Mr. President, You Need A Brief On Kojo Graham

THE PUBLISHER is interested in the pledge of President Akufo-Addo and his New Patriotic Party (NPP)-led Government to block all leakages in government revenue and also operate a government that has zero-tolerance for persons who put their personal interest ahead of that of the State.

Our interest is to see that pledge practicalized and we call on President Nana Akufo-Addo to actually start walking that talk at a faster speed.

We have witnessed with some gladness, for instance, the new policies introduced at our ports that makes it difficult for those who hitherto under declared taxes in their imports to continue to do same.

We call on the President to take a look at the National Lotteries Authority (NLA) and the type of contracts the Authority has signed with some of its suppliers.

It makes no sense to us for instance that one man is appointed as a member of the Governing Board of the National Lotteries Authority (NLA), the same man is Chairman of the Entity Tender Committee of the NLA, the same man is also the external retainer lawyer for the NLA, the same man was able to get the NLA sign a worrisome 15-year contract with the NLA through sole-sourcing and the same man was able to make a cool amount of over GHC89 Million as payment of works he did for the NLA between 2013 and 2017.

Mr. President, where lie our commitment as a country in the supposed fight against issues of conflict of interest? Without acting on this, our professed commitment against conflict of interest would amount to cheap talk.

Mr. President, is it not logical that the man in question, per the three strategic positions he occupied at the NLA, had privileged information which put him at an advantaged position over other potential bidders for the contract?

And where lie our conscience and sense of shame as a people that a Board Member who doubles as a Tender Committee Chair and also as the company solicitor would get a 15-year sole-sourced contract from the same company?

The same man, in 2016, was able to make for himself and his company, far more money than the NLA was able to make for the Consolidated Fund and strongly the same man has his contract intact with no one gathering enough patriotic courage to call for a relook at the circumstances under which the so-called contract was signed.

THE PUBLISHER is strongly appealing to the President, the Minister of Finance and the appropriate institutions of State to as a matter of urgency take a second look at the fine details of this particular contract Kojo Graham’s company has with the NLA.