In a letter dated January 22, 2018, and addressed to Senyo Hosi’s lawyers, Afia Akoto said she admits her comment was without basis and apologized for it.

“I write to sincerely and unreservedly apologize, retract wholly my comments about your client which led to me being 3^rd defendant in the above-mentioned defamation lawsuit. .. I admit that even though I did not originate the allegations of wrongdoing, I did re-echoe them on my Facebook wall on the 28^th of June 2017 without first verifying what I now accept to be rather unfortunate claims without basis.. I regret the comment, and apologize unreservedly and undertake never to repeat them. I am truly sorry for the damage caused your client,” the letter stated.

At the court hearing on Monday, Madam Afia Akoto signed the terms of settlement which includes the retraction and apology.

She was therefore removed from the case as 3^rd defendant, while plaintiff had gone to pray default judgement because Mr. Kennedy Agyapong and Kencity Media had not filed a defence to the case.

But they brought a late defence on Monday morning which was accepted by the court, but was made to pay GH¢1,000 for the late defence.

The case will now proceed with Mr. Agyapong and Kencity Media as 1^st and 2^nd respondents respectively.

Kennedy Agyapong, who owns Kencity Media, alleged that Senyo Hosi had made a $1 million bribe offer to the CEO of BOST, Alfred Obeng.

The MP said the bribe was to influence Mr. Obeng to reverse the contaminated fuel sale made by BOST to two companies.

Afia Akoto, who was joined to the lawsuit as a 3^rd defendant repeated the allegation on her social media platform.

Senyo Hosi, who said the allegation had no basis and was a deliberate attempt to damage his reputation, filed a lawsuit on Tuesday, July 4, 2017, asking the court to award a GH¢5 million compensation against Kennedy Agyapong, and GH¢3 million against Kencity Media, the platform on which the allegation was made.

He was also seeking a GH¢1 million compensation against Afia Akoto.

–

By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Afia Akoto begs Senyo Hosi to escape GH¢8m suit appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The vehicles, comprising a hundred 33-seater buses and 250 saloon cars, are currently parked at the premises of National Security near the Accra International Conference Centre.

MASLOC, during the John Mahama administration, signed an agreement with MAC Autos and Spare Parts Ghana Limited to procure the cars at an agreed amount of GHc62.2 million for subsequent sale on hire purchase arrangement to GPRTU.

But negotiations on the payment terms for the vehicles between GPTRU and MASLOC, was inconclusive.

Speaking to Citi News on the matter, Chief Executive of MASLOC, Steven Amoah, assured that the cars would be distributed in the first quarter of the year after a re-negotiation of the price is concluded.

“…We were trying to renegotiate the prices and other terms with the suppliers so that we will have a good deal for whoever would have the opportunity to use the car so that they can also pay MASLOC. It’s almost at the tail end of the whole arrangement. No matter what it is, first quarter of this year, this whole thing will come to an end,” he added.

He explained that the reason why the vehicles had taken long to be disbursed was because they had a problem with the prices.

“The problem we have was the prices, we thought that it will be difficult for people to afford and make any economic gains. If you are to consider the MPV of the whole project, it wouldn’t be possible, feasible or appropriate to give them out because it will be difficult for them to pay,” he said, adding that the stakeholders will soon take a conclusive decision on it.

We can’t cancel ‘over-priced’ cars deal now 

The Chief Executive Officer of MASLOC, Stephen Amoah, had earlier told Citi News his outfit cannot immediately terminate the contract with MAC Autos & Spare Parts Ghana Limited for the supply of 350 cars although they believe cost was inflated.

He said a termination of the contract, which was signed under the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government, may result in the payment judgment a debt, hence the need to critically examine it.

“I don’t want to move beyond the jurisdiction in terms of expertise. There is a legal component of the contract. If I don’t take care and I throw everything away, I can let my government be sued. I don’t even understand whether the contract is right or wrong,” Stephen Amoah added in October 2017.

–

By: Kojo Agyeman/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post MASLOC cars ‘rot’ away as price re-negotiation continues appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The allegations were made by a former Deputy Chief of Staff, Dr. Valerie Sawyerr, who also accused Mr. Amoah of failing to go through procurement processes before he purchased the vehicles.

