�Drill Ship Report Is Killing My Mother In The Village�

Member of Parliament for Adansi Asokwa Kobina Tahir Hammond has in a rather emotional fashion argued his innocence before the Judgement Debt Commission charged among other things, to investigate how an oil drill ship belonging to Ghana National Petroleum Commission (GNPC) was controversially sold in 2001. Almost in tears, Mr. Hammond presented to the Commissioner, Justice Yaw Apau, a 65 paged document which he claimed indicated how an amount of 3.5 million dollars was disbursed. The 3.5 million dollars was the remainder of the 24 million dollars realised from the sale of the ship. The document, which he claimed was God sent to vindicate him, was dropped mysteriously into his pigeon hole in Parliament. He did not know who dropped it but stated the document contained "shocking" revelations about how proceeds from the 3.5 million dollars were withdrawn and disbursed. He told the Commission his mother in the village is dying because he had been wrongly accused in the media of embezzling the 3.5 million dollars when all he had done, was to offer diligent and selfless service to his country and the GNPC. The sale of the Oil Drill ship belonging to the GNPC had been an object of controversy and a subject of inquiry by the Sole Commissioner appointed by President John Mahama to investigate all judgement debt cases in the country. The John Agyekum Kufuor government, which superintended over the sale, had been accused of legal and procedural breaches by not consulting the Board of the GNPC which had the legal mandate to sell. Some also accused K.T. Hammond and his boss Albert Kan Dapaah of misappropriating an amount of 3.5 million dollars which was left from the 24 million dollars realised from the sale of the ship. An amount of $19.5m had been used to pay settlement agreement with Societe General.