Ayorkor Botchway, Ablakwa Fight Over ‘Inflated’ Oslo Mission Building

There was a brawl between Foreign Affairs Minister Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey and North Tongu MP Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa within the premises of parliament on Monday, 17 December 2018.

According to Ablakwa who’s the Minority Spokesperson Foreign Affairs the Ministry quoted $12.1million for the building instead of $3.5million.

He said the Minority’s investigation uncovered that $16.5million presented to the foreign affairs committee of parliament as the budget for the new mission in Oslo, the Chancery and the Ambassador’s residence is “outrageously high.”

“It is outlandishly inflated,” the Minority Spokesperson on Foreign Affairs Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa said during approval of budget estimate for the ministry.

In her response however, after a heated verbal melee with the Minority Spokesperson on Foreign Affairs Mrs Botchway divulged that the purchase of the property had been halted.

She said she halted the purchase of the property last week Wednesday when news of the property price being inflated hit the Norwegian Newsstands. “No money has exchanged hands. We don’t have a contract that will bind us to the purchase of that property and it is on hold and I have instructed and directed that we look for other properties.”

Taking note of the issues raised by the Minority, She said she took responsibility for everything that’s done in the Ministry under her watch, assuring: “I’ll not superintend over any act of corruption or wrong doing or outrageous inflation of figures or fraudulent activities that would end in the loss of funds to the Ministry and by extension to the state.

“Mr speaker let me say that concerning the Oslo property as per the normal practice at the Ministry, when a new mission is  to be opened the first thing which is done is to send officers to that country.”

The encounter took place within the corridors of the house in the presence of the media after the Speaker had suspended sitting.

This accusation by the Minority forced the Speaker to suspend sitting for further deliberations. But the two MPs continued the debate within parliament’s corridors, resulting in the brawl.

During the exchanges, Ms Ayorkor Botchwey lunged at another Minority lawmaker, Sam George Nartey, who was apparently videoing the whole brawl on his mobile phone, with the intention of stopping him from doing so.

Mr Nartey was heard afterwards saying he would report to the Speaker that he had been assaulted by Ms Ayorkor Botchwey.