“John Mahama Is Corrupt And Must Be Rejected Again By Ghanaians” - Chairman Abronye DC Writes

Kwame Baffoe Abronye DC Writes

CURRICULUM VITAE (CV) OF JOHN DRAMANI MAHAMA A.K.A GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL 1 (G. O 1)

PART 1
CORRUPTION BACKGROUND

John Dramani Mahama popular Known as The Incompetent One (Mr. TIO) and internationally known as Government Official 1 is a Ghanaian politician who served as President of Ghana from 24 July 2012 to 7 January 2017. He previously served as Vice President of Ghana from January 2009 to July 2012, and took office as President on 24 July 2012 following the death of his predecessor, John Atta Mills.
Mahama is known to be the most corrupt president Ghana has ever had. He is the only Vice President in the historical annals of Ghana who was probed on corruption allegations.

ACHIEVEMENTS OF JOHN DRAMANI MAHAMA ON GROUNDS OF CORRUPTION

1. EMBRAER 190 AIRCRAFT SCANDAL
On the 12th October 2012, Martin Amidu, former Attorney General under the Mills administration and “Citizen Vigilante” revealed that, the late President Mills set up a Committee of Enquiry to investigate the acquisition of aircraft for the Armed Forces negotiated by President John Mahama. President Mahama has not responded to this allegation of suspicious transactions till today.

DETAILS OF EMBREAR 190
On 19th February 2009, in the State of the Nation address to Parliament, then-President Mills Of blessed memory told Parliament that his government was reviewing the decision to purchase two executive Presidential jets. “Ghana simply cannot afford the expenditure at this time and we certainly do not need two Presidential Jets”, late President Mills told the whole world.

Unknown to many Ghanaians, then chairman of the Armed Forces Council, then Vice President John Mahama was frantically receiving delegations from Brazil and negotiating the acquisition of five jets, including the most expensive hangar for this poor nation, when his President appeared not to be aware of the transactions.

The late President Mills, apparently shocked and suspicious of then Vice President Mahama’s negotiations, set up a Committee, comprising Hon William Aboah, Mr George Amoah and Brig. Gen. Allotey (Rtd.), to Investigate the Processes of the Acquisition of Five Aircraft, including Embraer 190 aircraft and hangar to the Ghana Army.

The Committee to investigate whether the John Mahama-led team was diligent, truthful, incorrupt, patriotic, prudent and authorised to acquire five jets for Ghana never commenced sitting
It is alleged that the Committee was dead on arrival because the late President Mills was confronted and warned of the implications of investigating then Vice President Mahama as well as other government officials and top military officers.

According to Martin Amidu, “pressure groups never allowed the Committee to take off. But the very fact that the late President Mills contemplated this Committee meant that he was uncomfortable with and suspicious of the alleged inflated prices of the aircraft.”

Subsequently, President Mills who formed this committee died mysteriously and that ended the matter outrightly.
See attached story: https://mobile.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/features/Did-Mills-really-investigate-Mahama-over-Brazilian-aircraft-purchasing-agreement-697908

2. EO GROUP OIL MONEY DIVERSION SCANDAL

On the 5th Of December, 2016, President John Mahama, again as vice president, diverted into private pockets, an amount of $13million which local oil firm E.O. Group agreed to pay to the government of Ghana for the development of the Western Region as part of the Group’s “corporate social responsibility” and as a condition precedent to President John Mills’ signing of the executive consent to permit the Group to assign its $300million shares to Tullow Oil.
“John Mahama is not a newcomer to the corrupt practice of aiding the looting of the public purse. As a condition for President Mills signing the controversial executive consent to permit the E.O. Group to assign its $300million shares to Tullow, the E.O. Group agreed to pay $13million to the Government for the development of the Western Region, and they called it corporate social responsibility.

Martin Amidu notes that, “It was John Mahama (as the Vice President) who orchestrated the unlawful deal which I refused to endorse as the Attorney General at the time. It was Mahama who ensured that the $13million was paid not to the Government of Ghana for the benefit of the people, but into private pockets – which the late President Mills was shocked to hear shortly before his death.”
It is however important to note that, the CID official who was tasked to investigate this matter died mysteriously beyond human apprehension. After his death, the entire unit set up by the police service headed by then IGP John Kudalor was dissolved to frustrate the investigation process Yet we have this same John Mahama who is promising Ghanaians good security when voted into power
See attached link for Martin Amidu’s full article: https://www.newsghana.com.gh/amidu-links-us13-million-e-o-funds-diversion-to-mahama/

3. ARMAJARO SCANDAL

The Ghana Cocoa Board (Cocobod) placed a ban on Armajaro which is owned by British multi-millionaire Anthony Ward, who is a known donor to the Conservative Party in the UK, when undercover investigations by a Ghanaian journalist revealed the company's alleged involvement in massive cocoa smuggling on July 7, 2010.
Anthony Ward, in a letter dated July 1, 2010 asked Andrew Mitchell, the British International Development Secretary, to help overturn the ban.

He was quoted to have written, 'We therefore would like to ask you to intervene on our behalf at Presidential level [in Ghana] to request the ban be lifted with immediate effect.' The Sunday Times reported that 'jut days after Mitchell read the letter, the Ghanaian Vice President was indeed lobbied on behalf of Ward's company by a Foreign Office Minister at a dinner on the eve of the trade forum.'

