NPP calls for action on Anas recording

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has called on President Mills to exhibit concrete commitment to fight corruption and refrain from lukewarm attitude and angry exhortations towards reported cases.
It said the President had consistently failed to take tangible actions after all the investigations by Mr Anas Aremeyaw Anas and that it was the NPP’s fear that similar attitude would be meted out to the recent expose of corrupt practices at the Tema Harbour.
Addressing a press conference in Accra today, Nana Akomea, the Director of Communications for the NPP 2012 Campaign, said the NPP was not blaming the Mills government for the corrupt practices of the custom officials but wanted action to be taken on all such reported cases.
He noted that the party’s fear was borne out of the fact that nothing had come out of the previous two exposures of corrupt practices of revenue and security personnel at the country’s western borders and heinous crimes against children at the Osu Children’s Home.
Regarding the rot and corrupt practices by revenue and security personnel at the country’s western borders, he described the government’s reaction as “nothing short of scandalous”.
He said the most worrying part of the issue was that the investigative journalist provided concrete evidence of state officials facilitating the smuggling of cocoa, a criminal activity which cost the country huge foreign exchange.
“However, just last week, just as the President was preparing to make his unannounced visits to the Tema Port, the 14 security personnel who were at the centre of the alleged cocoa smuggling scandal were being freed for the second time for want of prosecution,” Nana Akomea said.
He said the court had to release the accused persons for the second time not because the prosecution did not have evidence, but that the Attorney General and his lawyers simply failed to repeatedly show up in the court and present the evidence.
He explained that on the exposures at the Osu Children’s Home, “the political reaction sought to attack Mr Anas’s integrity. His motives were questioned and his findings were said to be doctored. Eventually some committee was set up by the responsible ministry.”
Nana Akomea alleged that the political reaction had been so discouraging that there was hardly any collaboration between the committee and Mr Anas and that since then there had been no new policy initiative by the Mills-Mahama administration to protect Ghana’s children.
“Can we say that the Mills-Mahama government is serious about building a better Ghana where the price of corruption is high and unattractive. This simple case has proven too much for the Attorney General’s Department and its collaborators,” he said.
He said with Anas’ latest expose of corruption and inefficiency at the Tema Port, “the official reactions seem to be following the same lines of harangue and exhortations from Presidency and other officials that is not followed by concrete action.”
Nana Akomea recalled President Mills visit to the Tema Harbour and his usual exhortations directed at the customs officials
He quoted President Mills at the Tema Harbour when he stated that “ every day we hear of reports of bribe taking... and that people go to work at customs and within three years they are putting up buildings”.
He added that it was obvious that the President knew all about the daily happenings at the Tema Port, it was, therefore, curious that the President would say that he was waiting for the Anas’ video before he would act.
Nana Akomea said for custom officials putting up houses within three years and alleged that there were several political appointees in President Mills’ government putting up houses within two years which had not been investigated.
On the President’s appeal to the judiciary, he pointed out that the judiciary could only convict on the basis of ample evidence.
He added but when such evidence were available, such as in Mr Anas’ work, and the Attorney General’s Department failed to go to the court with the evidence, then the judiciary might not be able to hand down convictions.
He said instead of telling Ghanaians actions he had taken about such revelation by Mr Anas, President Mills had decided to issue warnings to officials at the Driver and Vehicle Licence Authority (DVLA) and custom officials at the Aflao border.
He described the President as the Chief watchman and that just as former President Kufuor did by introducing the GCNET system and the computerisation of the DVLA operations that reduced corruption, he must act now.
Nana Akomea said the next NPP administration would introduce a policy for a crack team of undercover investigators which would strengthen the kind of investigative work being undertaken by Mr Anas.