The 5-Member Committee chaired by Majority Chief Whip, Kwasi Ameyaw-Cheremeh, commenced ts public hearings on Thursday receiving submissions of the Minority Chief Whip, Muntaka Mubarak, who first made the allegation, and North Tongu MP, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa.

Muntaka defended his allegation before the Committee, but told Citi News that he felt some of the Committee members sought to discredit him by their style of questioning.

Okudzeto Ablakwa also firmly justified his claims that indeed the Ministry extorted monies from the expatriates. He called for an independent audit of the accounts used by the organizers of the Ghana Expatriates Business Awards (GEBA) ceremony, which was held in December 2017.

[contextly_sidebar id=”Vqr4ajo6tgvoRAo7jvFZa5KYNj1HO5yq”]The Committee has up to the 24^th of January to submit its report.

The Trade Ministry, which is at the Center of the allegations has on previous occasions denied any wrongdoing in the matter. However, they are expected to make their case formally known before the 5-member committee

A Member of the Committee and MP for Adenta, Yaw Buaben Asamoa, who speaks for the committee said it is unclear how many witnesses the Ministry will present to make their case.

Background

The Minority Chief Whip, Muntaka Mubarak, first made the extortion allegation in Parliament in December 2017.

Mr. Mubarak said the fees charged at the Ghana Expatriate Business Awards (GEBA) were not approved by Parliament, adding that the monies were also not accounted for in the Internally Generated Funds [IGF] of the Ministry’s accounts.

The issue was further reinforced by Mr. Ablakwa, who suffered verbal assaults from Deputy Minister for Trade and Industry, Carlos Ahenkorah over the matter.

The Ministry of Trade and Industry initially dissociated itself from these allegations.

The Trade Ministry, in a statement said it played no role in determining prices for seats at the event, and clarified that it only facilitated the implementation of a new initiative by the Millennium Excellence Foundation.

But the Ministry after an order from the President to probe the matter, clarified that an amount of GHc 2,667,215 was realized from the event.

The organizers of the Awards had also explained that no one paid to sit close to the President, and that the amount raised was gotten from sponsorship through a fundraising at the event.

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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The Ministry was alleged to have charged between $25,000 and $100,000 to enable expatriates to sit close to the President at the Ghana Expatriate Business Awards.

[contextly_sidebar id=”7uPvFEK5fhoVSdPRZlvOZfZCRx50CYgX”]Following a query to the Trade and Industry Minister, Alan Kyeremanten, demanding answers from him over the allegations, a statement from the government has said “the facts, as reported to the President, do not disclose any wrongdoing on the part of the Minister of any government official.”

In view of this, the President has “therefore asked the Minister to put those facts before the Ghanaian people.”

The Trade and Industry Ministry, and the President of the Millennium Excellence Foundation, which organised the awards, has already denied the allegations, which first came from the Minority Chief Whip, Muntaka Mubarak.

The foundation, however, stated that donations were actively solicited for the Ghana Expatriate Business Awards with the help of the Trades Ministry, and the highest donors were expected to get preferential treatment.

Minority’s call for ‘proper’ probe

But the Minority has maintained that, there was some wrongdoing by the two parties, and has indicated that, it is ready to appear before any investigative body to provide evidence of extortion from the Ministry of Trade and Industry.

The MP for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, said he is prepared to make available receipts proving the alleged extortion at the appropriate avenues.

The Minority Chief Whip, Muntaka Mubarak, also wants Parliament to set up a committee to probe the alleged extortion.

He said an investigation will establish the veracity of the allegations, and put the matter to rest and allow Parliament to redeem itself.

Find below the full statement

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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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The Ministry of Trade and Industry has been accused of charging expatriates between $25,000 and $100,000 to enable them to sit close to the President at the Ghana Expatriate Business Awards on December 8.

[contextly_sidebar id=”p23Kz5I27IAKCD3PxMuEkI5TRtEJRpl6″]This allegation has since generated controversy, resulting in a brawl in Parliament between two Members of Parliament, Carlos Ahenkorah and Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa.

Speaking to Citi News following the turn of events, Muntaka Mubarak said the investigation will establish the veracity of the allegations and put the matter to rest.

“Only when you investigate them and get to the very bottom that you get to know who might have been doing this because if someone says that pay $100,000 or $75,000 and apart from this meeting you are going to be also having an exclusive meeting with the President, this is the biggest opportunity for Parliament to redeem itself. Investigate this!”

How it started

The allegation was first made by Minority Chief Whip Muntaka Mubarak, who said it was inappropriate.

