President of policy think tank group IMANI Africa, Franklin Cudjoe, has stated the level of corruption in Ghana has propelled the country to become what he described as a “cartel republic”.
IMANI Africa has recently raised concerns about a Common Platform Revenue monitoring deal government signed with Kelni-GVG, insisting the deal is shady, needless and does not pass value for money test.
Speaking on 3FM’s Sunrise Monday Mr. Cudjoe observed that the Kelni-GVG contract is not an isolated case but there is a growing ulterior agenda by some Ghanaians to shortchange the country for their personal gains.
“There is an elite consensus out there to do the rest of us ill: the rest of us who are not in politics or probably not big business people”, he noted.
Franklin Cudjoe is worried that too many intelligent people in Ghana are swayed more towards their partisan political interests than they are towards the national interest and the wellbeing of the ordinary Ghanaian.
Making suggestive commentary about the adverse effects of the KelninGVG contract which is estimated to cost Ghana some $178 million, Franklin Cudjo said, “I felt pity for many of our kind who follow politicians, for want of a better word, sheepishly, and do not realise that when a $178 million [deal] is entered into which is an inflated one, it means that your village may not have a hospital bed and that ambulances may not be there”
He also suggested that it is as a result of such inflated contracts that have resulted in a situation where the Ghana Ambulance service is reported to have only 54 functional ambulances for the whole country, a situation he described as “genocidal”.
Commenting on the Anas’ latest investigative piece, #Number12, which exposed corruption in Ghana football and implicated the Ghana Football Association President, Kwesi Nyantakyi among others, Mr. Cudjoe said he was not surprised.
“When I saw the Nyantakyi video , I wasn’t particularly shocked, he was just trying to cream off only $50 million, that’s nothing compared with the bigger scandals we have had in the past when people have walked through the corridors of power and then made cool $35 million for being financial engineers.
“And today, the whole thing is growing, in fact we have grown from a contra republic to now a cartel republic and these are the things we want to see”, he said.
In his view, the culture of deliberately inflating government contracts and getting kickbacks is just as good as a contra-band economy where illicit goods and services are traded.
Meanwhile, Franklin has taken a swipe at critics who have accused IMANI of being bribed by Telcos to do their bidding by resisting the KelniGVG deal. According to him if any telco finds the work of IMANI worth appreciating and they bring money he will collect.
Source: 3news
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Mr. Cudjoe for your information Ghana is democratic County at least in the 4th Republic. That is why you can freely express your views without being put in jail. You have written strongly against the Kelni-GVG contract and both the Minister of communication and her Deputy have come out confidently and not without convincing arguments to refute your claims and even offered you the opportunity for consultation and clarification. Therefore, your self- assertion of reducing a legitimate, democratically elected Government to that of Cartel Republic is mere polemic and populistic claims. One thing which struck me most reading through this piece was the desperate attempt of Mr. Cudjoe discredit the Ministry of communication at all costs. Which is not IMANI-like. After all two citizens are trying in court in terms of connectivity of the system inflicting their right to privacy. Unlike cartel Republic, Mr. Cudjoe has so many chances trigger investigation to prove his case. Please do not let us loosely bastardize everything as corrupt when it unnecessarily borders on corruption.
IMANI receives regular funding from the Telecoms Chamber. They have since the Chamber's set up. So why will he not bid for them? Check their posture on the issues of Alcohol regulation and advertisement as well. They are a lobbyist group more than think tank. So their opinions should seen in that context.
This guy is becoming a Talking Tank NOT a Think Tank operative
Franklin check your motive. you are becoming irrelevant and ***barred word***. Nobody takes you serious. Very cheap propaganda and insults. change your focus and be useful.
What is Franklin Cudjoe saying? At best he is not serious, at worst he is a blatant Liiaar! The NDC bidding you are doing will not hold. If you guys think you can confuse Ghaanaians by using lies and corruption as your propaganda tool then you have failed big time. If you Cudjoe never talked of corruption during Mahama's reign when even the down trodden in the country saw and voted against him, but all of a sudden you see corruption everywhere then you must examine yourself. Why do you guys hide behind IMANI and abuse the so called mandate of the organisation? Note that for sure you are doing a great disservice to Ghana. Though this government is not made up of angels, The President is doing his best to check corruption so please give him the space to perform his duty. Though your comment will not in anyway affect his performance.
Sheepishly followers. No wonder the no bed issue is now trending. If you fuuooulishly follow politicians
You are part of the intelligent people who do not like this country. You are fighting for foreigners not to pay the right taxes to the government.Who are you fighting for. Is it your stomach?, the foreigners or for Ghanaians. You sat down for the NDC to use Afrowave and Subah collect monies for no work done without complain why now?
Why is Imani fighting the government, for collecting taxes from these TELCOM companies who are milking Ghana dry without paying appropriate taxes accordance to their earnings. What is his beef with government collecting taxes to fix roads, build hospitals and schools, somebody have explain it to me, because i don't get it.