrepute and soiling the image of the NPP in that region——If Mr. Isaac Edumadze, the Regional Minister cannot perform his duties with civility and decorum, he should resign or be sacked by the President. [Ghana Palaver, Vol. 9 No. 12, Friday, November 15 – Monday, November 18, 2002, Page 2 – “Letter to the Editor: Discipline Central Regional Minister”].

(ii) The Royal Pakaseda Nsona Family of Mankessim, one of the factions in the chieftaincy dispute, has accused the Central Regional Minister, Mr. Isaac Edumadze, of fanning the dispute because of the stand he has taken——

With regards to the excuse by the Regional Minister that the situation in the area was volatile, Yaa Santeo contended that he (the Regional Minister) is the problem and that the situation is so, as a result of his behaviour.

The Pakaseda Nsona Royal Family therefore appealed to the President of the Republic to intervene to stop Mr. Isaac K. Edumadze from overtly or covertly interfering with the Mankessim chieftaincy affair. [Ghana Palaver, Vol. 9 No. 8, Friday, November 1 – Monday, November 4, 2002, Back Page – “Minister accused of bias in Mankessim dispute”]

(iii) The Central Regional Minister, Mr. Isaac K. Edumadze, has once again “shown” the power of his “machoism” on the town of Mankessim, where he personally ordered that mounted canopies be dismantled in his presence, an order which amounted to an interference in chieftaincy affairs.

Earlier, the Minister had, by word of mouth, “cancelled” a police permit granted the chiefs and people for the celebration of the Borbor Mfantse Akwanbo festival——

[Ghana Palaver, Vol. 9, No. 4, Friday, October 18 – Monday, October 21, 2002, Front Page – “Edumadze Shows Chief his “Machoism”—At Mankessim”].

(iv) The Central Regional Minister, Mr. Isaac Edumadze, has by-passed laid-down regulations and engaged his friends and party members in the supply of foodstuffs to the Prison Service with foodstuffs such as beans, gari and maize—

According to the Minister, it is party directive that the old people in supply business should be changed. No reasons were given for the new policy, however it is believed to fulfil the electoral promise of job creation. [Ghana Palaver, Vol. 8, No. 92, Friday, September 6 – Monday, September 9, 2002, Back Page – “Edumadze at it again”].

(v) The assemblyman for the Ahenbronmu electoral area of Ajumako in the Ajumako-Enyan-Esiam Constituency, Hon. Shadrad Ebo Inkoom, has accused the Central Regional Minister, Hon. Isaac K. Edumadze, for allegedly organising the elders of the Ajumako Town Development Committee to persuade him to step down as the Assemblyman or defect to the NPP else there will be no assistance and support from him (Regional Minister) and the District Assembly to develop his electoral area—

Hon. Inkoom has appealed to the security agencies and CHRAJ to investigate the issue and bring the Minister to book to prevent him from harassment. [Ghana Palaver, Vol. 8, No. 90, Friday, August 3 – Monday, September 2, 2002, Page 6 – “Central Regional Minister Harass Assemblyman”].

(vi) This year's election of officers for the Students Representative Council (SRC) of Cape Coast Polytechnic was stopped by the Acting Principal, Mr. J. N. Asante, at the eleventh hour last Wednesday, following a pressure mounted on him after an NPP-sponsored candidate had failed a vetting exercise—

According to student sources, an “influential” Lecturer (name withheld), an NPP and chief campaign manager of one of the aspirants to the post of President, had allegedly collected an amount of six million cedis (¢6,000,000) from the Central Regional Minister, Mr. Isaac Edumadze, for campaign operations. [Ghana Palaver, Vol. 8, No. 86, Tuesday, August 20 – Thursday, August 22, 2002, Back Page – “Edumadze Interferes in SRC Polls”].

(vii) A contract for the clearing of a huge refuse dump at Kasoa accumulated from the time that the NPP came into office was originally estimated to cost ¢80 million, but the figure was mysteriously and inexplicably inflated to ¢270 million on the instructions of the Regional Minister, Mr. Isaac Edumadze.

The contract was neither awarded to a registered contractor nor approved by the District Tender Board. Instead, the Regional Minister and the DCE for Effutu-Awutu-Senya, Captain Armah (Rtd), commandeered tipper trucks to do the haulage of the refuse from Kasoa. Following the exposure of the deal, the Regional Minister has ordered the DCE to proceed on indefinite leave. [Ghana Palaver, Vol. 10, No. 37, Friday, February 27 – Monday, March 1, 2004, Back Page – “Central Region NDC call for probe into Kasoa Contract”].