A former Head of Information and Public Affairs at Ghana’s Embassy in Washington, Kofi Tonto, has expressed concern over what he describes as the unfair public humiliation of embassy staff in connection with allegations of an alleged US$19 million fraud scheme.
According to him, while he is not particularly bothered by attempts to tarnish his reputation because he is a politician and understands the nature of public life, he is worried about the impact of the allegations on staff who have dedicated decades to serving the embassy.
Speaking on Adom FM’s Dwaso Nsem, he said some of the people whose names have been linked to the alleged scheme have worked at the embassy for more than 30 years and should not have their reputations damaged without sufficient justification.
“I am a politician, so I am not pained if he [Manasseh] decides to disgrace me. But there are people who have worked over 30 years at the embassy,” he noted.
He cited the case of a foreign national working as a driver at the embassy, arguing that the individual does not even understand the Ghanaian language but has nevertheless been publicly linked to the allegations.
“There is also a driver, who is a foreigner and doesn’t even understand our language. All these people have been named publicly and linked to this scheme. Why would he do that?” he asked.
The former official also rejected allegations that he misappropriated state funds, insisting that he has no motivation to engage in such conduct.
“As a young man and Ghanaian, I have no reason to embezzle state funds,” he said.
He further argued that the Auditor-General’s report did not establish how the alleged $19 million was used.
“When you read the audit report, they couldn’t even prove what the 19 million dollars was used for,” he stated.
He explained that the $24,000 at the centre of the controversy was a donation to the embassy and was used for welfare purposes.
“It was the $24,000, which was a donation to the embassy, and it was used for the welfare; that is what Manesseh is saying is the loot and share just to disgrace people,” he said.
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) maintained that although he is prepared to withstand political attacks against him, the same cannot be said for ordinary career employees whose years of dedicated service could be overshadowed by allegations they may not have been responsible for.
He therefore questioned the rationale behind publicly associating such individuals with the alleged scheme and called for greater care in reporting allegations that could permanently damage their reputations.
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