President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has rekindled the debate that
he is not corrupt by throwing a challenge to his opponents to mention his
so-called corrupt deeds either in private or as President.
“I am certainly not corrupt. I continue to say that I am not
corrupt; I have not been corrupt. I have not taken any money from anybody to
give anybody any contract. It is not part of my arrangement,” the President
boldly proclaimed last Friday in Accra during an encounter with senior
journalists at Jubilee House, the seat of government.
Corrupt Officials Prosecution
The President made it clear that his posture towards the fight
against corruption had not changed but said that he cannot also supervise an
administration where due processes are not followed in the prosecution of
persons accused of corruption.
He said there are some 21 former government officials who are
currently on trial for corruption, with the amounts involved totalling over
GH¢700 million.
“People are saying there are no prosecutions. Twenty-one people are
on trial in Ghana today for corruption. One of the things that I am not
prepared to do under any conditions is to do away with due process. I fought
for it all my life in Ghana that we will have a state in Ghana which recognizes
and accepts and acknowledges due process as a fundamental instrument of state
policy,” he noted.
He said Ghanaians should be patient with the judicial process to
deliver justice and fairness to all, saying “so, putting somebody before the
court and that person is making application after application – whether it is
to delay the process or whether the applications are genuine – you have to recognize
his right to do it and it is when those are exhausted that the trial can begin.
Some of the trials have started …”
Clearing Agent
President Akufo-Addo reiterated that he was not at the Presidency to
shield appointees accused of corruption.
“It is not my job to clear or convict any person accused of
wrongdoing, or of engaging in acts of corruption. My job is to act on
allegations of corruption by referring the issue or issues to the appropriate
investigative agencies for the relevant enquiry and necessary action. That is
exactly what has been done since I assumed the mantle of leadership,” he stressed.
He said he had investigated every allegation of corruption levelled
against any of his appointees, saying “if an appointee is cleared of any
wrongdoing, the evidence adduced and recommendations made by these agencies,
after the investigations are concluded, are what clear the accused persons, not
myself.”
He said he would continue to increase budgetary allocations to
anti-graft institutions for them to work assiduously in the fight against
corruption.
“In 2019, there has been an increase in budgetary allocation from
over GH¢16 million to over GH¢40 million for CHRAJ next year,” he disclosed.
Nepotism
He said he has only two relatives in his government and mentioned
Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta as his cousin.
He also described the Finance Minister as competent and hard
working; he touted his credentials and said he qualifies for that position.
Afrobarometer Report
The President said he is not the type that rubbishes opinion polls
such as the Afrobarometer Survey that was recently done by the Center for Democratic
Development (CDD) which had projected that the 2020 presidential election could
go to a second round.
“My attitude to polls has never changed. The only poll that matters
is the poll of the 7th of December; that’s the only poll that matters. I’m not
saying that if people do polling you then just rubbish it, no, that’s not my
view; you have to look at it, take it into account, analyse it and see for
yourself what is being said,” he explained.
“We know of situations where lots of people did not predict of my
being here (Presidency), or I will never be here; I’m here,” he said sparking
spontaneous laughter. “You then have to worry yourself about one-touch,
low-touch, whatever, but I’m not discouraged,” he added.
Pursuing Programmes
“For me what is important is my programme and the work that I’m
carrying out because I believe it is beneficial to the people of Ghana and when
the time comes for Ghanaians to comment, I’m optimistic and confident that it
will be a good comment that they will make on the 7th of December, so I’m not
discouraged about the afrobarometer.”
IMANI 48%
The President said his NPP government had done more than the 48%
that IMANI Ghana rated his administration in terms of performance.
“I disagree with the 48 assessment by IMANI. I think we deserve much
higher. We are looking at 72. We have a fundamental disagreement with that
rating. Our figure is the one we are working with and it’s the right one,” he
said.
