Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, a member of parliament for North Tongu, has accused President Akufo-Addo of being arrogant and deluded by asserting that he has a better track record in the fight against corruption.
On Monday, September 11, 2023, Ablakwa was responding to the President’s recent speech about his anti-corruption initiatives during the Ghana Bar Conference held in Cape Coast.
The achievements of President Akufo-Addo’s administration in the fight against corruption were lauded. As proof of his dedication to fighting corruption, he pointed to the creation of the Office of the Special Prosecutor, the enactment of the Right to Information Act, 2019 (Act 989), the Witness Protection Act, 2018 (Act 975), and the Criminal Offences (Amendment) Act, 2020 (Act 1034).
The Right to Information Act of 2019 (Act 989), the Witness Protection Act of 2018 (Act 975), and the Criminal Offences (Amendment) Act of 2020 (Act 1034) are just a few of the steps the President claimed he had taken to fight corruption in his speech. He also established the Office of the Special Prosecutor.
“I accepted the invitation to speak here in order to take advantage of this occasion to place, once again, my government’s record on corruption for public scrutiny. It will show that my government has undertaken, arguably, the boldest initiatives since our nation attained independence, nearly sixty-six (66) years ago, to reform and strengthen the capacity of our institutions to tackle corruption in the public sector.
“…so far, every single alleged act of corruption levelled against any of my appointees has been investigated by independent bodies, such as CHRAJ, the CID, and, in some cases, by Parliament itself. It is not my job to clear or convict any person accused of wrongdoing, or of engaging in acts of corruption. That is the job of the courts and the law enforcement agencies. My job is to act on allegations of corruption by referring the issue or issues to the proper investigative agencies for the relevant enquiry and action, including, if necessary, the suspension of the affected official, pending the conclusion of investigations. That is exactly what has been done since I assumed the mantle of leadership on 7th January, 2017,” the president said.
Ablakwa, however, denounced these assertions as empty hyperbole and propaganda and pressed the President to produce the US$58 million he is said to have spent on excavating a trench for the National Cathedral.
But Ablakwa’s admission of the persistent thefts afflicting the revered National Cathedral construction site is the stunning news that has everyone talking. His “unimpeachable sources” claim that the website has been the target of a thieving rampage.
“The cathedral theft continues with latest information from my unimpeachable sources indicating that tonnes of steel (rebars), a project vehicle and a flat screen television in the project manager’s office are part of the growing list of items which have recently been stolen from this supposedly holy construction site — an abandoned project site which is strangely also under national security protection and yet recording major incidents of plunder,” Ablakwa wrote on his Twitter page.
Ablakwa encouraged the President to cease misleading the public with his false promises, claiming that these occurrences demonstrate the President’s duplicity and incapacity in combating corruption.
“President Akufo-Addo must certainly be delusional. It is such an insult to hear the only President in the world who has dug a pit with US$58million and still managed to owe his cathedral contractors an extra US$52million tout an imaginary superior track record in the fight against corruption,” he added.
