Economist and Risk Analyst, Dr. Theo Acheampong, has expressed astonishment upon learning about the substantial sums of money reportedly stolen from the residence of Cecilia Abena Dapaah, the Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources, and her husband.
He emphasized that the alleged amount of stolen money by the two house helps should be a matter of concern for Ghanaians.
He insists this should be of concern as the said $1 million stolen among others could be used to construct approximately 14 six-classroom unit blocks in the country.
“One million dollars just for the purposes of our listeners, today the exchange rate is like 11.5 – so that’s 11 million or 11.5 million Ghana Cedis.
“To build a six-unit block classroom in Ghana will cost you roughly about GH₵800 thousand so that one million dollars or 11.5 million dollars can build about 14 six-unit classroom blocks,” he said.
During an appearance on JoyNews’ Newsfile on Saturday, the Risk Analyst expressed his surprise at the fact that Madam Cecilia Dapaah and her husband did not initially notice the theft.
Dr. Acheampong emphasized that the couple might have had a significant amount of money stored at their home, leading him to call for an investigation into the source of their wealth.
“Since she became a Minister, we know how much ministers earn in this country, we know what they are paid every month, we should be in a position to then establish whether these monies which she said were her property was actually earned legitimately or not.
“Because what is very clear and what we’ve all been talking about is that Ghana is not poor, and it looks as though it is the national cake that is residing in people’s bedrooms, so we need to interrogate,” he said.
He added that the investigation into the wealth of the Sanitation Minister must go beyond the court.
“The OSP must step in, we need to interrogate the source of wealth, how she came to acquire these monies.”
Although there are suggestions that Madam Abena Dapaah acquired her money from her husband, Dr Acheampong said “It should be possible to prove that indeed; that it was a gift and the source of that money is indeed the husband.
“All these would have to be established in investigations beyond the current processes that are ongoing. That’s why I think the OSP must step in, and we need to interrogate it because however we slice and dice, this is a major scandal that goes to put the government and the so-called fight against corruption and other things in a very bad light,” the Economist said.
An Accra High Court was informed that significant sums of money and various items belonging to the Sanitation Minister, Cecilia Dapaah, and her husband, Daniel Osei Kuffour, were stolen from their home in Abelemkpe.
According to the prosecution, the theft occurred between July and October 2022. The case involves two househelps, Patience Botwe (18 years old) and Sarah Agyei (30 years old), along with three others, who are facing charges of stealing. The alleged stolen amounts include US$1 million, €300,000, and millions of Ghanaian Cedis.
In June of the current year, Madam Dapaah and her husband reported the theft incident to the police after Mr. Kuffour reportedly caught one of the accused, Patience Botwe, red-handed in their room with a duplicate key, leading to her subsequent arrest.