The controversial secret contract between President Akufo-Addo and a US Public Relations firm KRL International is revealing the alleged fraud being perpetrated from the Presidency through rogue firms to create, loot and share Ghana’s public funds for the families and friends of the president.
Currently, there are authentic documents in the public domain from Open Source Investigations sourced from the State Department that is investigating the suspicious relationship between Ghana’s Presidency and the firm. The issue which has generated heated political temperature and confused the President of Ghana to compel KRL International LLC to issue a statement which rather than clear the air made matters muddy and murkier.
KRL International’s statement issued on 26th August 2020 tried to condemn the revelation by OSI but ended up implicating President Akufo Addo, the Presidency and the President’s nephew Ken Ofori Atta who is also the Minister of Finance. While Ghanaians thought the relationship of the firm with Akufo Addo is a private one that should be paid by the private entity, the PR firm confirmed that the President has surreptitiously morphed the private deal into a public one when he became President where the government of Ghana paid for Akufo Addo’s private debt he owed the firm since 2008.
The revelation of the firm exposed why the President appointed his cousin Ken Ofori Atta since 2017 as Finance Minister and has never and intends never to reshuffle him. The US company acknowledged it has been dealing with Akufo Addo since 2008 and signed a contract with the ‘I am for Nana Foundation’ which the President’s nephew Ken Ofori Atta chaired. It followed with another contract with the office of the President elect for support during the transition. Then the company dropped the bombshell: “several months after the President Akufo Addo took office and established his cabinet, KRL signed its first agreement with the Government of Ghana to provide support to the Ministry of Finance” it said.
This contract with the Government of Ghana was secret, signed behind Parliament and hence not ratified. Connecting the dots, it is clear KRL has no competence in Finance to support Ghana’s Ministry of Finance. That secret deal was cooked through the Ministry of Finance because the Chairman of I am For Nana Foundation is now the Minister in charge of the ministry so it was sent there so that Ken Ofori Atta can manoeuvre to loot Ghana’s money to pay KRL International all monies Akufo Addo owed it from 2008 and more.
One can never doubt this argument because the NPP in opposition had no money and owed Prudential Bank and nearly collapsed it. That debt was paid outright by the Finance Minister upon assuming office and pulling off the fraudulent USD2.25 million bond in Ghana’s name with his friend Franklin Templeton. Ghanaians should be asking for this contract with the Government of Ghana to be made public for scrutiny and parliamentary inquest. Akufo Addo appointed his nephew to the Finance Ministry to have confidential opportunity to loot state financial resources to enrich himself. KRL is just one of the conduits for this purpose.
Now it is time the corrupt deals smelling on the corridors of the Presidency are fumigated with our thumps on December 7 to save the public purse from further destruction instead of being dishonestly protected by Akufo Addo.
By Kwame Donkor Aboagye, Accra
Note: Views expressed in the article do not reflect the position of Starrfm.com.gh or the EIB Network
