Former Director of the Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII), Vitus Azeem, has questioned President Akufo-Addo’s reasons of appointing persons noted for corruptible behaviours.
According to him, some of these officials already have a track record of corruptible behaviours but have still been appointed to top positions in government.
Several appointees of the Akufo-Addo government have been hit with quite a number of corruption scandals exposed by well-meaning Ghanaians, however, nothing substantial has been done to ensure offenders are dealt with according to the laws of the country.
Vitus Azeem said these frequent acts has led to government being ridiculed by the public with name calling such ‘One Day, One Scandal’ mimicking the famous policies of the ruling party.
“You now just turn on the radio. Now people are taunting the government that it is One Day, One Scandal…So you begin to wonder, what it is. What is it we have gotten wrong? Why is it happening and it is one of the reasons I told you about; making promises to people.” He indicated.
Chastising government for not actively punishing individuals exposed for corruption, he brought up the issue of former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Public Procurement Authority (PPA), Adjenim Boateng Adjei who was implicating in a documentary on the sale of government contracts of ¢22.3 million to a non-existent entity.
“Just look at the PPA for example, this guy, sometime ago, was under Water Company. He ordered, procured letter heads for 100 years. They were investigated and they were supposed to have been sacked but they did not use the right procedures to remove them and was brought back. The President Kufuor knew that, I think he would have known, brought him in. He stayed there until they left power.” The former GII Director averred.
Investigative journalist, Manasseh Azure Awuni, in his “Contract for Sale” exposé disclosed that the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of PPA was a co-owner to Talent Development Limited, a company involved in the sale of government contracts.
The documentary, which aired on Joy TV revealed that the PPA boss formed a company after he was appointed in 2017 and awarded restrictive tendering contracts to the company.
Following the report, President Akufo-Addo asked the PPA Boss to step aside for further investigations.
Disappointed by the decision of the president, A.B. Adjei said, “President Akufo-Addo has brought him back again. So, you even begin to wonder, is it that you want to bring in the people who want to play the tricks so that you can raise funds for your campaigns or whatever”.
Vitus Azeem was speaking to GhanaWeb’s Laud Adu Asare in an interview.
