The year, playing to government’s own pre-election mantra, may just be labelled as a “one-month, one-scandal” period since it chronicles a monthly record of scandals.

In reviewing the Administration’s first year in the Flag Staff House, the following opinion piece examines some of the major scandals that have hit the regime in its first year.

The Akufo-Addo Administration’s inaugural ceremony on January 7 2017 was perhaps, a foretell of the rocky times ahead of its operations.

Plagiarism

The President was accused of plagiarising whole paragraphs of speeches of former Presidents Bush and Bill Clinton of the United States and President Buhari of Nigeria. This attracted widespread condemnation as the Minority described it an international embarrassment.

Bribery claims against Energy Minister

In the same month January, the respected Bawku Central Member of Parliament, Mahama Ayariga shocked the country with his revelation of how Minority MPs were each induced with GHc3000 to approve Mr. Boakye Agyarko’s appointment as Energy Minister.

He narrated to Citi News how Minority Chief Whip, Mohammed-Mubarak Muntaka signed out GHC3000 to each of his Caucus members on the Appointments Committee in a bid to induce the approval of then Energy Minister nominee, Boakye Agyarko.

The country was divided and Parliament’s integrity was called into question.

For those who followed Mr. Boakye Agyarko’s public vetting, they wondered how this could have been the case as he was said to have performed creditably well.

Bowing to pressure from the Minority, Speaker Mike Oquaye set up the Joe Ghartey Committee to hear the allegations. The committee subsequently shot down the bribery claims.

Dismissing the allegations, The House Speaker charged the Bawku Central MP to “go and sin no more.”

Vigilantism

Party foot soldiers gained a different level of political influence with the birth of the Akufo Addo Administration; emboldening a new wave of political vigilantes.

Public toilets were ceased, tollbooths overtaken, political appointees chased out of their offices, and in some cases beaten up. Even the fountain of justice, the Law Courts, was not spared their wrath; At least 18 different incidents of political vigilantism were recorded across the country within the period. Former President Mahama in a Facebook post bemoaned the state of anarchy saying;

Political ‘vigilantism’ is spiralling out of control and government doesn’t appear to be able to deal with the situation. (emphasis supplied)

A-Plus in the news

President Akufo Addo’s two Deputy Chiefs of Staff, Francis Asenso-Boakye and Samuel Abu Jinapor came under fire when popular pro-NPP singer, A-Plus accused them of corruption in the discharge of their duties.

Though the two brazenly denied the allegations, it triggered investigations by the Criminal Investigations Department of the Police Service; and subsequently, the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice. And yes, both Institutions cleared the two of high officers of state.

BOST saga

The Petroleum sector had its fair share of scandals; the BOST Contaminated Fuel Sale Saga, and the Premix Fuel Diversion Saga. BOST allegedly sold 5 million litres of contaminated fuel to two unlicensed companies; Movepiina and Zup Oil, making Ghana lose about GHc 7 million in revenue. Hardly had the flames of this scandal gone down when the Fisheries Ministry started simmering with agitations over the alleged diversion of pre-mix fuel meant for the fisher folk. The NPA’s investigations had revealed 200 cases of diversion between January and November 2017.

Cash-for-seats

Two other scandals transcended 2017 into 2018; the Controversial $2.25m Kenbond and the $100m Cash-for-Seat saga.

Other scandals that broke included the Bugri Naabu’s Goat for Post scandal, the 2.5m and 3.6m Ghana Post GPS saga, the Special Development Initiatives Ministry’s budget for website development.

For a Party which convincingly won elections on the mantra of widespread corruption and incompetence of its predecessor Administration, these scandals are worrying.

More so, because, in all of these instances, the Presidency cleared and defended the officers involved.

President Akufo-Addo may have to do a lot more to convince both the moral and civil society that he’s still the audacity to continue with the fight against public sector corruption.

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By: Sixtus Dong Ullo

The writer is a broadcast Journalist at Citi 97.3fm

Email: [email protected]

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