The president and CEO of IMANI Africa, Franklin Cudjoe, has described as empty the spirited defense of the controversial $89.4million contract between the Government of Ghana and Kelni GVG by the Communications Minister.
Mrs Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, addressing Parliament on Thursday May 31, 2018 on the contract strongly defended it, saying attempts to impugn her integrity will not wash.
“Mr. Speaker there has been absolutely no corruption or underhand dealings in this transaction. I can never be party to any such conduct as I value my reputation and the reputation of the government which serves the good people of Ghana. I stand here as a Minister of the Akufo-Addo administration to assure this august house that I believe this is the best deal we could have got,” she told the Law-making Chamber.
Mrs. Owusu-Ekuful also rubbished claims that Kelni-GVG is not credible stating that, “As far back as 2009, National Security conducted extensive due diligence on GVG and confirmed the credibility and technical capacity of the company in writing (ref:NSCS40/V.10/1231 of 28th April 2009).”
For her, despite the growing opposition to the contract by policy think tank IMANI Africa and the Minority in Parliament that the contract is tainted in corruption, “government will not waver or relent in this.”
Reacting to the Minister’s address, Mr. Cudjoe insists the contract is a rip-off, and the defence being put up by Mrs. Owusu-Ekuful in Parliament was like “cantata.”
“I would have wished that this encounter did not even happen at all in Parliament because it is a regurgitating of the old and rather confusing quite inadequate stance that the Ministry has taken. The only thing that changed so far in the statement that the Minister made is the quotation in Exodus 32:26,” he told Naa Dedei Tetteh on Starr Today.
“That’s the only thing that has changed,” he stressed and “This whole thing that happened in parliament for me, was like “cantata” because it would not yield any results.”
Source: Ghana/Starrfmonline.com/103.5FM
