News
Ablakwa sacks Mr. Fred Kwarteng from Ghana’s embassy in Washington DC
Foreign Affairs Minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has fired an IT staff, Fred Kwarteng from Ghana’s embassy in Washington DC
The Minister has also taken other drastic measures over an alleged scandal.
Read full statement below
With the firm support of President Mahama, I have carried out the following drastic and decisive actions following the damming findings of a special audit team i put together a couple of months ago to investigate alleged corrupt practices at Ghana’s embassy in Washington DC:
1) The immediate dismissal of Mr. Fred Kwarteng.
Mr. Kwarteng was a local staff recruited on August 11, 2017 to work in the embassy’s IT department. According to findings and his own admission, he created an unauthorized link on the embassy’s website which diverted visa and passport applicants to his company, Ghana Travel Consultants (GTC) where he charged extra for multiple services on the blind side of the ministry and kept the entire proceeds in his private account. His illegal extra charges which were not approved by the ministry and parliament as required under the Fees and Charges Act ranges from US$29.75 to US$60 per applicant. The Investigations reveal that he and his collaborators operated this illegal scheme for at least 5 years.
This conduct has been reported to the Attorney-General for possible prosecution and retrieval of funds obtained through fraudulent schemes.
2) All Ministry of Foreign Affairs staff posted to the Washington embassy have been recalled home with immediate effect.
3) The embassy’s IT department has been promptly dissolved.
4) All locally recruited staff at the embassy have been suspended.
5) The Auditor-General has been invited to conduct forensic examination of all transactions and to determine the total cost of this elaborate fraudulent scheme.
6) Ghana’s embassy in Washington DC shall be closed for a few days from today as we finalize the ongoing restructuring and systems overhaul.
Any inconvenience these radical measures may cause visa and passport applicants is regretted.
President Mahama’s government will continue to demonstrate zero tolerance for corruption, naked conflict of interest and blatant abuse of office.
More updates soon
Minister for the Interior, Mubarak Mohammed Muntaka, has confirmed that former Chief Executive Officer of the Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC), Sedina Tamakloe Attionu, is in prison and serving her jail term.
Speaking in an interview on Joy news, Mr. Muntaka dismissed claims that the former MASLOC boss was being held in a private location.
He said she has been in the custody of the state since she returned to Ghana.
“From the day Sedina came, she has been with us, and she’s serving her time,” he said.
The minister explained that the public is not usually told the specific prison where inmates, especially high-profile persons, are being held for security reasons.
He said even judges who sentence offenders do not necessarily know the specific prison where they are sent.
“If you want to visit her, you can write to the Prisons Service. They will talk to her, and if she is interested in you coming, she will let you come,” Mr. Muntaka stated.
According to him, disclosing the location of high-profile inmates could put their lives at risk, adding that some developed countries also keep such information confidential for security purposes.
His comments come amid public speculation over the whereabouts of Ms. Tamakloe Attionu following reports that she had returned to Ghana to begin serving her prison sentence.
By: Jacob Aggrey
The Western Regional Commander of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), ACFO I Cecil Addo, has completed a familiarization tour of major corporate and industrial institutions across the Western Region to strengthen partnerships and enhance fire safety preparedness.
The tour covered key organizations including the Bank of Ghana, GOIL PLC, Ghanstock, Western Terminals, Zen Terminal, Keda Ceramics, Takoradi International Company (TICO), Volta River Authority (VRA), Harlequin Oil and Gas, and Western Serene Atlantic Hotel.
During the engagements, the Regional Commander encouraged management of the institutions to prioritize proactive fire prevention measures by incorporating strict safety protocols into their daily operations.
Discussions also focused on improving fire readiness and strengthening collaboration between GNFS and the corporate sector.
As part of the initiative, GNFS presented firefighting equipment, including Carbon Dioxide (CO2) and Dry Chemical Powder (DCP) extinguishers, as well as Fire Extinguishing Balls, to support workplace safety.
The institutions expressed appreciation for the outreach and pledged to support regular safety audits, joint emergency drills, and potential Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) partnerships with the Service.
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