The Minority members on the committee, Dr. Dominic Ayine and James Klutse Avedzi, contend that the “Ministry of Trade and Industry failed or neglected to take account of possible violations of foreign corrupt practice laws and regulations in the conception, design and organization of the Expatriate Business Awards.”

[contextly_sidebar id=”eqfaayuIvmDizFptdzTWycgfNpBZMfsV”]The committee was tasked by Parliament to investigate the alleged extortion of expatriates to allow them to sit close to President Akufo-Addo during the Ghana Expatriates Business Awards ceremony in December 2017 organised by the Millennium Excellence Foundation.

The committee delayed in the submission of its report reportedly because Dr. Ayine, was fighting to ensure the Minority’s input was integrated into the final committee report which was laid before Parliament on Friday.

In the report, which has been sighted by Citi News, they contend that the Ministry of Trade compromised its credibility by using the President’s presence at the event to solicit profits for a private entity.

“The Ministry of Trade and Industry contravened existing law on public financial management, particularly the Financial Administration Regulations, by allowing the use of an existing account for the receipt of monies that it claimed were private funds.”

“The Ministry of Trade and Industry engaged in serious ethical violations by allowing its credibility as a public agency to be used to amass profit for a private non-profit organization which it cannot hold to public standards of accountability as well as by using the name of the President of the Republic as a means to make such profit.”

Foundation deceived committee

The Minority side of the committee also said the Millennium Excellence Foundation went as far as forging documents to deceive the committee.

“The MEF engaged in deceitful practices in the process of the organization of the awards event by selecting companies for awards even when the companies had not submitted information meeting the designed criteria and also forged documents meant to deceive the Committee and Parliament as a whole,” they said in their report.

Find below their conclusions

In light of the evidence adduced before the Committee, we are convinced that:

1. In the overall circumstances surrounding the organization of the Ghana Expatriate Business Awards, whilst the proponent of the motion could not justify his use of the word “levy” from a legal-technical point of view, it cannot be denied that, from the evidence on record, the Ministry of Trade and Industry played a pre-eminent role in the determination of the amounts ‘solicited’ by the MEF. In short, the manner in which the sponsorship package was designed and executed conforms to Honourable Muhammed-Muntaka Mubarak’s conception of a levy as “money that you have to pay.” The pre-determined sums of money were paid with the backing of the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the agency with oversight responsibility for the business sector of the economy;
2. Notwithstanding denials to the contrary, there is evidence on record to the effect that, in its initial conception, the event had the President of the Republic as the center of attraction and that payment for seats bore a direct relationship to the distance of the payor’s seat from the presidential high table. Furthermore, the evidence shows clearly that Mr. Ashim Morton forged documents in a desperate attempt to cover up this blatant fact;
3. The Ministry of Trade and Industry contravened existing law on public financial management, particularly the Financial Administration Regulations, by allowing the use of an existing account for the receipt of monies that it claimed were private funds;
4. The Ministry of Trade and Industry engaged in serious ethical violations by allowing its credibility as a public agency to be used to amass profit for a private non-profit organization which it cannot hold to public standards of accountability as well as by using the name of the President of the Republic as a means to make such profit;
5. The MEF engaged in deceitful practices in the process of the organization of the awards event by selecting companies for awards even when the companies had not submitted information meeting the designed criteria and also forged documents meant to deceive the Committee and Parliament as a whole; and
6. The Ministry of Trade and Industry failed or neglected to take account of possible violations of foreign corrupt practice laws and regulations in the conception, design and organization of the expatriate business awards.

Background of “cash for seat” saga

The Ministry of Trade, which partnered the event organizers, Millennium Excellence Foundation, is alleged to have charged between $25,000 and $100,000, to enable expatriates to sit close to the President at the awards ceremony.

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

Mr. Mubarak said the fees charged at the Ghana Expatriate Business Awards 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 allegation 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 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 GHc2, 667,215 was realized from the event. This was made known only after the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, had asked the Trade Minister Alan Kyerematen, to investigate the matter and report to him.

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

Parliament subsequently formed a five-member bi-partisan committee to investigate the matter.

