Manhyia South MP Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah has defended the New Patriotic Party’s record on corruption prosecutions, insisting that no NPP government has used nolle prosequi to discontinue corruption cases against its appointees.
He was responding to Majority Chief Whip Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, who said on JoyNews’ Newsfile that the NPP had also used nolle prosequi in the past, although he could not immediately recall the specific cases.
“I want to put it on record that at no point has the New Patriotic Party ever, whilst in government, filed nolle prosequi in respect of any of our appointees, former appointees, persons who are exposed to us sympathetically stand trial for corruption or corruption-related offence and then nolle prosequi has been filed in relation to it,” he said.
Mr Baffour Awuah cited the prosecution and conviction of former Sports Minister Alhaji Mallam Issah under former President John Agyekum Kufuor as evidence of the party’s record.
“Under the New Patriotic administration, a former appointee under President Kufuor, Alhaji Mallam Issah was prosecuted, convicted, and sentenced to prison. So we are not known for that as a party,” he added.
His comments come amid renewed scrutiny of the AKSA Power transaction following allegations by the United States Department of Justice that former Goldman Sachs banker Tim Leissner Berko participated in a scheme to bribe Ghanaian government officials to secure and retain business linked to a power plant project in Ghana.
US prosecutors allege that Mr Berko was involved in the scheme between December 2014 and March 2017, while working for Goldman Sachs International. He was extradited from the United Kingdom to the US in July 2024 to face charges under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and money-laundering laws.
The Manhyia South MP said the allegations raised serious questions about the integrity of public decision-making and Ghana’s ability to prevent and prosecute corruption domestically.
“My sense of the judgement is that, but for the influence, certain approvals would not have been obtained,” he said.
He argued that the alleged involvement of public officials made the matter particularly serious because they were responsible for decisions concerning the AKSA Energy deal.
Mr Baffour Awuah said Ghana should not overlook the allegations simply because the case is being pursued in a foreign jurisdiction.
“We cannot gloss over them because they are becoming one too many, one too many instances where Ghanaian public contracts are said to have been compromised and then the persons involved or at the heart of the compromise are convicted in foreign court,” he said.
He said the case exposed weaknesses in Ghana’s systems for ensuring value for money, preventing corruption and prosecuting suspected offenders.
“When you have your systems to ensure value for money, your systems for ensuring prevention of corruption, your system for ensuring or prosecuting corruption at that level, failing not once, not twice, not thrice but many times, it’s then obvious that something is terribly wrong with your system,” he said.
Mr Baffour Awuah therefore maintained that the NPP’s call for an inquiry into the AKSA transaction was justified and should result in concrete action.
“What it means is that the call we made was not a frivolous call. The call for an enquiry is very, very necessary for any country that wants to make progress,” he said.
He said the inquiry should establish the facts surrounding the transaction, identify the officials involved and determine whether any laws or procedures were breached.
He further called for prosecutions where evidence of criminal wrongdoing is established, alongside reforms to address any institutional weaknesses uncovered by the investigation.
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