Kwame Jantuah, a leading member of the Convention People’s Party (CPP) and legal practitioner, has criticized what he describes as misplaced outrage over the viral video of the Acting CEO of the Ghana Gold Board, Sammy Gyamfi, handing over U.S. dollars to self-styled evangelist, Nana Agradaa.
Mr. Jantuah’s comments come in the wake of growing comparisons between Gyamfi’s gesture and the high-profile scandal involving former Sanitation Minister Cecilia Dapaah, whose home was reportedly the scene of a significant cash theft involving large sums of foreign currency.
Speaking on Morning Starr with Naa Dedei Tettey, Mr. Jantuah dismissed these comparisons as disingenuous, emphasizing that the scale and context of the two incidents are fundamentally different.
“Look, we should not be hypocritical. In this country, when we read the budget, what do we read our budget in? Do we quote only cedis? Is our economy not partly dollarized? So what are you talking about? And who do you compare the magnitude of Cecilia Dapaah to the magnitude of Sammy Gyamfi? Even if it were 1000 dollars, compared to Cecilia Dapaah. Can you compare the two? Which will raise eyebrows? If this money were cedis, would we hear anything? It’s because it’s in dollars.”
Mr. Jantuah argued that the outcry over Mr. Gyamfi’s act is more about optics than substance, stating that if the money had been in cedis rather than dollars, it likely would not have sparked such intense public debate.
Civil society groups, the Minority in Parliament, and the New Patriotic Party (NPP), have called for formal investigations into Mr. Gyamfi’s actions, citing possible breaches of public service ethics, the Foreign Exchange Act, and the Code of Conduct for Public Office Holders.
The NPP, at a recent press conference, echoed these concerns, insisting that Mr. Gyamfi should be subjected to the same level of scrutiny as Cecilia Dapaah was under President Akufo-Addo’s administration.
Despite President John Dramani Mahama accepting Mr. Gyamfi’s apology and declaring the matter closed at the executive level, pressure continues to mount, with the Minority petitioning CHRAJ, the CID, and the Office of the Special Prosecutor to pursue the case.
