NDC is appalled by the revelations of the OSP on the grand Agyapa Deal – Sammy Gyamfi

The National democratic Congress (NDC) has in its latest news conference expressed its disgust at the revelation that the OSP has established beyond every reasonable doubt, that the “Agyapa” deal violated the Public Procurement Act, the Public Financial Management Act, and the 1992 Constitution, thereby rendering the entire transaction null, void and of no effect.

According to the NDC, the most startling revelation by the OSP in its Corruption Risk Assessment report on the “Agyapa” scam, was the fact that some illegal payments were made to certain entities which include Databank – a company founded and owned by Ken Ofori Atta, a cousin of President Akufo-Addo, the immediate-past Finance Minister, who has been promoted to the position of a Senior Presidential Advisor on the economy and Special Envoy on international investments and the Capital Markets.

Speaking at the Moment of Truth news conference in Accra, , the National Communication Officer of the NDC, Lawyer Sammy Gyamfi, said, the OSP also found that, similar illegal payments were made to Africa Legal Associates – a law firm belonging to Gabby Otchere Darko, another cousin of President Akufo-Addo. “All these payments were found by the OSP to be unlawful, hence null and void. Yet, till date, these illegal payments, which did not give the country any value or benefit, have not been retrieved by the state,” Sammy Gyamfi stated.

“This colossal amount of USD$12 million, which is equivalent to GHS153 million Ghana cedis (i.e 1.5 trillion old Ghana cedis) could have achieved a lot in Ghana’s bankrupt economy if it had been put to judicious use”.

He further submitted that, “this money could have sufficed to pay the cost of several months of treatment for all kidney patients in Ghana, nineteen (19) of whom died painfully, following the shameful closure of the Renal Dialysis Unit of the Korle Bu Teaching hospital for several months last year, over government’s GHS4 million indebtedness and this colossal amount of money, could have been used to provide childhood vaccines to protect innocent babies from dying of childhood killer diseases due to shortage of essential vaccines”.

He said, this USD$12 million which the country has lost to “sheer corruption, could have procured textbooks for basic school children who have gone five years without curricular-based textbooks, after the introduction of a new curriculum”.

Sammy Gyamfi accused the NPP government particular the Vice president, Dr. Bawumia of complicity when he said, “Ghanaians have had enough of this Akufo-Addo/Bawumia NPP administration, which has earned the dubious distinction as the most corrupt government under the Fourth Republic”.

“The penchant of this corrupt NPP government to hide behind crafty schemes such as the “Agyapa” deal, to steal from the people of Ghana is just too much. If it is not about mortgaging future mineral royalties into a phony offshore entity called Agyapa, then it is about the dubious payment of $2 million dollars to a sham entity called Ai Skytrain Ltd, for so-called sky trains which have never materialized. From the PDS thievery to the unconscionable Ameri Novation agreement, all the way to the stinky SML scandal, this government has been relentless in their greedy pursuit to fleece the state coffers,” he added.

The Party however noted that, the next NDC government will investigate the alleged $12 million “Agyapa” scam, retrieve all illegal payments made under same, and ensure that all the perpetrators are prosecuted.

By Edzorna Francis Mensah