The Committee held several public hearings and a few in-camera sessions that featured all parties named in the allegation, and those who made the allegation.

The committee was supposed to present its report on January 24, 2018 but was subsequently given a one-week extension which was supposed to have elapsed on Wednesday, January 31, 2018, but failed to do so.

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

The post ‘Cash for Seat’ saga: Trade Ministry broke the law – Minority report appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The members of the Committee previously sat on Monday to set out the modalities for their work.

[contextly_sidebar id=”66QKOPZCAbSrNDjUeWQBa3NQfl30haA0″]The Committee’s sessions will be open to the public, with the members of the Minority who had called for the probe into the matter, the Ministry of Trade and other parties expected to give testimony.

‘Terms of reference’ 

The Minority had expressed concerns after Parliament’s emergency sitting last week that the terms of reference for the Committee had not been spelt out by the Speaker when it was convened.

But the Member of Parliament for Adenta and a member of the Committee, Yaw Buaben Asamoah, indicated that the Committee was working with clearly defined terms of reference which had originated from the motion submitted by the Minority themselves.

The Committee is expected to submit its report to the House “as soon as possible, one day after our recall which is 24th [January 2018].”

The Committee has three members of the Majority namely Ameyaw Kyeremeh, Majority Chief Whip, who will Chair the Committee, Dr. Assibey Yeboah, Chairman of the Finance Committee of Parliament, and Yaw Buabeng Asamoah, MP for Adentan.

On the Minority side are James Klutsey Avedzie, Deputy Minority Leader, and Dominic Ayine, the MP for Bolgatanga East.

Background

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

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: citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Expatriates saga: Ad-hoc committee sits today appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

According to the Speaker, the Committee is expected to submit its report to the House “as soon as possible, one day after our recall which is 24th [January 2018].”

The Committee has three members of the Majority namely Ameyaw Kyeremeh, Majority Chief Whip, who will Chair the Committee, Dr. Assibey Yeboah, Chairman of the Finance Committee of Parliament, and Yaw Buabeng Asamoah, MP for Adentan.

On the Minority side are James Klutsey Avedzie, Deputy Minority Leader, and Dominic Ayine, the MP for Bolgatanga East.

On why the Speaker of Parliament allowed the motion to pass despite the irregularity concerns raised by the Majority, Prof. Oquaye said he does not want the Parliamentary processes to be abused.

“…We should be careful of the rights provided us so that it does not become a tool for promoting that which is frivolous, vexatious or otherwise an abuse of the process of Parliament. Our good nation cannot be allowed to sink into insecurity and confusion, and that is why I have allowed this to come on notwithstanding the incompetence in irregularities.”

Members of Parliament were recalled from recess for a special sitting  today, Friday, over the issue upon the request of the Minority Chief Whip, Muntaka Mubarak.

Muntaka had prayed the House to set up an adhoc committee to investigate the matter, adding that “It is important that these matters are investigated properly…I believe that as a House we will do what we think is right.”

This committee has become necessary despite President Akufo-Addo declaring that there was no wrongdoing, after he tasked Trade and Industry Minister, Alan Kyeremanten, to offer him some explanations.

Throw out ‘incompetent’ motion

Prior to the formation of the committee, there were heated arguments from both sides of the Chamber over the motion when the Majority Leader, Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu raised issues with the letter accompanying the motion.

The Majority Leader had disclosed that, Muntaka’s name was not part of the MPs who signed the letter accompanying the memorandum, adding that 28 of the MPs who were said to have appended their signatures did not do so, but only had their names captured on the letter.

He described it as a “clear case of misrepresentation” because the letter said the “under listed have appended their signatures.”

Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu further noted that, some of the Minority MPs including Collins Daudu, Eric Opoku, Oko Vanderpuije, Zanetor Agyeman Rawlings, Inusah Fuseini, Alban Bagbin among others, have all not appended their signatures to the memo.

“There are many more names listed, and we are being told they have appended their signatures but they have not.”

Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu further described the motion as “incompetent” and thus called for it to be rejected by the Speaker of Parliament.

