Deputy Executive Secretary at the Postal and Courier Services Regulatory Commission (PCSRC) has come to the defense of former Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, Cecilia Dapaah, amidst public backlash over alleged stolen funds amounting to US$1 million, €300,000, and 350,000 Ghana cedis from her private residence.
Speaking on a panel discussion on Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana on July 24, 2023, Lawuratu Musah-Saaka, who is also a member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) communications team, emphasized that there is no law compelling individuals to keep their money in the bank, and therefore, the presence of such a significant sum in the former minister’s home does not necessarily imply any illegal activity.
She further urged the public to exercise restraint and allow the appropriate state authorities to carry out thorough investigations into the matter.
“If you hear about a huge sum of money in the times that we find ourselves, of course, you will be alarmed, if you are not alarmed then you don’t understand what is going on in this country but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they were acquired wrongly, she was just keeping it in the house, no law mandates her to go and put her money in the bank but this is where we come to the point where investigations must go on and she has indicated that she is ready to cooperate with all state institutions.”
Meanwhile, the former minister, in her letter of resignation letter addressed to the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, explained that she decided to resign because the issues surrounding the monies could affect the government negatively.
However, she noted that the subject of theft in her home as captured by many reports has been grossly exaggerated.
"Since yesterday, Friday, July 21, 2023, social and traditional media have been full of stories about a court case involving a theft that took place last year in the home I live with my husband and daughter.
"The stories sought to suggest that I own various huge sums of foreign currencies and millions of Ghana cedis which have been stolen from my home. Whereas I can state emphatically that those figures do not represent correctly what my husband and I reported to the Police, I am very much aware of the import of such stories around someone in my position.
"I am resigning therefore because I do not want this matter to become a preoccupation of government and a hindrance to the work of government at such a crucial time," parts of the letter read.
Lawuratu Musah-Saaka
