Scandal at Energy Commission…

IS IT THE SAME COLONEL TAKYI —Who was involved in the vanishing shipload of cocoa? One colonel K. A. Takyi has been in the news recently in connection with the scandal associated with the Energy Commission, which has led to the interdiction of the Commission's Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Kofi Asante.

Among other things, the following allegations have been made in relation to the said Mr. Kofi Asante and Colonel K. A. Takyi, that:

Mr. Kofi Asante, the Chief Executive! Officer of the Ghana Energy commission, used ¢662 million, the cost of a small village clinic, on refrigeration in his car. The cost of the car itself was ¢650 million.

· Mr. Asante also installed another refrigerator in another of the Commission's Land cruiser he personally allocated to the Mamponghene, Daasebre Osei Bonsu II, known in private life as Saint Oswald Gyimah Kessie, another Ashanti who was the Board Chairman of the Energy Commission.

· A whopping ¢15.46 billion was paid to the said, Colonel K.A. Takyi, an Ashanti, of East Legon, the owner of the two-storey building christened 'Frema House', which the Commission has rented. The amount was supposed to be used for the conversion of the house.

· The tenancy agreement for Frema House covered five years and the colossal amount of ¢7.4 billion was paid as advance.

· ¢7.6 billion was spent between October 2002 a! nd February 2003 to finish the conversion of Frema House without any agreement with the landlord.

· The landlord, Colonel K.A. Takyi, collected ¢487 million for the lease of a small gatehouse at Frema House.

· Mr. Kofi Asante ordered four relaxation chairs at a cost of ¢32.8 million. · 250,000 copies of manuals that Mr. Kofi Asante printed at a cost of ¢984 million for distribution to motorists were dumped in a small room for two years; fully paid for but forgotten.

· Mr. Kofi Asante was asked to refund over-payment of salaries and rent with a social security payment component that were paid to him amounting to ¢260 million.

· The Commission members awarded themselves allowances and procured capital items to the tune of ¢6. 3 billion without reference to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning.

Our interest for now however is not in Mr. Kofi Asante or in the Energy Commission or the Chairman of its Board. Our interest is in the individual named Colonel K. A. Takyi in respect of whom we would like to ask the following questions:

· Is Col. K. A. Takyi the same Col. K. A. Takyi who served as Kutu Acheampong's NRC/SMC'S Chief Executive of Cocoa Marketing Board (CMB) or Commissioner for Cocoa Affairs or both?

· Is Col. K. A. Takyi the same Col. K. A. Takyi who was mentioned when a shipload of Ghana's cocoa "vanished" on the High Seas without the crew?

· Is Col. K.A. Takyi the same Col. K. A. Takyi who, soon after the ship mysteriously got lost, become on instant billionaire?

· Is Col. K. A. Takyi the same Col. K. A. Takyi who at that time put up what is now called a "mini-Castle" at his Ashanti-Mampong hometown in the Ashanti Region?

· Is Col. K. A. Takyi the same Col. K. A. Takyi who went on to invest in real estate in many big towns in the Ashanti Region?

· Is Col. K. A. Takyi the same Col. K. A. Takyi who managed to acquire the best of lands at Dome, a suburb near Achimota on the outskirts of Accra?

· Is Col. K. A. Takyi the same Col. K. A. Takyi who, after "decorating" his Dome lands with some magnificent buildings, put up a very long wall to protect the rest of his undeveloped estate?

· Is Col. K. A. Takyi the same Col. K. A. Takyi who became an instant family philanthropist in the style of heroin-dealing Nkoranza NPP MP Eric Amoateng, sponsoring his children, family members and some townsfolk to study abroad?

· Is Col. K.A. Takyi the same Col. K.A. Takyi who was convicted by the AFRC Peoples Court, sentenced to hundreds of years in prison and later reprieved and released from prison custody on the orders of the then PNDC Chairman, Jerry John Rawlings? THE MAN LT. COL. K.A. TAKYI——AND HIS PROPERTIES If Col. K.A. Takyi, owner of Frema House and the one enmeshed in the Energy Commission scandal is the same Col. K.A. Takyi who was the Chief Executive Officer of the CMB and/or Commissioner for Cocoa Affairs under Ignatius Kutu Acheampong's NRC/SMC Government, then he at one time or the other owned the following properties which were confiscated by the AFRC and later dealt with in the manner described.

i. House No. 320 or No. 16 3rd Mukose Link, North Kaneshie, Accra, confiscated by the AFRC, allocated to the then National Commission on Democracy (NCD, now Electoral Commission (EC)) and occupied by officials of that outfit.

ii. Unnumbered House behind Hotel de Bella at New Dansoman, Accra, confiscated by the AFRC, allocated to the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ) and was completed and being used as a Hos! tel for students of the GIJ.

iii. House No. 66 Nii Kwabena Bonne Crescent, Dzorwulu, Accra, confiscated by the AFRC and allocated to the Ministry of Health.

iv. House No. 23 Castle Road, opposite Ridge Hospital, Accra, confiscated by the AFRC, allocated to the Ministry of Health and was being occupied by officials of that Ministry.

v. House No. 2 West Loop, Tesano, Accra, confiscated by the AFRC and released to the family for family occupation by the then PNDC Chairman, Jerry John Rawlings.

vi. House No. T. 28 Tunsuom Street, Ashanti-Mampong, confiscated by the AFRC, allocated to the Ministry of Health and was being occupied by officials of that Ministry.

vii. House No. 1 New Damang, Ashanti-Mampong, confiscated by the AFRC and released to the family for family occupation in April 1992.