The Asawase legislator argued that the fees charged at the event were not the kind of fees approved by Parliament, and that the monies were also not accounted for in the Internally Generated Funds [IGF] of the Ministry’s accounts.

The Ministry however in a statement challenging the claims, said it played no role in determining prices for seats at the event.

It added that, it only facilitated the implementation of the new initiative [GEBA], by the Millennium Excellence Foundation, an entity noted for organizing world class events.

“As a Government that believes in the private sector as the engine of growth, the Government through the Ministry of Trade and Industry welcomed the initiative to collaborate with the Foundation to see to the birthing of the initiative. The Ministry consequently signed an MoU with the Foundation that spelt out the roles of both parties. Resource mobilization to ensure that the event was organized at no cost to the taxpayer was the sole responsibility of the Foundation”.

“The Ministry only wrote letters to introduce the Millennium Excellence Foundation to sponsors and solicited support whilst the Foundation prepared the sponsorship package kits and presented it to potential sponsors at a later date. It is very worrying for people who are expected to know better (especially if some happen to be leading members of the august House of Parliament) to conveniently join the streets wagon in pursuit of petty partisan parochial interests to churn out deliberate falsehood to perpetuate the fallacy that access to the President has to be secured with financial inducements,” excerpts of the statement said.

This was however disputed by the Minority in Parliament, who in a statement issued through Okudzeto Ablakwa, insisted that the Ministry’s own letter dated October 23, 2017, confirmed that it went beyond facilitation, to actually collect monies from the expatriates.

It said that letter also directed that interested expatriates were to direct their cheques to the accounts office of the Trade Ministry, although such monies were not accounted for by the Ministry

President Akuffo Addo subsequently wrote to the Trade and Industry Minister, Alan Kyeremanten, demanding answers from him over the allegations.

We’re ready to provide evidence – Ablakwa

Meanwhile, Mr. Ablakwa has indicated that the Minority is willing to submit evidence of extortion in the allegations against the Trade and Industry Ministry, and the Millennium Excellence Foundation.

The President of the Foundation, Ashim Morton, had refuted the extortion allegations leveled against the Ministry of Trade and Industry.

But speaking on Eyewitness News, Mr. Ablakwa said Mr. Morton was only trying to be clever with his response.

“He [Mr. Morton] says that of the funds collected, nobody paid before the event. He is choosing his words, playing smart with us by saying that nobody paid before the event because he knows we have receipts that we will be putting out of people who paid and the dates the receipts were issued. He is trying to play clever saying that nobody paid before the event, so how about after?”

Money collected from expatriates was for fundraising – Organizers

But even the claims by Mr. Morton, somehow contradicts the accounts of the Chairman of the Millennium Excellence Foundation, Victor Gbeho, who said monies were given willingly as sponsorship for the event, and that cannot constitute extortion.

“All our ceremonies are based on funds that we realise. We have no other source of money except what we raise for each occasion and in this case, we asked the Ministry of Trade and Industry if it was going to be our partner, and give us an introduction to the business community,” Mr. Gbeho explained.

Because of the variance in the donations received, he said it was only right that the higher donors were favoured.

“In some of the awards [ceremonies], there is the platinum, then gold and then the silver [categories], all for protocol, if we come to you and you give us GHc 20,000 and somebody else gives us GHc 150,000, it will be the highest form of perversion of principles if the one that gave GHc 20,000 is going to be given more special treatment than the one who gave GHc 150,000.”

“It doesn’t mean that anyone was being compelled. Those who gave [donations] gave of their free will knowing very well the categories that we had,” Mr. Gbeho added.

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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @EfeAnsah

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The three; were allegedly extorting monies from traders who are to be relocated to the Race Course Market on Monday, 6th November.

The two men and a woman were among 10 persons registering affected traders in the relocation exercise.

The Assembly on Tuesday announced it would relocate traders and drivers in the Central Business District of Adum, Kejetia, Pampaso, S.A.T and Dr. Mensah to Race Course and Abinkyi markets.

The relocation exercise is to pave way for the contractors working on first phase of the Kejetia Redevelopment Project, to have access to the roads around the project and upgrade them.

The exercise is also to help ease the heavy vehicular and human congestion, and to also pave way for some rituals to be performed as part of activities marking the final funeral rites of the Late Queen mother of Asanteman, Nana Afia Serwaa Kobi Ampem, who passed on in 2016.