[contextly_sidebar id=”S3gY67ADB82Gc7oCPROFYgB4rMgjz46N”]“Your MASLOC CEO, Stephen Amoah purchased 1,800 second-hand cars with no MASLOC board in place and no PPA (Public Procurement Authority) approval,” she said in an article widely published in the media.

Provoked by the remark, Mr. Amoah in a statement denied the allegations, and also gave Dr. Valerie Sawyer a one-week ultimatum to retract the publication and apologize or incur his wrath.

“In that passage, Dr. Valarie Sawyer stated emphatically that, I Stephen Amoah, CEO of MASLOC has purchased one thousand eight hundred (1,800) second-hand cars with no board in place and no PPA approval. I, Stephen Amoah, CEO of MASLOC have not purchased 1,800 second-hand cars as has been insistently stated by Dr. Valarie Sawyerr. I found this statement defamatory. It is believed that Dr. Valarie Sawyerr’s arbitrary decision to issue this false statement has been sadly induced by her ego trips just to smear my hard earned reputation.”

Mr. Amoah, who said Dr. Sawyerr’s piece has tarnished his image badly, stated that, “My illiterate and cherished mother has been traumatized.”

“I am accordingly giving you, Dr. Valarie Sawyerr one-week from today, 9:00am, Friday, 3^rd of November, 2017, to reflect on your disparaging statement against me and the President, retract and render an unequivocal apology to me, the president of the Republic of Ghana and the entire Ghanaian community. Failure to do this honourable, admirable, respectable and praiseworthy thing, will inform my next line of action,” Mr. Amoah added in the statement issued on Friday.

350 abandoned vehicles at MASLOC

MASLOC dominated the news during the early part of October 2017 following the procurement of some 350 vehicles by the previous administration, meant for drivers belonging to the GPRTU.

But the cars were rejected by the union who say they were “too expensive.”

The centre in the past few years, has been involved in the sale of cars on credit to individuals and groups including Members of Parliament, musicians and celebrities; however, it struggles to retrieve the monies owed it.

Valerie Sawyerr blasts Bawumia over digital address system

Dr. Valerie Sawyerr,in that article also took Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia to the cleaners, following some utterances the second gentleman made prior to the launch of the country’s digital address system also known as Ghana Post GPS.

Dr. Sawyerr believes the Vice President deceived Ghanaians when he said the $2.5 million worth system will be more advanced than those used in the UK and United States of America.

“It is more advanced than the United States or the United Kingdom or Germany because they are stuck to old technology, and we are leapfrogging. We are going to a new technology; we are going to GPS-based technology,” Dr. Bawumia said when he delivered a lecture at the University of Cape Coast, on October 5, 2017.

–

By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin

The post Apologize for defaming me; else… MASLOC Boss to Valerie Sawyerr appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

“As we speak, the boss has ordered for 1,800 vehicles. It is being procured from a company called Dextro Impex. If you have vehicles sitting there and you are saying that they are expensive and you cannot give it out to members, how come you are finding money to go and buy 1,800 vehicles of 2011 model to give it out to people,” he insisted on Citi FM’s news analysis programme, The Big Issue on Saturday.

[contextly_sidebar id=”XJOBnduZ5zhpKcLlVuXpjbNpB8QHCqKw”]But the current deputy CEO for MASLOC, who was also speaking on The Big Issue rejected the claim saying “it is not true.”

“There is so much debt to be cleared and that is our focus. We have no money and we don’t even have any agreement,” she added.

350 abandoned vehicles

MASLOC is currently in the news for procuring some 350 vehicles meant for drivers belonging to the GPRTU, but were rejected by the union because it was said to be “too expensive.”

MASLOC was established primarily to provide micro and small loans for start-ups and small businesses to enable them to grow and expand.

In the past few years, it has been involved in the sale of cars on credit to individuals and groups including Members of Parliament, musicians and celebrities; however, it is challenged with retrieving the monies owed it.

Some have viewed it as a business that ends up rewarding political party members.

The management of MASLOC has so far confiscated 350 of such vehicles, and is currently in the process of retrieving the monies believed to be over GHc100 million.

–

By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin

The post MASLOC rubbishes claims it is buying 1,800 new cars appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

According to the new deputy CEO of the Center, Maame Afia Akoto, MASLOC now has to deal with the challenges that have come about as a result of the contract.