Subsequently, on the July 6, 2010, Mitchell called the British High Commissioner in Ghana, Nicholas Westcott for a briefing on Armajaro whilst officials of the Department for International Development (DFID) emailed Ward's letter to the Foreign Office, noting with emphasis, 'It will be in your best interest to give this request your urgent attention.'

Not too long after, some civil servants raised concerns about the Vice President being lobbied at a London trade forum.
This proceeded with a dinner hosted by the British Foreign Minister, Henry Bellingham for John Mahama on July 7, 2010, during which Bellingham tried to influence the veep on behalf of Armajaro.

A memo from the British Foreign Office read, 'The (vice president) has undertaken to look into it immediately on his return.'

Later, some officials at the Foreign Office sent a memo on July 14, 2010, proposing to meet Armajaro. The memo stated, 'They might like to know what we've done on their behalf.
This eventually led to the striking of the deal since the British High Commissioner sent a mail to the DFID somewhere in August 2010, disclosing that the Ghana Cocoa Board had drawn up a draft decision to allow Armajaro to resume trading, adding, 'I hope this will sort the matter.'
Finally on September 28, 2010, the trade ban placed on Armajaro from doing cocoa business in Ghana was lifted in all but one district.

4. On 12th May, 2015, the President, through a letter signed by his Chief of Staff, Julius Debrah, personally and directly instructed the Minister of Finance ‘to formally engage West Blue Ghana Limited’ for the implementation of a $ 300 million National Single Window project without any competitive tender."

5. Smartty's Bus branding saga

News headlines in late 2015 were dominated by the Smarttys bus branding scandal, where 116 Metro Mass Transit (MMT) buses were rebranded at a cost of GH¢3.6 million.

The cost for rebranding these buses was seen as ludacris and the Attorney General got involved, demanding refunds be made. The outcry lead to the resignation of the Minister of Transport, Ms Dzifa Attivor, in December.

6. GYEEDA Scandal

Also under the NDC was the 2013 GYEEDA scandal, uncovered by Joy FM's Manasseh Azure Awuni, whose investigation led to policy change in the running of the agency. The reporter found millions of cedis were paid illegally to contractors of the Ghana Youth Employment and Entrepreneurial Agency (GYEEDA).

When President Mahama was made aware of the corruption he instructed the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice to retrieve the money illegally paid to individuals and companies through contracts with GYEEDA, the Savanna Accelerated Development Agency (SADA) and the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).

He had also asked the Minister for Youth and Sports to suspend, with immediate effect, all payments under all GYEEDA contracts, except the payment of arrears to workers up to the end of the year.

The government set up a five-member committee to probe the allegations further. The committee’s report largely corroborated Manasseh’s findings and made various recommendations to government. As part of the reforms, parliament passed a law to regulate the operations of GYEEDA, which was later renamed Youth Employment Agency (YEA).

7. SADA Scandal

The same reporter who found mass corruption in GYEEDA also looked into Ghana’s Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA) – finding it had misappropriated millions of dollars allocated to it.

The investigations showed that SADA paid GH₵32,498,000 to ACICL to plant five million trees in the savannah zone, but could only account for about 700,000 trees.

It also found that SADA spent GH¢15 million on guinea fowls, but could only account for a few of the birds.

8. Ford Saga

President Mahama caused outrage across Ghana when it was revealed he accepted a gift of a Ford vehicle from a construction firm bidding for a lucrative government contract. The contractor in Burkina Faso, who had previously built a wall on Ghanaian Embassy land in Ouagadougou, gifted the Ford in 2012. However, this scandal came out in 2016.

NPP said the gift was a bribe to get a road-building contract in Ghana's Volta region that the same contractor later secured.

Mahama himself called the accusations "baseless". The vehicle was a gift and had been added to the government car pool.

9. STX SCANDAL

The revelation recently that the government delegation who went to Korea to negotiate for the STX deal were given $2,600 and other freebies to soften their stance in order to make deal go through is just the icing on the cake. There are bigger fishes involved and Ghanaians are going to learn to their horror that, Professor Kofi Awornor, Totobi Quakye and Vice President John Mahama have personal interest to see to it that, the STX contract goes through because of an alleged bribery scandal looming.

The Mail newspaper on Thursday July 15 quoted ‘a source’ as alleging that the delegation that signed the STX Korea housing deal were induced with a sum of US$2,600 each for “shopping” by the Korean company. The former Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, Hon. Albert Abongo in a rebuttal the mail report stated categorically that a 12-member government delegation that signed the STX Korea housing deal on behalf of the country in 2009 were not bribed with US$2,600 by the Korean company but were only given gifts.

Hon. Albert Abongo said members of the delegation merely received gifts from the Korean company which cannot be termed as inducement. He says the gifts could not have compromised their judgments in respect of the STX housing deal.

My own check with some STX officials proved that Hon. Albert Abongo is not just telling lies but is also protecting the likes of John Mahama and Kofi Awornor who were themselves beneficiaries of the booty.

10. AIRBUS SCANDAL
According to Airbus, they stated that, they paid bribes to Government Official One between 2011 and 2016.
Who was the number one gentleman of the land at that time?
Who was the head of all government officials at that time?
Flowing from the above, it is clear that Mahama likes corruption and that, he is the government official one in the airbus scandal.

From the above evidence, it is clear that, John Mahama is indeed corrupt and that, he must be rejected again by Ghanaians

Thanks