Features
Mr Special Prosecutor: The crooks are hidden in plain sight
Between the late 19th century and the early 20th century, there was a scramble for Africa that led to the partition of the continent and the exploitation of its rich resources like gold, diamonds, bauxite, tin, copper, manganese, cocoa, coffee, and many more.
European countries such as Britain, Germany, France, Belgium, Portugal, Spain, and others, literally partitioned the continent among themselves without any war. They sat at a conference in Berlin in 1885, and gleefully shared Africa by mutual agreement such that each of the colonial powers was allotted a specific area of jurisdiction with licence to plunder. The only caveat was that none should encroach on another’s portion. It was a mad rush for Africa’s resources and the continent seemed helpless to deal with the problem.
Now, we have our independence, but the scramble continues, not from outside but within. Our own people are scrambling for our meagre resources and sharing them among themselves through widespread corruption in high places. As things stand now, politics and political connections have become the preferred avenue to riches because nobody checks anybody.
Corruption has become so systemic that only God can provoke the pangs of our conscience which seems unfeeling. In fact, our status of corruption now fits into the parameters of notoriety. Gradually, we are speeding towards competing with the most notoriously corrupt nations. A recent skit on social media by a group of Nigerian comedians about corruption might place the issue in the right perspective.
In the sketch, a man asks his son to list four corrupt countries in Africa in descending order. The boy mentions Kenya, Togo, Ghana. At this point, the man looks bewildered because he is expecting Nigeria to take the first position but with three down and only one to go, his beloved country is still missing in action.
He thinks, perhaps, his son is being patriotic, so he is reserving the fourth and last spot for his country so that it does not look so bad as the others. But to the man’s amazement, his son calls out Congo as his final choice. “What about Nigeria?” the man asks. His son has a totally different idea altogether. He thinks that Nigeria is in a class of its own. So, he answers: “Papa, when counting sinners, you don’t count Satan.”
One may also ask: What about Ghana? Our conscience is dead to sin and the dykes that held back the torrents of corruption have been breached. We have earned a badge of dishonour with our own level of deviousness bordering on wickedness. Does the Bible not say that the devil comes to steal, to kill, and to destroy? Is it not what the corrupt officials are doing to us?
It is culturally improper to malign the dead but how could Sir John amass all the assets and properties listed in his will within a matter of just three years? Between March 2017 until his death in July 2020, Sir John, officially known as Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie, served as the CEO of the Forestry Commission after his tenure as the General Secretary of the ruling NPP from 2010 to 2014.
Following his death, his will inadvertently surfaced in the public domain, raising eyebrows, and sending shock waves across the country. The disclosure gave Ghanaians a hint about what is really going on behind the veneer of integrity. Within that short span of being in charge of the Forestry Commission, he accumulated such a fortune as would even make General Sanni Abacha envious.
The late CEO’s assets and properties included, at least, 10 plush buildings in top-tier locations of Accra, including a four-storey house demarcated into apartments at East Legon. Six more of the buildings are situated at East Legon, three in other areas like Oyarifa and Ogbojo, while one is at Wonoo, his hometown. Moreover, he had eight vast portions of land spread across Accra as well as two portions of the Achimota Forest with specific dimensions and two other separate portions designated as unspecified.
Sir John’s private vehicles were listed as 13, including three luxurious Lexus saloon cars, Mercedes Benz E 68 Sport AMG, Ford F150, Ford Fusion, Chevrolet Cruze, Honda Pilot, Honda Accord Sport, Honda Accord Touring, Nissan Titan Pick Up V8, Toyota Landcruiser V8 and Toyota Rav 4.
His bank accounts were spread across as many as six local banks and two foreign banks in the US and Canada. He had investment holdings with the National Trust Holding Company and the African Development Bank. He was involved also in joint gold production investments with a certain Francis Owusu on one hand, and three other entities listed as ROTL, FASOH, and MBL
His other businesses included the Afriyie Memorial Hospital at his hometown, Wonoo; a fuel station located at Kentinkrono in the Ashanti Region, 10 fuel tankers, a teak plantation located at Nkawie in the Ashanti Region, farms at Ejura in the Ashanti Region, a rubber plantation located in the Eastern Region, and three stalls at the new Kejetia market, Kumasi. All these in three years? Yes! At least, most of them.
To most watchers, the work of the Office of the Special Prosecutor is not going fast enough. The point is, sometimes, the law seems to be on the side of suspects, even veritable crooks, by the way it offers them the benefit of the doubt.
Legal experts would tell you that the law’s underlying rationale for that benefit is to uphold the moral necessity of protecting the innocent against wrongful convictions. For that cause, the law universally holds that it is better to let the crime of a guilty person go unpunished than to condemn the innocent.
In line with this principle, a thief may be defined, in legal terms, as someone who is not just suspected of stealing, but has been caught in the very act. Thus, you cannot just accuse your roommate of stealing your property, even if he were the only person living with you under the same roof at the time of the theft. You must prove it as well.