[contextly_sidebar id=”ISDj1vachFCPMaPlWmDjqPpR48lzj9JS”]Speaking on The Big Issue on Saturday, she said the former management of MASLOC, entered an agreement with Supeeva to supply some 600 tricycles at a cost that was higher than the average market price.

“You won’t believe the agreement that was done on these tricycles…MASLOC needed tricycles to give out to our clients out there. MASLOC contracted someone for this project and then MASLOC turns around to loan money to the contractor to get money to get these tricycles to us. That is what they did; the former CEO gave a loan to Supeeva to go and get these tricycles, and then double the price for MASLOC.

“On the open market, it is between GH¢4,000 – GH¢4,200… And currently, it is in our hands for about GH¢8,000, almost GH¢9,000,” she said.

The new management of MASLOC has been contending with the previous one led by Sedina Tamakloe Attionu, over some contracts signed by the latter that has been found to be against the interest of the Center.

Earlier this week, the new management revealed that, cars which were being sold for $9, 000 in the showrooms of MAC Auto & Spare Parts Ghana Limited, had been purchased by the previous MASLOC management at a cost of about $16,000 per vehicle from the same company, resulting in a reported loss of about $2 million.

The vehicles were meant for the use of drivers from the Ghana Roads and Transport Union (GPRTU) on a hire purchase basis, but have been parked at the mercy of the weather due to the inability of the GPRTU to pay for them at the offered price.

The former MASLOC boss, Sedina Attionu, has however denied any wrongdoing in the various deals she authorized. She alleged that the allegations were tactics by the new management to tarnish her image.

In a statement copied to citifmonline.com, she among other things said her administration had not paid for the 600 tricycles.

Her statement said;

• In October 2016, Management of MASLOC received approval from its Board to purchase 2,000 tricycles.
• Based on the approval, MASLOC wrote to PPA, requesting to procure the tricycles on the basis of a restricted tender.
• Three companies were submitted to the PPA for approval to undertake this exercise.
• PPA granted approval for the use of restricted tendering for the procurement of the tricycles at a total cost of not more than GHC 17,000,000.00.
• The three companies were asked to tender their bids. The necessary processes were undertaken and the bids were assessed.
• The successful company supplied six hundred (600) tricycles before I exited office. Upon that supply, 40% payment was to have been made to the supplier. The remaining 1,400 tricycles would also be supplied after which payment would have been made 3-6 months thereafter.
• No payment was made for the supply of the 600 tricycles till I exited office.

–

By: citifmfonline.com/Ghana

The post Former MASLOC boss accused of ‘shady tricycle deal’ appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

According to them, the executives of GPRTU agreed on the contract verbally without any written contract.

Speaking on The Big Issue on Saturday, Former Deputy CEO for MASLOC, Mustapha Abubakar, said his administration only signed a contract with the vehicle supplier MAC Auto & Spare Parts but not with GPRTU.

[contextly_sidebar id=”BfsWcdaQLjhK55P6WW49QFwbWpRQ6WZ9″]He explained that the leadership of GPRTU had expressed satisfaction with the vehicles, and had given MASLOC the assurances to purchase them.

…they were satisfied with it, invoices were given to them and we also had some, we all worked on it. And once everything was settled even though the contract had not been signed, we signed the contract with MAC Auto & Spare Parts, but we have not signed the contract with GPRTU yet. And so the handing over was done after they had gone to inspect [the vehicles]. The handing over was done at the Parliament house.”

Mr. Abubakar said during the handing over ceremony, the chairman of the GPRTU, who is currently raising concerns, was present with his team to receive the vehicles together with his regional representatives.

“…And so once they received it and thanked John Mahama and MASLOC for the gesture, you ask yourself what has gone wrong because they were aware of the prices that were being given to them.”

The former MASLOC CEO said for the buses “we gave [it to] them at GHc380, 000 which was about GHc94,800 [each].”

“[For the Chevrolet] Aveo and the [Chevrolet]Spark Light [it] was around 6,500 and 5,500 – those were the figures we gave them. They agreed, they communicated to us and were ready to take the vehicles. They gave us their word,” Mr. Abubakar added.

350 vehicles too expensive

MASLOC is currently in the news for procuring some 350 vehicles meant for the GPRTU members but were rejected by the transport union because it was said to be “too expensive.”

