John Mahama’s mess and the STX Bribery Saga!

The revelation recently that the government delegation who went to Korea to negotiate for the STX deal were given $2,600 and other freebies to soften their stance in order to make deal go through is just the icing on the cake. There are bigger fishes involved and Ghanaians are going to learn to their horror that, Professor Kofi Awornor, Totobi Quakye and Vice President John Mahama have personal interest to see to it that, the STX contract goes through because of an alleged bribery scandal looming.

The Mail newspaper on Thursday July 15 quoted ‘a source’ as alleging that the delegation that signed the STX Korea housing deal were induced with a sum of US$2,600 each for “shopping” by the Korean company. The former Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, Hon. Albert Abongo in a rebuttal the mail report stated categorically that a 12-member government delegation that signed the STX Korea housing deal on behalf of the country in 2009 were not bribed with US$2,600 by the Korean company but were only given gifts.

Hon. Albert Abongo said members of the delegation merely received gifts from the Korean company which cannot be termed as inducement. He says the gifts could not have compromised their judgments in respect of the STX housing deal.

My own check with some STX officials proved that Hon. Albert Abongo is not just telling lies but is also protecting the likes of John Mahama and Kofi Awornor who were themselves beneficiaries of the booty.

There are many questions that demand answers. First of all, who introduced the STX deal to government? Was John Mahama part of the first government delegation to Korea? Why would a vice president of the republic negotiate a deal on behalf of government of Ghana using his personal address? I challenge vice president John Mahama to come out and denied his involvement in this shady deal. The likes of John Mahama have little shame to speak about corruption and good governance.

What an embarrassment! Government officials have shown their greed and lack of respect for the position they hold. How can a country develop with such corrupt leadership?

Some People respect this Mahama without realizing the harm the he is doing to the country. He is the most corrupt individual in this administration. How can a vice president negotiate such a deal for the people of Ghana if he has no personal interest?

I simply wonder if these so called leaders know what they are about. How can the Mills administration award such a huge contract to a company that does not exist? A simple background check on the company can do us some good.

It took me just under a minute to google and find out a bit about the company. This company has neither been set up recently or it has been around since 2003 as it claims on its "hosting website" just waiting for such an opportunity to come through.

The so-called "Zhenjiang International Trade Center" is a centre set up by the China Ministry of Commerce in 1984 and the building completed in 1989 around which time; this so-called STX was not in existence. I can go on and on and on and on about the lies behind this deal. This is why these so-called leaders refuse to do what is right for people to get some enlightenment.

The Real Estate Industry in Ghana have never been given a fraction of what STX Korea is been offered. To restate some of the outrageous give away to the Koreans; Ghana Government sovereign guarantee to raise funding, free land from the Government’s land banks, unconditional import and income tax exemptions as well as VAT exemptions on things STX will buy locally; and full profit repatriation for both the staff and the company is just absolute hogwash if not plain nonsensical. What at all is wrong with our leaders? And for a vice president of the republic to be involved in this shady deal amidst the greasing of palms says a lot about our mentality and the primitive behavior of our leaders. How does government expect Ghanaians to pay their Tax obligations when a big foreign company can be given so much from the Ghanaian economy and they will not pay tax and can repatriate all their profits? This is insane.

All of a sudden, the Vice Presidents' brother is a rich man tooling around town in a Bentley. This is a guy that was struggling to survive economically and he is a rich man within 18 months of his brother’s administration. These people are taking advantage of our week President to do horrible things behind his back. Ghanaians are going to learn how this STX contract was sold to Mills by the three 'AMIGOS', Vice-President Mahama, Kofi Awornor and Totobi Quakye and they are going to realize what a corrupt and ruthless men we have ruling this country.

Ghana has lost its moral rudder. Since February 2000, our nation’s moral development and the commitment to protect our young citizens have been encumbered by an incompetent leadership. In a world of hostile competition, where leaders fight for national interests, we have lost our nation to relational political learners who barely understand the link between the good governance and a nation’s moral development. Unlike Nkrumah, and Jerry Rawlings who spoke on the moral and political aspirations of their people, our “uninsightful” leaders are skilled in supporting policies that call for the exploitation of our economy and resources by transnational corporations. While great leaders debate policies, the best way to move their nations forward, and protecting the young generation, the attention of the Ghanaian political leadership is fixated on the corrupt deals. If the proverb, “misery seeks company” is true, then our nation’s political leaders have become popular experts in debating inconsequential matters while mega-problems, such as the sexual abuse of the nation’s children, fester into a malignant cancer.

Until we make genuine efforts at fighting corruption by punishing corrupt officials, we are not going to make any meaningful headway in our efforts to create a better Ghana. We are quick to speak but too slow to act. We cannot speak development into being. We have to work hard to put certain things in place to form a solid foundation upon which we can build our nation. If public officials in high places do not know the difference between gifts and bribes, then we are in trouble. President Atta Mills should be bold to deal with corrupt officials by prosecuting them and asking them to pay whatever they have stolen with an additional penalty. We should make use of hidden cameras in our efforts to expose corrupt officials at all levels of government. Those found to be corrupt should be severely punished and humiliated publicly and we should be consistent at this - applying the punitive measures across the board, but especially to those within the ruling party! Charity begins at home!

Fifty-three years after independence we have problems with our water supply, some homes have not seen a single drop of water from their taps for years, we are digging borehole for water in the capitals only psychiatric hospital, our hospitals are so bad that the president and other politicians travel abroad for treatment, our power supply is so bad that investors are loosing money, and all the government can think of are affordable houses, how are they going to supply those houses with water because at the moment there is not enough water to go round, we always get our priorities wrong.

Our nation’s moral problems are not beyond our control. They are an amalgam of bad leadership, a break down of law and order, the discarding of moral principles into the dustbin, and a pacifist attitude that blames everything on past leadership. While it is easy to express disapproval from an outsider’s perspective, the scale of our nation’s moral problems requires objective self-expression and a competent leadership that is ready to intervene should it be called upon to do so.

Ghanaians should open their eyes wide and observe things critically. This nation is blessed by nature as such is not a poor country but our leaders are killing us. Why? We vote to office and they turn their back to us pointing to us as stupid citizens. How can Ghana pay back 10 billion dollars in the said housing project? Meanwhile they are going to be beneficiaries.

These incorrigible politicians will sell the country down the drain for a pittance. The youth of Ghana must stand up to these idiots, they are short-circuiting our lives!

Ghanaba, Dickson

New, Jersey

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