That is where the problem lies. Even though sometimes the courts admit circumstantial evidence as credible and helpful to the prosecution, it is not foolproof. A more reliable evidence is always demanded by the courts before they arrive at a decision. I believe this is one reason Ghanaians are not “seeing you in action.”
But, Mr. Special Prosecutor, I am sure you must certainly be gathering vital evidence against the crooks to place you in good stead to successfully prosecute them. But if the process continued like this, it would not move a needle. Let us fast-track things.
We do not have to go far. The suspects have already given you all the evidence you need. They are openly flaunting their ill-gotten wealth right before our very eyes. Mr. Special Prosecutor, the rogues are hidden in plain sight; the crooks are in full view, the nation wreckers are right under your nose!
Thankfully, the law that established the Office of the Special Prosecutor, empowers you, among other things, to take steps to prevent corruption as well as investigate and prosecute specific cases of alleged or suspected corruption and corruption-related offences. The law empowers you to prosecute anyone whose income cannot reasonably account for the acquisition of certain property. Even a casual glance around is enough to reveal a lot of suspects in this category.
Start with the enforcement of assets declaration as stipulated by law. The Akans have a proverb that says, “De3 mmoa adi no, wondi nkɔ; de3 aka no, y3b3bɔ ho ban.” It means: “We might not be able to retrieve the crops that the pests have devoured, but we will protect what remains.”
In order to protect what remains of our depleted resources, we must take immediate steps to seal the cracks. Sir John has given us a clue. The CEOs need to be scrutinised and made to declare their assets before they assume any oversight responsibility.
Besides, all other public servants, including government officials, Parliamentarians, District, Municipal, and Metropolitan Chief Executives, in fact, all politically-exposed persons in both public and private life, must be made to declare all their assets as a condition for eligibility to contest elections.
Talking of DCEs and MCEs, it should not be only Alexander Kwabena Sarfo-Kantanka, who is being investigated after he was caught in a video demanding refund from assembly members for failing to approve his nomination as the Juaben MCE after he bribed them to do so.
What about the others? It is an open secret that politics in Africa, especially in Ghana and Nigeria, favours the highest bidder. Invite all the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives and probe them under oath, I bet all or majority of them breached the rules. They all paid for votes.
The recent NPP regional and district primary elections were also tainted with bribery and corruption allegations. Contestants vied to outspend one another in vote buying. This crime is not new, but it is reaching breaking point. Fortunately, the Special Prosecutor has wide-ranging powers to turn the tide against the saboteurs. In fact, he and his assigns can exercise the powers of a police officer. So, go man go!
Contact: teepeejubilee@yahoo.co.uk
By Tony Prempeh
Features
The Cop, press and lost fingers
The job of a policeman, whether he is short or tall, is not a cheap one. He is supposed to keep the peace, protect society and monitor the activities of local magicians and money doublers who are specialists in making civil servants lose their pay within seconds.
By far the most difficult job of the policeman is when he is expected to arrest a murderer who is not only armed but also has a record of appearing and disappearing at will. Even if the tough cop is in the company of other policemen all armed to the teeth, his stomach will turn to water when the criminal suddenly appears.
He is terrified not because the criminal is a better marksman, but because nobody dies twice. The problem also is that a criminal might be prepared to die in a bid to shoot his way to freedom. But is the police-man prepared to risk death in the course of duty when he has a family to rear.
If he had just acquired a new girlfriend with whom he is enjoying life, should he not run away with his tail between his legs and tell his boss that the criminal is uncatchable?
Before some policemen go on patrol duties, they actually pray solemnly. “God send me into the wilderness and bring me back safely with my nose intact because I’m worth more than a common rat. I also do not want to die like a stray dog. If a bullet is targeted at my forehead, Holy Spirit please let it go over the bar, because six children is not a small palaver. If I die, who will look after them? Lord keep me safe day by day. Amen!”
The Sikaman policeman’s job is a risky one because he is not properly equipped with even a trained dog to help track down criminals easily. So he has to use his own nose judiciously in sniffing out suspects while making sure a bullet doesn’t catch him square on the jaw.
My friend Sir Kofi Owuo, a.k.a. Death-By-Poverty was telling me journalists are in an even riskier profession. Apparently, he had been reading about the palaver of journalists in places like Algeria and Columbia. Algeria, even women journalists are not spared assassin’s bullet. You’d see them lying in front of their homes with their heads full of bullet holes.
In Columbia, no journalist is safe. When a journalist is leaving home, he has to tell his wife. “Darling, when I don’t come back by 7 p.m. check the mortuary
The drug trade in Columbia has made journalism a profession not worth practising. If you write on cocaine and the harm it is inflicting on society, you’ll certainly receive a phone call.
“Hello, Mr Journalist, your article yesterday was great. Congratulations! We never knew you were such brilliant writer, championing the cause of society. Again we say congrats! But you know something, by your article, you want to take the bread out of my and that of my family. You don’t want us to beak. We are aggrieved beyond measure”
“Oh, I was just… “You’d try to say something
“You don’t have to explain. The harm has already been done by your award-winning masterpiece. We have an appointment with you. You’ll hear from us.