Speaking on the arrest, Public Relations Officer of the Assembly, Godwin Okumah Nyame, explained that, they picked reports about some persons registering traders and extorting monies from them under the pretext of allocating special space for them to carry out their trade.

He said the Assembly subsequently sent officials there and chanced on 10 people registering traders.

According to him, three of them were arrested, whilst the rest escaped.

He revealed that, the three suspects who were neither staff nor assembly members of the KMA, had in their possession sheets with names and telephone numbers of traders at the time of the arrest.

The three are currently in custody and will assist police in their investigations.

Mr. Nyame maintained that, the Assembly is not charging any fee for the relocation exercise, and asked traders and drivers to report any staff or Assembly member who tries to extort monies from them with a promise of securing them space at Race Course of Abinkyi markets.

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By: Hafiz Tijani/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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The Director of Public Relations of the Armed Forces, Lt. Colonel Eric Aggrey Quarshie, who  said this, explained  that, the three were rather “men from the Air-force base in Takoradi.”

[contextly_sidebar id=”7HUifSi0caVR7MDeqxh1mJHYzIaJElLG”]The three, namely; AC2 Oliviete Solomon with service No.207333, AC2 Agantwuo Agana, No. 207323, and Joseph Osei Abraham, No. 207356 AC2, were handed over to the Tarkwa Divisional Police Command, by residents who arrested them.

The soldiers on board a taxicab on Saturday evening, are said to have gone to Aboso, a mining community in the Tarkwa-Nsauem Municipality, and combed around gold buying shops, where they extorted both cash and gold from unsuspecting dealers.

Members of the Aboso community, who were suspicious of the operations of the soldiers, raised an alarm, mobilized and arrested them.

The soldiers were taken to the Aboso Police Station and later handed over to the Tarkwa Divisional Police Command.

Reports from Tarkwa had suggested that, the soldiers admitted the offence upon interrogation by their senior officers from the Operation Vanguard task-force, which is on a national assignment to help government root out illegal mining also known as galamsey.

Lt. Colonel Quarshie indicated that, military authorities are lasing with the Police in the area to get to the bottom of the matter.

He said the three will be sanctioned if it comes to the fore that “they have contravened the regulations.”

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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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According to the chief, the practice is dehumanizing and must be stopped, as he called on authorities of the service to intervene and stop the illegal practice.

Naba Dazuur disclosed this at the 2017 Danjuar festival celebrated by Bimobas in Kpikpira over the weekend.

According to him, Bimoba people are divided by national borders, and as such allowed them to cross borders for social activities; but the unprofessional conduct by immigration officers often threatens  their rights to free movement and association.

He appealed to the Upper East Regional Minister, Rockson Bukari, to intervene by ensuring that the officers put a stop to the practice.

“Bimoba people are divided by national borders. we are torn between Ghana, Burkina Faso and Togo. Yet these artificial borders have not separated our way of lives. we interact together in several ways such as funerals, markets, farming and many other social functions. The Immigration officers are harassing my people and extorting monies from them. I have received several complaints from my brothers across the borders to that end. I recalled when my own brother was stopped and asked to pay some money.”

“I appeal to you Regional Minister Rockson Bukari, to help address this issue of the immigration people and their actions. My people cannot be paying money to attend funerals and other functions, so impress on them to do their job with diligence and professionalism.”

For his part, the Upper East Regional Minister, Rockson Bukari, promised to call the recalcitrant immigration officers to order.

“About the extortion of monies by immigration officers at Wedana, I want to assure the people of Kpikpira that the issue will be stopped without hesitation. From Monday 27th February,2016 onwards, no immigration officer will extort monies from the people of this area before crossing the border.”

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By: Frederick Awuni/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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Maria Putin lived just 20 miles from the airport where the doomed jet dpoarted from.

News that the Russian president’s daughter was living among a nation of people still fuming over Russia’s role in the downing of Flight MH17 was only going to spark more outrage.

And once it became known the 29-year-old had a £2million apartment not far from the Dutch airport where the doomed jet left on its final, tragic journey, the angry protests quickly started.

There were demands for Maria to be deported and one Twitter user posted: “Its time you leave B*TCH.”

Another wrote: “Very convenient that Maria Putina lives so close to The Hague. Won’t have to go far to see her father’s trial.”

Maria and boyfriend Jorrit Faasen, 34, who lived in a riverside flat in Voorschoten on the outskirts of the Dutch capital, fled amid the mounting fury.

One resident said tonight: “We have not seen her here since the plane went down.

