The revelations in the Victoria Hammah’s “vickileaks” have opened another chapter in the chronicles of John Mahama's corrupt government. In her leaked tape the deputy minister of Information, Victoria Hammah, is heard clearly swearing that she won't leave politics until she has made minimum of one million dollars. What we did not and most probably would never find out is how much of the million dollars she had already made in her accounts and how she came by that. These revelations sum up the character of Mahama's corruption and how it permeates his government. It also sums up the considerations Mahama made in putting together his government. It is evidently clear that, one can only work with or get appointment from President John Mahama if that person is perceived as corrupt.
Earlier on in the previous week before Victoria Hammah laid open the lack of integrity in Mahama's administration, Mrs Georgina Theodora Wood, the Chief Justice of Ghana had made a call for urgent need of men of integrity in Ghana. The Chief Justice's call clearly suggested that Ghana lacks these men and women of integrity in this government and certainly, the leader steering the affairs currently is also not showing any sign of instilling integrity and confidence in our body political leadership. The Chief Justice, Mrs Georgina Theodora Wood, virtually indicted the President, John Mahama as a person without integrity.
In his own book, ‘My First Coup D’etat’, President John Dramani Mahama, concludes in the last paragraph that, “All the decisions I have made in my life were regularly plagued with doubt. It can be challenging to sustain that feeling of hope or the belief that things will turn out for the best. Again and again, I have felt like that boy Dramani, on the bicycle going downhill fast, without any brakes and not knowing which way to turn.” It is worth pointing out that that this book was launched in July last year by the President himself. The sentiments expressed in the book therefore are very much what the President believes in today. His lack of control sentiments was characterised his corruptive moves in the STX Housing debacle which cost Ghana $250million in preparatory works, including insurance without one brick or block to show for it. Out of this corruptive deal led by John Mahama himself, Ghana is potentially facing a $17million judgement debt from compensations being claimed by the Koreans. What matters most to John Mahama is how much of this hits his own personal accounts. The same sentiment is what characterised John Mahama describing calls not to collatarise Ghana's oil as "baloney".
While our medical schools are struggling for funding, John Dramani Mahama, during his April 2011 trip to Cuba, brokered a deal for 250 Ghanaian students to be trained as doctors at a total cost of GH¢160 million. This same amount could have trained 883 doctors right here in Ghana. Again, there is evidence of corruption here. According to the official website of the Cuban embassy in Ghana, Cuba stated that all 250 students will be given scholarships by the Cuban government. I quote some portions of the bilateral relations relative to the scholarship agreement, which states “… Under the agreements, the Cuban government will provide scholarship for all the 250 students who were selected from deprived communities throughout the country and would be ready to come back to serve their communities…” Mahama has once more blown our scarce dollars and fattened his bank balance at our expense.
Again Mahama's corruption led to the sale of Merchant Bank to a South African company "FirstRand". His brother Ibrahim's indebtedness which he as President instigated and managed to write off, which meant that Merchant Bank had to be flogged off for 742 million rands (an equivalent of $91million). The net effect of the sale of Merchant Bank because of John Mahama's corruption means that, 98% of SSNIT assets went with that sale since SSNIT owned the Merchant Bank.
Mahama's corruption - Agye baabiaa. Mahama's corruption has no end neither has it any beginning. It goes as far as one can remember that "boy Dramani".
Watch out for another massive revelation in Part 4
Kwesi Atta-Krufi Hayford