Rest In Peace!” After such a phone call, you just have to pray to your soul, sing a hymn or two and get prepared fort appointment with death. For, death will surely come
I think pressmen in Sikaman would also have start informing their families appropriately before leaving for work now. “If I don’t come back early, I’m probably at the Ear, Nose and Throat Department of Korle- Bu checking a leakage in my left ear due to a gendarme slap from an AMA official. If you don’t see me there, track me down to the emergency ward. If you see a newly-made cripple, I’m the one”
What about referees? These days they are guarded during football matches so that the risk they bear in terms of lost teeth is minimal. Formerly, it used to be a job full of woes and tribulations.
You were expected to oversee a match in such way that would favour a particular team. If that is not done, you’ll get back home and your wife will not recognise you. She’ll mistake you for Frank Bruno who had just lost a bout. When she finally recognises you, she’ll fix some hot water to massage your poor face.
I hear that these days, apart from the protection referees receive, some are well-armed with Damfo Dzai, a kind of jack-knife that can carve a rowdy supporters face in several designs.
My Press Secretary and part-time bodyguard Devine Ankamah, was telling me if he happens to be a referee, he’d surely carry a Kalashnikov AK 47 rifle with him, complete with loaded magazine, before officiating matches. According to him, that is the only way to do the job without fear or favour. Anyone dares will lose his jaw.
Anyway, risky jobs require good remuneration. As Kwame Korkorti once said, risky jobs require risky salary. A policeman would require a good pay so that when a criminal targets his left ear it would be worth the ‘amputation’. Same for journalists and cameramen.
But go round private workplaces and factories and you’d see really risky occupations where workers are receiving salaries they can’t see with the naked eye.
In fact, in some private workplaces, environmental safety is completely absent. Workers breathe in fumes, poisonous gases and risk lung and respiratory problems. Their employers do nothing about protecting them against these hazards. Check out their payer.
In other places, workers have their fingers chopped off on the job, some losing as many as four fingers in stretch. The compensation they get can best be described as “wicked”. Their employers live big, chop big, ride big but are not willing to pay more than ¢120,000 for lost fingers.
Actually the more fingers you lose, the more money you get. So if you intend losing your fingers on the job, it is advisable to lose as many as possible so that you can get more cash. Those who have lost one finger have not benefited much and are encouraged to lose more next time around.
Sikaman Palava is undertaking to investigate some of these cases of very risky jobs in private setups and companies where workers are being exploited to unnecessarily but not offered protection against health hazards, and not properly compensated when they sustain injuries.
This article was first published on Saturday, September 28, 1996
Features
Position yourself for God’s blessings
Motivated by the impending 40-day fasting and needless to add prayer programme, preceding the Greater Works Conference scheduled for August in Accra, I would like to draw attention to how believers can receive blessings from God.
There is a scripture in Hebrews 11:5 that “By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: and before his translation, he had this testimony that he pleased God”.
This clearly shows that in order to receive blessings from God, you must please God. How can one please God? You can only please God by obeying him and walking in line with God’s word. Just like how children who obey their parents, enjoy special treatment, so does God deal with his children who obey his word.
There are ways by which people receive blessings from God and holiness is an important criteria in the whole equation. Holiness is a process and not a one day event.
It is a mindset borne out of walking in obedience to God’s instructions i.e. his word. In order to have a mindset of living to please God, requires studying God’s word coupled with praying and fasting.
This helps us to develop trust in God by knowing his nature, what he likes and dislikes. This is what will enable us to live to please him and for our faith in him also to increase.
The Bible says in Hebrews 11:6 that “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him”
Fasting is one of the required criteria for blessings to be released and it goes with prayer because fasting without prayer is just a physical exercise. Fasting enables a person’s inner man to be in tune with the spirit of God and also becomes spiritually empowered to hear from God and also obey God.
Fasting enables a person’s spirit to feed on God’s word in a much more focused manner as compared to studying God’s word in normal times. As a result our spirit gains the upper hand to dominate the body and the soul, so that we are more conscious of the presence of God in our lives which causes us willingly the desire to live to obey God.
Holiness which is a prerequisite for pleasing God, can only manifest in our lives if we are able to overcome the desires of the flesh and this only happens when the flesh is subject to the spirit.
Apostle Paul said that “But l keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means when I have preached to others, I myself should not be castaway”, according to 1 Corinthians 9:27.
In order to bring the body or flesh into subjection so that believers will be able to live to please God, we have to study, God’s word in a certain state of mind which fasting and prayer appropriately provides.
Our minds are the battle grounds for decisions that either please God or the Devil. In order to please God so his blessings can be released upon our lives, we must continuously engage our minds with thoughts that is in line with God’s word.
Philippians 4:8 says that “Finally Brethren whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue and if there be any praise, think on these things”. May God help us to live to please him by meditating on things that please the Lord, so we shall be blessed in all aspects of our lives. God bless.
NB: ‘CHANGE KOTOKA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT TO KOFI BAAKO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT’
By Laud Kissi-Mensah