MASLOC was established primarily to provide micro and small loans for start-ups and small businesses to enable them to grow and expand.

In the past few years, it has been involved in the sale of cars on credit to individuals and groups including Members of Parliament, musicians and celebrities; however, it is challenged with retrieving the monies owed it.

Some have viewed it as a business that ends up rewarding political party members.

The management of MASLOC has so far confiscated 350 of such vehicles, and is currently in the process of retrieving the monies believed to be over GHc100 million.

–

By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin

The post We had no written contract with GPRTU for 350 cars – Fmr. deputy CEO appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

He argued that the centre which was established with the motive of alleviating poverty has not lived up to expectation.

According to Mr. Cudjoe, MASLOC and its related social intervention programmes often “tend to become scams.”

[contextly_sidebar id=”qjO3FuR7KJmksKgjRW4nr7rwiy28tlfN”]“…These schemes unfortunately by their nature tend to become scams. And it is quite worrying. So for us, those who believe in prudent financial management, we said shut these things down because this is not the first time MASLOC has been in the news and it’s getting us worried,” he said on Cit FM’s news analysis programme, The Big Issue on Saturday.

MASLOC is currently in the news for procuring some 350 vehicles meant for drivers belonging to the GPRTU, but were rejected by the union because it was said to be “too expensive.”

MASLOC was established primarily to provide micro and small loans for start-ups and small businesses to enable them to grow and expand.

In the past few years, it has been involved in the sale of cars on credit to individuals and groups including Members of Parliament, musicians and celebrities; however, it is challenged with retrieving the monies owed it.

Some have viewed it as a business that ends up rewarding political party members.

The management of MASLOC has so far confiscated 350 of such vehicles, and is currently in the process of retrieving the monies believed to be over GHc100 million.

Franklin Cudjoe lamented that, although MASLOC has veered off its core mandate because some of its beneficiaries are well to do people hence the centre should be scrapped.

“President Kufuor established MASLOC as one of those entities to help alleviate poverty, and there have been a number of poverty alleviation programmes which invariably, the stories have been that they never really did the alleviation. In fact, if they alleviate anything at all, it was mismatch, because it was only alleviating the poverty of the people who introduce the programmes.  I’m happy that the list will come; you will clearly see exactly people who shouldn’t be actually benefiting from those loans, are the ones who had benefited from the loans,” he said.

The President of the policy think tank further decried political interference at MASLOC.

“Unfortunately, the politics of MASLOC, given the fact that it is a creature of the presidency, because it reports directly under the presidency, makes it difficult to prevent those kinds of interference. It is easy to say we won’t allow these things to happen again, but the very structure is questionable,” he added.

But the Deputy Chief Executive of MASLOC, Maame Afia Akoto, who was also speaking on The Big Issue disagreed with the shutting down of the centre.

–

By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin

The post MASLOC is nearly a scam; close it down – IMANI Ghana appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The former MASLOC administration has been accused of inflating the price of the vehicles procured for the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU).

[contextly_sidebar id=”ciqeO0Ig0jqUdUKUlQb58Fp0j4MchRsa”]The Centre’s former CEO denied these claims stating that the GPRTU were already in talks with the supplier, MAC Auto & Spare Parts (Gh) Limited for the supply of the vehicles, at the prices that were claimed to be inflated.

MASLOC’s Deputy Executive Secretary, Maame Afia Akoto, however believes this defense must be backed with evidence, following the statement Mrs. Attionu released denying the allegations.

“She [Attionu] should come out and let Ghanaians know that this is exactly what GPRTU brought and for that reason, she doesn’t see why GPTRTU should refuse the figures out there,” Mrs. Akoto said on Eyewitness News.

The cars in question are currently lying unused because the GPRTU refuses to purchase them because of the high cost.

Mrs. Akoto views this to be an indication that something untoward has gone on, as she insisted that nobody altered any agreement.

“If GPRTU truthfully went for this agreement, they won’t run away from the figures now. If they had already gone to see MAC Auto & Spare Parts and made their own agreement for some vehicles at some prices, that would be comfortable for them [now].”

