Everyone has problems, but Nana’s problems are becoming too many by the day. So-so, scandals- scandals.
The BOST rot has made the president confused. Hot. Desperate. Hopeless.
But the truth is that when deceit and greed work together the results are quite interesting, and that is exactly what our beloved president is experiencing.
On Friday, July 8, 2016, at Duayaw Nkwanta in the Tano North Constituency of the Brong Ahafo Region, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo during a 5-day campaign tour of the region made some thought-provoking remarks that if God listens to his prayers and he becomes president, he will ensure that corruption is rooted out, so that Ghana’s money can be used for the benefit of the good people of Ghana.
“Government is ‘chopping’ our money ‘nyafu, nyafu’. My government is going to root out corruption and the brazen theft of public resources. Under President Kufuor, without the benefit of oil money, and with the right policies, he was able to pay teacher and nursing training allowances. Today, with the benefit of oil, this government has cancelled these allowances with the excuse that there is no money”, he said.
Oops! Let me pause for some breaking news. It has just been reported that the Acting Director General of Ghana Health Service, Dr. Nsiah Asare has confirmed that Government has scrapped the bonding system in the nursing sector, this means after completing nursing school, nurses would have to look for their own jobs. This is a double whammy, isn’t it? Kai, it is too bad. No allowance, no job. Kikikikikiki, nurses for change I dey greet you oo.
So, it happened that under the very nose of Incorruptible President Akufo-Addo who says he is going to root out corruption, one of his appointees, Alfred Obeng, the MD of BOST is under pressure to resign his position over an alleged corruption involving the sale of some 5 million litres of contaminated fuel by the company. Some fascinating facts of the impropriety are as follows:
- Movenpiina applied to buy the contaminated fuel from BOST on 19th May, 2017, but the company itself was registered on the 29th May, 2017.
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The address and landline of Movenpiina are the same as the private address and landline of the BOST MD.
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Movenpiina is not registered by the National Petroleum Authority (NPA).
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Movenpiina’s contract was interestingly sole-sourced when the company has no license and experience.
These issues have angered the people of Ghana including many members of the NPP. And this is what a leading member of the NPP, Asamoah Gyamfi said, “If I were the president, I will ask the BOST MD to resign or I will sack him. He has gone contrary to the promises Akufo Addo made to save the public purse by fighting corruption. We promised to put an end to sole sourcing, but Alfred Obeng has done it, so he must go. The president should not shield him or will be subject to mockery by the Ghanaian public.”
He was not alone. The President of IMANI Africa, Franklin Cudjoe was also seething with anger, and didn’t mince words on the issue; speaking on Citi FM’s news analysis and current affairs programme, The Big Issue, he described the scandal as an organised crime, and that the perpetrators deliberately contaminated the fuel in order to make money at the expense of the state.
Things are now getting out of kilter, and Nana’s chances of succeeding as a president seem to hang in a delicate balance; and Kennedy Agyapong could tip the scales toward failure. Ken is far more dangerous than he appears to be. He has been a thorn in the flesh of his own party members, and has for example threatened to share nude pictures of those in his party who want him dead.
He is like a cat with nine lives – always landing on his feet – and always seemed to land unexpectedly on the doorstep of a member of his party. Unfortunately, this time around, he has decided to land on the doorstep of Nana Akufo-Addo. He has dared the president to sack the BOST MD if he doesn’t want the whole world to hear about how the NPP rigged the 2016 general elections which made him president.
And I can see Nana with a flash of helplessness. Of panic. Of fear. Of himself begging Ken. I don’t know whether Ken’s threat is real or a joke; but if President Akufo-Addo makes a mistake and sacks Alfred Obeng, chai, we will soon be finding out.
Our president is obviously navigating the storms of indecision, and his predicament could be likened to the proverbial Akan drum know as Kwasi Anata Dwini; it is believed that when the drum is beaten you will lose your mother, and if it is not beaten your father will die. As things stand, Hon. Kennedy Agyapong seems poised to beat the drum, and wants to hit it hard! In this case, our president is in a deadly quagmire, and needs help more than breath.
But could this possibly be part of his curse of taking something that does not belong to him as Hon. Kennedy Agyapong is trying to reveal? I’m going to relentlessly search for an answer in the coming weeks, so stay tuned.
