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Tag: Gabby Asare Otchere- Darko

  • Gabby responds to Ablakwa’s defense of GH 187m kitchen scandal: “You’ve made Ken Ofori-Atta look good”

    Gabby responds to Ablakwa’s defense of GH 187m kitchen scandal: “You’ve made Ken Ofori-Atta look good”

    A founding member of the New Patriotic Party who was implicated in a GH187 million judgment debt issue responded to Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, a member of parliament for North Tongu.

    Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko called the GhanaWeb article “Kitchen scandal: Government has backed down from paying GH 187m judgment debt – Ablakwa” ludicrous in a tweet on August 15.

    He claimed that Ablakwa exposed a corruption inside his own party and also defended a client in relation to a contract that he now doubts.

    His tweet read: “Laughable. You created a “scandal” against your own NDC! You’ve made Ken Ofori-Atta look good for “standing up” 2yrs against his “influential” cousin, representing a client with a good case over a contract President Mahama awarded, which you now question!”

    On Friday, August 4, 2023, Gabby responded, stating that his company was carrying out a very legal task on behalf of their client.

    According to him, his company has been hired by West Blue Ghana Limited since April 2021 to help the business recover GH187,356,969 in unpaid taxes it is owed by the Government of the Republic of Ghana under a contract that was signed between West Blue and the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and the Ministry of Finance (MoF) on August 4, 2015.

    Background

    Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, the MP for North Tongu, released certain documents labeled “Kitchen Scandal” on August 1, 2023.

    Ablakwa claimed in the magazine that Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko, the cousin of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, was attempting to have his client, West Blue, pay a judgment debt of GH187.3 million even though the present administration had changed the terms of the contract.

    According to him, the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo administration conducted a value-for-money audit on the disputed deal and came to the conclusion that West Blue should actually be paying the Ghanaian government, not the other way around.

    “The Kitchen Scandal is a tale of betrayal, bravado, double standards, influence peddling, dishonesty, greed, collusion, arm-twisting, naked nepotism and blatant rape of the public purse.

    “The Kitchen Scandal will afford us a rare insight into how President Akufo-Addo’s “Kitchen Cabinet” operates and how destructive they have been to national progress,” the MP’s introductory paragraphs in the exposé read.

  • How Gabby attacked West Blue in 2015 but now fighting to secure GHC187m payment for it

    How Gabby attacked West Blue in 2015 but now fighting to secure GHC187m payment for it

    New Patriotic Party (NPP) stalwart, Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko has shocked Ghanaians with his sudden transition from being a critic of West Blue Ghana Limited in 2015 to now advocating for the company’s claim to a GHC187 million payment. 

    Back in 2015, Mr Otchere-Darko made headlines for his vocal criticism of West Blue Limited. The staunch member of the NPP was imputing criminality in the contract awarded to West Blue Company by the presidency. 

    West Blue had been awarded a contract by the then Mahama administration to undertake services including software implementation and also support activities to GRA and related agencies for takeover of functions of DICs on 1 September, 2015.

    The government in a leaked letter also directed the Chief of Staff to “take the necessary steps to secure the Public Procurement Approval in order to engage West Blue on Single Source basis.”

    This development upset Mr Otchere-Darko who vehemently opposed the awarding of the contract to West Blue.

    Fast forward to 2023, and the situation has taken an unexpected turn. Gabby is now at the forefront of advocating for the company’s pursuit of a GHC 187 million payment. This payment is said to be related to services rendered by West Blue in the trade facilitation sector.

    This came to light when Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Sam Okudzeto Ablakwa released a mindblowing piece on Facebook dubbed “The Kitchen Scandal”

    In the said post, Mr. Ablakwa expressed his astonishment at how Mr Otchere-Darko allegedly managed to persuade sections of the government, including the Attorney-General’s office and individuals within the Finance Ministry, to approve the massive payment to his new client, West Blue Company Limited.

    The North Tongu MP expressed concerns about the colossal liability created for the Ghanaian taxpayer, particularly in the context of the country’s struggling economy and the recent IMF bailout.

    He referred to the situation as “insane” and criticised President Akufo-Addo’s “Kitchen Cabinet” for their role in facilitating this enormous financial burden.

    In a response to Mr Ablakwa’s claims, Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko is a Senior Partner at Africa Legal Associates, on Friday, August 4, 2023, maintained that his firm was engaged in a rather legitimate duty on behalf of their client.

    According to him, his firm has since April 2021 been engaged by West Blue Ghana Limited to assist the company recover an amount of GH¢187,356,969 being outstanding payments due it from the Government of the Republic of Ghana under a contract dated 04 August 2015, and executed between West Blue, on the one hand, and the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and the Ministry of Finance (MoF), on the other hand.

    “Our client’s claim is founded on clause 13.1 of the NSW Contract, which sets out without equivocation, the fees due to our client under the NSW Contract. It was a contract duly crafted and executed by the John Mahama administration, of which you were a key member.

    “Clause 13.1 of the NSW Contract provides that in consideration of its services, our client shall be paid a fee equivalent to 0.35% of the final invoice CIF (Cost, Insurance, and Freight) value of import consignments entering into Ghana through the seaports, airports and land borders from time to time. Going strictly by the express terms of the NSW Contract, our client calculates the arrears still left outstanding to be in the sum of GH¢187,356,969. Indeed, a demand letter providing details of the sum of GH¢187,356,969 owed, was submitted to the Ministry of Finance on 28 July 2020 by the previous lawyers of our client, Bentsi-Enchill, Letsa & Ankomah,” he wrote in his response.