Inconsistent PPA agreement

Mrs. Attionu, in her defense, said a letter was written to Public Procurement Authority (PPA) requesting their approval to single source the vehicles from MAC Auto, and she added that she received a response from the PPA acknowledging the receipt of the letter, and requesting MASLOC to provide them with the Financial Arrangements approved by the Ministry of Finance.

But Mrs. Akoto has disputed this, saying there was no documentation that indicated that “she [Attionu] went to PPA to sole-source the cars from Mac Auto Parts. We don’t have any evidence to back that.”

She further said there were inconsistencies in the PPA agreements on the files from the previous administration

“We have this same [PPA] agreement with different dates in this woman’s file – same agreement with different dates. One was dated at the tail end in December, and one at an earlier date in December.”

“If truthfully, you were doing things right, why should one agreement have different dates to prove that this agreement MASLOC has gone into with MAC Auto & Spare Parts was signed this day and another agreement was signed earlier. Which of the documents is telling us the truth.”

–

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

The post Back your claims with evidence – Fmr. MASLOC told appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Speaking to Citi News, the current CEO for MASLOC, Stephen Amoah, urged the former CEO, Sedinam Tamakloe Attionu, “to come with specifics and debate,” following a statement she released denying the allegations.

[contextly_sidebar id=”twYSzXp0h3QgMgu8JNqH8NLgebgDEk2c”]He said he was surprised “at the way she insulted her colleagues and other men” in her statement.

According to the current MASLOC administration, the cars, numbering 350, were being sold for $9,000 in the showrooms of MAC Auto & Spare Parts, but had been purchased at a cost of about $16, 000 per vehicle from the same company resulting in a reported loss of about $2 million.

The Statesman Newspaper had first reported that the 100 Chevrolet Spark vehicles, 150 Chevrolet Aveo vehicles and 100 Izusu buses, had been left out in the open after GPRTU refused to buy them at the excessive prices after the current administration sought to prevent losses.

Mr. Amoah noted that, he had not given a “defined figure so far as the prices of those cars procured under her tenure are concerned, but the fact of the matter is that, the prices are way above the market prices or average.”

“Do you know the amount of harm she has done to this country? Very soon it will come out. I am not ready to rush in to say anything because there are other legal institutions that are performing their obligations or duties and very soon, you will get the results.”

Mr. Amoah further said the former CEO was being insolent with her reaction, and not acting in good faith, but is confident the truth will eventually put the matter to bed.

“…I am surprised that she is not even going into hiding and praying, but she is going about insulting other people and displaying gross disrespect… very soon the supporting documents will come out and Ghanaians will judge who is lying and who is telling the truth.”

–

By: Philip Nii Lartey & Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post We’ll soon expose ‘disrespectful’ former CEO – MASLOC boss appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The Center said it is forced to take the step due to the failure of the MPs to respond to several notices and letters to them over their debt.

[contextly_sidebar id=”ipFo8wTIcu8xlBIKGSGIRI7jErZScArT”]MASLOC is primarily to provide micro and small loans for start-ups and small businesses to enable them to grow and expand.

In the past few years, it has been involved in the sale of cars on credit to individuals and groups, however, it is challenged with retrieving the monies owed it.

The new Chief Executive Officer of MASLOC, Stephen Amoah, in a previous interview on the Citi Breakfast Show said the Center was currently on the heels of some Members of Parliament who bought their vehicles on loan, but had defaulted in paying back several years after.

“Some of the MPS came for the cars or whatever loans or assets for their personal use, some of them actually did that for other people as guarantors. If you guarantee for a beneficiary, there is a declaration that anytime that there is default; you would have to perform that obligation…Some of them were leaders of the previous government. So I wrote to each of the MPs and put it into their pigeon holes—I never had any response from any of them. I also wrote to the clerk of Parliament, I did that but there was no response,” he said.

Maame Afia Akoto, the Deputy Chief Executive of MASLOC told Citi News that, “Irrespective of who the person is, we are going to publish their pictures, their guarantors’ pictures and they will be in the dailies and at the end of the day we are going to give it to their districts to have it in their district halls. We gave them a deadline and that ends this October so I believe God-willing first week in November we are going to have their names published,” she said.

“There are stars involved, chiefs, journalists and people that you will expect them to do the honourable thing. We are also going to process these people for court,” she added.

–

By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post MASLOC to publish names of defaulting MPs, celebrities appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.