General News of Sunday, 15 March 2015
Source: citifmonline.com
The President’s appointment of former Energy Minister, Dr Joe Oteng Adjei as the new board chair of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) has been described as a huge “disappointment.”
The President of IMANI Ghana, Franklin Cudjoe questioned why the President will appoint an individual whose integrity cannot be vouched for, after being widely criticized for keeping a state vehicle meant for a rural electrification project, after leaving office.
“I am ashamed that he [Oteng-Adjei] has been made the chairman of GNPC because he illegally kept a car and returned it. Why did he return it if he thought it was illegal?” he asked.
Last month, Dr. Oteng-Adjei admitted that he still had in his possession a state luxury vehicle and returned it only after a former Deputy Energy Minister K.T. Hammond made the disclosure on Citi FM.
Pressure Group, OccupyGhana has since sued Oteng-Adjei at the Fast Track High court, praying the court to order him to pay $500 to the state for each of the 222 days that he kept the Lexus vehicle.
A few weeks later nonetheless, the President appointed Dr. Oteng-Adjei as the chairman of the GNPC; an appointment which has been questioned by many.
Speaking on Citi FM’s news analysis programme, The Big Issue, the IMANI Ghana boss expressed grave concern over his appointment because according to him, GNPC is an institution “where there is a lot of opaque activities and you want me to be happy?”
Why Oteng-Adjei?
An anti-corruption crusader and a leading member of OccupyGhana, Sydney Casely-Hayford on his part stressed that it is hard to sometimes understand the decision which goes to the appointment of certain persons to occupy key positions.
“It’s been barely two weeks since we got to hear that he kept a company vehicle and there is supposed to be a second one too somewhere and we don’t know the truth or veracity of it so why would you as Chief in Command [President Mahama] go and appoint this very same person?” he queried.
He was however quick to add that his appointment is it not entirely surprising because the likes of “Sipa Yankey is there, Kwame Peprah is there, Dan Abodapki is there and there are several examples of similar people…”
“…Maybe these one are not dead goats; they are live goats because they are actively doing something whether in the right way or the wrong way,” he added.