Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has slammed Metro TV broadcaster broadcaster Paul Adom-Otchere over his derogatory remarks regarding the recently released “Kitchen Scandal“.
In a recent publication titled “Kitchen Scandal on August 1,” Mr Ablakwa claimed that Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko, a leading member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) is exerting influence on Ministry of Finance officials to release GHS 187.3 million to one of his clients, West Blue Company Limited.
He also accused the Attorney-General of issuing “three pro-Gabby legal opinions on this matter.”
“The duo have also questioned the post value-for-money contract downward revisions and are insisting that the colossal West Blue demands are met.
These Gabby-Godfred positions run contrary to what the Finance Ministry had earlier communicated to West Blue through former Deputy Minister of Finance, Mr. Kwaku Kwarteng on January 25, 2018 which the latter accepted in writing,” Mr Ablakwa added.
In response, Mr Paul Adom-Otchere chastised the MP for being dramatic over a matter that cannot be considered a scandal looking at the details involved.
“The ‘Kitchen Scandal’ drops at 5 am, a Member of Parliament, former minister, you can you do that… You know that this letter that you have received, you have received it in the privileged position as a Member of Parliament because somebody has given it to you.
“Let’s get serious in this country… This one is a no, no, because there’s no scandal anywhere anyway. And if you were to look at it, the people who have really created a scandal are his colleagues whose names we don’t want to mention tonight, because they did their work for government and we assume that they did their work faithfully,” he said.
According to Mr Adom-Otchere, the Attorney-General cannot be considered to be “bad” as he is “resolving the problem.”
In a sharp rebuttal, Mr Ablakwa described Mr Adom-Otchere’s remarks as pathetic.
The North Tongu MP noted that he found it worrying that Mr Adom-Otchere was not concerned by the fact that the Attorney General failed to receive input from the Ministry of Finance and the Ghana Revenue Authority but “is only worried that I put same in the public domain.”
He slammed the broadcaster for feeding Ghanaians stories that have no substance or basis.
“Ghanaians have really had enough of Paul’s cock-and-bull stories — so Paul actually expects Ghanaians to believe that Gabby didn’t know about the AG’s legal opinion but for my publication?” he quizzed.
Mr Ablakwa is of the opinion that Mr Adom-Otchere did not peruse the documents he presented to confirm his assertions.
“Had Paul read the documents I put out, he would have observed how Gabby’s law firm could state categorically in their 3rd May, 2023 letter to the Board Chair of GRA that they know that the Attorney-General hasn’t received the written arguments of GRA and the MoF after their 1st November, 2022 meeting.
If Gabby can know on authority what letters the Attorney-General hasn’t received on this matter, how can any reasonable person believe that Gabby didn’t know about the AG’s opinion long before my publications?” he further quizzed.
Meanwhile, Mr Ablakwa has raised the GHS187.3million “Kitchen Scandal” on the floor of Parliament for formal notification and further legislative action.
These are the findings of Mr Ablakwa:
On 4th August, 2015, the National Single Window System and an Integrated Risk Management System contract was awarded to West Blue Ghana Limited.
The MP for Effutu, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, went to court in a spirited effort to stop the contract.
His Lordship Justice K.A. Okwabi on August 31, 2015, dismissed Mr Afenyo-Markin’s injunction application but the NPP continued with further legal actions in a bid to scuttle the West Blue Contract.
In August 2017, the Akufo-Addo led government got Crown Agents to complete the value-for-money audit. The outcome was that the contract did not guarantee value for money. Crown Agents recommended either a cancellation or a termination.
On 21st September 2017, Ports and Customs World Ghana, with links in Dubai, wrote to the Ministry of Finance that it had taken over West Blue and expressed readiness to renegotiate the West Blue contract.
On October 2, 2017, West Blue also wrote to the Ministry of Finance indicating that they had been taken over by Ports and Customs World.
The Government of Ghana wrote to Ports and Customs World on 25th January, 2018 on the basis of Crown Agent’s value-for-money audit, revising the fees under the contract downwards from 0.35% FoB to 0.28% FoB and bringing forward the termination date from December 2020 to December 2018.
Ports and Customs World/West Blue, per a letter dated January 30, 2018 accepted these reduced terms and new contract termination date.
On March 14, 2019, government entered into a mutual understanding with West Blue to hold the fort by delivering services on the reduced terms until government replaces them.