“She moved in last year and it was all kept quiet for a while. But once it became known who she was, there was certainly some disquiet. And now this has happened. She is obviously not responsible for her father’s actions but we don’t want ­demonstrations around here.”

The neighbour spoke as 51 more of the 193 bodies recovered from the crash site in Ukraine were returned to Holland to join the 40 who arrived on Wednesday.

Many blame president Putin for the disaster, insisting Kremlin chiefs supplied the missile that blasted the Malaysia Airlines jet out of the sky at 30,000ft – killing 298 passengers and crew, including 10 Brits and 193 Dutch.

Pro-Russian Ukrainian separatists control the region where it crashed. Although they deny being ­responsible and claim the Ukrainian shot it down in a blame game that last night was showing no sign of ending.

The bodies will be identified in the town of Hilversum, near Amsterdam.

Mayor Pieter Broertjes also spoke of his anger at the presence of Putin’s daughter in Holland.

He said: “We could also deport Putin’s daughter, she lives in The Netherlands. Then you’ve got a whole different signal you could give.”

He later apologised for the comments and admitted they were “not wise”. But he added: “They stemmed from a feeling of helplessness that many would recognise.”

Maria’s position in Holland was made more perilous after Ukrainian activists published her address on websites.

Her whereabouts were last night unknown. But her father is reported to have a personal wealth of more than £40billion, with properties around the world including a £200million palace on the Black Sea.

Jorrit is also understood to be wealthy in his own right. He worked as an executive for Russian energy giant Gazprom.

There were reports the pair could be back in Moscow where they can be better protected by Putin.

A photograph of Maria, published today, will come as a revelation to many young Russians who have never seen her face.

The only existing pictures are from when Putin first came to power in 1999, when he was pictured with Maria, her sister ­Ekaterina, and his ex-wife Lyudmila.

Known as Masha to friends, she was born in Petersburg and was named after her dad’s mother. Maria is thought to have studied biology at St Petersburg State University – where Putin attended.

He is extremely protective of his ­daughters’ privacy. Ekaterina, 27, is believed to have married the son of a South Korean admiral, though her life is also shrouded in mystery.

As the furore grew over news Maria lived among those mourning the dead of an avoidable tragedy many believe her father’s regime played a key role in, Russia angrily denied it supplied the missile that blew up the jet.

Alexander Yakovenko, the Kremlin’s ambassador to Britain, said Western claims that pro-Russian separatists were responsible did “not hold water”. And he accused the Ukrainian and American governments of trying to engineer a “cover up” over the real cause of the disaster.

Mr Yakovenko added: “Russia doesn’t supply weapons to de facto authorities in Ukraine. No evidence whatsoever has been presented that the Russian government has been doing this.

He also condemned plans by the EU and US to slap tougher sanctions on Moscow.

Britain is pushing for the European Union to impose restrictions on Russia’s defence, energy and ­financial sectors because of Putin’s refusal to help with ­investigations into the Flight MH17 tragedy.

The ambassador said: “First of all, we believe they are illegal, unreasonable and counter-productive. They have nothing to do with the national interests of the countries concerned, including America.

“In my view, the sectoral sanctions against Russia will trigger the long-anticipated endgame of the present global crisis.

“Needless to say, we will consider any further sanctions against us and the measures of political pressure as the clear evidence that our Western partners cannot substantiate their allegations and are eager to engage in a cover-up of the true causes of the MH17 tragedy.”

Mr Yakovenko claimed the case against Russia and the separatists had been largely built on photographs and messages from social media sites which had since “proved to be forgeries”.

But the White House last night accused Russia of firing artillery across the border into Ukraine and said it has evidence that it was planning on giving “heavier and more powerful multiple rocket launchers” to the separatists.

That came as Boris Johnson claimed the Foreign Office had been charged with checking the validity of donations to the Tories from Russian oligarchs with links to Putin.

David Cameron was embarrassed this week when it emerged the party has taken nearly £1million from Russians – including a £160,000 bid for a tennis match with him and Mr Johnson by Lubov ­Chernukhin, the wife of a former Moscow trade minister.

The London mayor said: “Obviously we are relying heavily on the Foreign Office because they are leading on this and I’ve had absolutely categorical assurances and I think I’ve met this gentleman’s wife and she seemed very nice but they’ve checked him-her out as far as they possibly can.”

But Labour MP Chris Bryant said: “Boris has let the cat out of the bag about the hundreds of thousands of pounds the Tories have taken.”

A Tory source said claims the Foreign Office had carried out the checks were “nonsense”.

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Source: Mirror

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