THE opposition New Patriotic Party has
expressed shock and disbelief over the report by the Commission on Human Rights
and Administrative Justice that absolved President John Dramani Mahama of any
wrong doing in the Ford saga.The party maintains that despite the
report, many Ghanaians still believe that the Ford presented to the president
was a bribe.
"President Mahama's Ford gift is a bribe and that no amount
of white-washing will exonerate him," the party has said in statement signed by
Nana Akomea, the Communications Director.
The CHRAJ on Thursday September
29 published its report on its investigation and conclusions in the matter of
the Ford vehicle gift/bribery saga to President Mahama.
The report
concluded even though it was inappropriate for President Mahama to receive the
Ford vehicle as a gift, he was not guilty of having put himself in the position
of receiving a bribe or put himself in a conflict of interest/abuse of
office/corruption situation.
The NPP has no doubt that by accepting the
Ford vehicle from a government contractor, who got his contracts only after
meeting with him, President Mahama had received a bribe or kickback by every
description.
According to the party, the CHRAJ report is one desperate
and blatant attempt at a white-wash which will go down as a most shoddy job by a
constitutional body in the Fourth Republic of Ghana.
"The facts of this
matter have one summary: President Mahama, the topmost public servant in Ghana,
received an expensive present from a contractor who was in a contractual
engagement with the government of President Mahama," it noted.
The
opposition party reminded the President of his own Code of Ethics he issued to
his ministers and appointees that forbids all those who work under him from
accepting gifts of more than UD$50, or from accepting gifts from a commercial
enterprise or any other organisation.
Again, the same code of ethics
forbids government functionaries from putting themselves in a conflict of
interest situation where their personal friends derive some financial benefits
from a decision by the government.
To the NPP, any objective review of
President Mahama's conduct in the light of these provisions show clear
wrongdoing.
"The second basis for CHRAJ's conclusion, that when it came
to the President's attention he immediately turned the gift to the state is also
contestable, just by looking at the simple facts of this case," it
added.
It said the President took a high value gift from a contractor who
met him to solicit for government contracts and was subsequently awarded
contracts, stressing “what the President Mahama did is an open and shut case of
wrong doing, bribery and corruption.”
According to the findings by the
commission, there is no evidence that President Mahama took part in decisions to
award contracts to his contractor friend, and that when the gift was brought to
his attention he handed the vehicle to the State.
But the NPP has
rubbished the findings, stating categorically that "these two basis of the CHRAJ
are clearly flawed."
The party further quizzed:"how do we decide the
President was not complicit in decision by his appointees to award contracts to
his friend? The guidelines mentioned above say it is sufficient to show that
gifts were taken from a contractor (who after meeting Vice President Mahama,)
got substantial contracts from the Government."
According to the NPP,
even though the president was supposed to have turned the vehicle to the state
on November 2, 2012, records presented to CHRAJ show the vehicle was declared at
Tema Port and Customs Duty paid on February 13, 2013, three clear months
after.
The opposition party wondered why an armored state vehicle, turned
over to the state on November 2, was taken out more than three months later to
the Tema port, declared before Customs, and import duties paid, amounting to
GHC23, 646.
"It is trite knowledge that customs duties are not paid on
State vehicles. The President of Ghana also does not pay taxes. So on whose
behalf was the duty paid? What was the purpose of paying the duty?" the party
asked.
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