The Jubilee House, the seat of Ghana’s government, has been embroiled in a web of corruption scandals, raising concerns about the integrity of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) government led by President Nana Addo and Vice President Bawumia.
A series of malfeasance have emerged, pointing to a culture of corruption and cronyism within the NPP government.
The SSNIT hotel sales saga saw the controversial sale of four hotels owned by the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) to a private company, Sunrise Estate Limited, linked to a high-ranking government official, minister of Agriculture at a suspiciously low price.
The SML-GRA scandal involved the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) awarding a contract to SML, a private company, to collect revenue on its behalf, without proper due process, leading to huge revenue losses to the state.But individuals within the ruling government benefited in the deal as revealed by the fourth Estate investigation.
The Agyapa Royalties deal, aimed at raising funds by listing a special purpose vehicle on the London Stock Exchange, was marred by controversy, with a loss of 12 million dollars as revealed by the public account committee. Civil society organizations accuse the government of undervaluing Ghana’s gold resources and lacking transparency and accountability in the deal.
The PDS scandal saw the government’s handling of the Power Distribution Services (PDS) concessionaire agreement terminated due to instituitional fraud and corruption.
The galamsey fraud scandal involved the government’s complicity in handling illegal mining activities, despite its cosmetics public commitment to fighting the practice.
The cocoa fraud scandal saw corruption and mismanagement in the cocoa sector, leading to the freeze of scholarships with huge cocoa funds embezzled by top government NPP officials.
The Aker Energy scandal involved the government’s handling of the Aker Energy deal, the NPP government undervalue Ghana’s oil resources and lack transparency. The Frontiers Healthcare Services scandal saw the government’s handling of a contract awarded to Frontiers Healthcare Services to provide testing services for COVID-19 at the Kotoka International Airport, awarded without proper due process.
The National Cathedral scandal involved the government’s plan to build a national cathedral, which Ghanaians considered a vanity project and a waste of public funds. The missing excavators scandal saw the disappearance of more than 500 excavators seized from illegal miners, eventually sold or re-sold to cronies of high-ranking NPP government officials.
These corruption scandals depict a government entangled in cronyism and nepotism, which casts doubts on the integrity and transparency of the NPP government in power.
Once emblematic of good governance and rule of law, the Jubilee house under Nana-Addo and Bawumia has become a hub of governmental malfeasance. Subverting the rule of law and eroding public confidence in the NPP government.
The only solution Ghanaians have is to vote massively to John Dramani Mahama in the impending Dec 7 elections. Building the Ghana, we want to see and live.
By Ahmed M. Gedel
Former NDC Technical Advisor( Biometric) and NDC Rep@ IPAC & UNDP- Ghana.
SNR. Accessibility Clerk officer.
New York State Board of Elections.
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