“So the issue that I raised has to do with misrepresentation and it will be a gross abuse of the processes to come and pray. The second item is that, we should come and correct votes and proceedings. Mr. Speaker, the young indeed shall grow. On the allegations, we have heard the claims put in the public domain. Today, we are witnessing a shift of goal post. The motion before us has nothing to do with extortion.”

“Mr. Speaker, you will notice that I have not attempted to respond to the issue…I’ve not gone into what they are saying…because the motion itself does not talk about that. This is incompetence. They should learn the procedures of this house.  Their motion has very wobbly legs. This is a very incompetent motion that has been submitted. So I will urge and pray that you dismiss this. When they come properly even today, we are ready to debate them,” he added.

Muntaka fights back

Incensed by the claims however, Muntaka insisted that the motion was competent, adding that “it is most shocking and very disingenuous for the Majority Leader to even imagine that what was done was wrong.”

“My colleague the Majority Leader thinks he is smart. He should read the laws well. The request is in the memo and that is where my signature is,” he argued.

Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, also joined the argument, saying the motion in his possession had enough signatures to fulfill the requirement for such motions.

Speaker of Parliament rules

In his ruling, the Speaker of Parliament described the issues raised on the motion as “procedural irregularities” and suspended the House for 30 minutes in order to have the issues rectified.

“…Those applicants cannot determine the agenda for the House. The business of the house is done by the Executive. When you say I’m forwarding this on behalf of the applicants herein, and the application is attached, it is a procedural irregularity. This matter is a matter of grave importance. The procedural irregularities are being stated so that it must not be repeated. I will therefore direct the House to break for 30 minutes for the procedural irregularities to be corrected. As for those who did not sign it, it is neither here nor there. As far as the number of people required sign, it is so signed. We will suspend the House for 30 minutes and deal with the composition of the actual committee.”

Background

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

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.

–

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

The post Parliament tasks 5-member c’ttee to probe ‘expatriates saga’ appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

According to him, the factory, which has been shut down for the past three months, is set to be transferred to a new Chief Executive Officer and a Ghanaian management team before it resumes operations next month.

The Komenda Sugar Factory Company Limited was closed down in June this year barely a month after it was commissioned by President Mahama in the Central Region.

The Public Relations Officer of the Ministry of Trade, Nana Akrasi Sarpong said the factory was closed down for maintenance and will resume operations in October but Ransford Vanni-Amoah in an interview on the Citi Breakfast Show on Friday [October 7] said the factory is currently undergoing management transition and will reopen in November.

He however did not state the exact date.

“We are done with the test run and we will continue with the other processes  at the site and by the close of this month, October, the Indians [Seftech India Private Limited] will hand over the facility to the government, that is the Ministry of Trade and Industry. The Ministry is preparing for a smooth transition,” he said.

Ransford Vanni-Amoah added that, “currently the new management has been instituted by the Ministry of Trade and Industry for the country. The test run was done by the Indians… in November, are going into full operation.”

‘Factory to close down again”

He noted that “for the running of the plant next month, we are going unabated, we will run it and run it well because as we start in November, we intend to run it for the 6 months before we break.”

According to him, the factory does not need to operate between May and July due to the rainy season.

‘1250 tonnes of Sugar a day’

The factory, when it resumes full operations from November will be expected to be produce about 1,250 tonnes of sugar each day.

‘Private – Public partnership’

Government is looking to diversity its interest in the company to a private investor to partly own and run the factory.

According to Ransford Vanni-Amoah, although no private company is officially on board yet, they were in the process of the getting one to run and manage the company with government.

“We have no officially communication a private company is partnering with us but currently its being handled by the Ministry of Trade and Industry 100 per cent so we are going to run until a private partner comes in,” he said.

‘Galamsey affecting Komenda Sugar Factor operations’

Mr Vanni-Amoah said some of the company’s outgrowers in the Western Region have complained that their work was being impeded by the activities of illegal miners in the area.

According to him, the management of the company have taken note of the development and was finding ways to address it.

He added that although the factory does not depend only on outgrowers in the Western Region, it was concerned about the illegal activity because it had a potential of affecting their output.

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Komenda Sugar Factory to resume operations in November appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.