Martin Amidu, Betty Mould Iddrisu,Dr Stephen Opuni And Dzifa Ativor
Even as excited Ghanaians wonder which cases would make the initial list of the man dubbed ‘Citizen Vigilante,’ cases like the Woyome judgment debacle could clinch the number one position.
It is expected that the Special Prosecutor in-waiting, Martin Amidu – former Attorney General and Minister of Justice – would dissect this classic legal case in the annals of judicial history with a view to revisiting same where possible, especially the recovery of the said amount of money fraudulently paid to him (Woyome).
Other high-profile cases that would attract attention, apart from appointees who corruptly enriched themselves, will involve some customs officers and importers whose actions led to the state losing over GH¢1.2 billion.
Some of the fraudulent importers allegedly bribed their ways through using their connections at the seat of government. About 200 customs officers are on interdiction awaiting prosecution.
The Woyome case is a subject dear to the hearts of most Ghanaians in a cross-party manner, and many cannot wait to see how it pans out.
There is a general conviction among Ghanaians that with the appointment of a Special Prosecutor, especially in the mould of Martin Amidu, the people who approved the Woyome payment would also face the music.
It is interesting though that soon after President Akufo-Addo had named Mr Martin Amidu as his choice for Special Prosecutor, businessman Alfred Agbesi Woyome – who denied fainting upon hearing about the development – said he understands and appreciates the rule of law, adding that he is “not bothered about Martin Alamisi Amidu becoming Special Prosecutor.”
Sabotage
In one of his celebrated reactions on the Woyome case, Mr Martin Amidu accused former President John Mahama of undermining efforts by President Akufo-Addo to fight corruption in the country.
He claimed that “moles planted in high positions by the Mahama administration, within the ministries ahead of the 2016 elections, are sabotaging efforts by the Akufo-Addo administration to fight corruption, especially regarding the GH¢51.2 million judgment debt paid to businessman, Alfred Agbesi Woyome, by the Mills/Mahama administration.”
When some aspects of the Woyome case commence in court, some personalities like one-time Attorney General and Justice Minister, Betty Mould-Iddrisu, will be mentioned for some queries.
Cocoa Roads
The COCOBOD saga is another case Martin Amidu would certainly deal with, given the quantum of monies dissipated on phantom road and chemical projects under the leadership of Dr. Stephen Opuni.
When the files are laid bare by the Special Prosecutor, Ghanaians will certainly be glued to the media as proceedings progress.
The COCOBOD, it was reported, spent over $450 million on non-existent cocoa roads in the country.
The revelation caused public uproar, especially among persons with links to the cocoa producing areas of the country which boast of some of the worst roads and the economy in general.
It was alleged that former state officials under former President John Mahama unfurled the so-called cocoa roads project to siphon state funds for the private purses of such appointees.
Dr Stephen Opuni has already made dates with the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) and the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service over the multiple fraudulent deals in the cocoa sector.
Agric Minister, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto, had revealed the deals which went on in the cocoa sector, giving a good picture about the scandals in the sector. “I mean we stopped the cocoa road construction which was full of corruption…people were given contracts for 32km (of road), they did 2km and they came in to be paid (for) 32km; they are paid and people share those monies,” he told an Accra FM radio station in the heat of the revelation.
BOST
The Special Prosecutor would look into the smelly transfer of over GH¢40 million to the presidency under former President John Mahama by the former Managing Director of the Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation (BOST) Company Limited, Kingsley Awuah-Darko, leaving BOST to bleed.
Under the previous Mahama administration, in a very bizarre manner, the BOST boss who is now domiciled in the United States, advanced huge sums of money to the presidency.
The detail was contained in a hint dropped during a New Patriotic Party (NPP) press conference about massive rotten deals under Kwame Awuah Darko as MD of BOST with the office of the then President John Mahama and his Chief of Staff, Julius Debrah, purportedly siphoning huge amounts of money – between GH¢2.5 million and GH¢3.5 million – at the end of every two weeks from 2015 under the guise of security transfers, amounting to about GH¢40.5 million.
Smelly SSNIT Software Scandal
The full plate of the incoming Special Prosecutor would include the $66 million on an Information Technology infrastructure which was malfunctioning.
The Operational Business Suite (OBS)
Project, which was meant to facilitate service delivery, turned out to be a malfunctioning facility after the payment of the whopping amount.
Bus Branding
A case which could see former Transport Minister Dzifa Aku Attivor in the dock is the bus branding – a simple contract of putting stickers on 116 buses costing ridiculously GH¢3.6 million.
The then transport minister is reported to have predicted that she would go to jail when the NPP comes to power, having been scared by the bus branding deal and other scandalous contracts at the Kumasi and the Tamale airports.
GYEEDA
The youth project dubbed GYEEDA, as one of the sore points of corruption in the country, will not escape the scrutiny of the Special Prosecutor with massive state cash siphoned through the agency.
By A.R. Gomda