News
NAPO To Be Cited For Perjury Over Mathematical Sets Contract After Bediatuo And Wife Exposes Him?
The Herald has cited the name one Sarah Mary Olufemi Adetola said to be the wife of Secretary to the President of Ghana, Nana Asante Bediatuo in the multimillion dollar the supply of the mathematical set contract which former Education Minister, Mathew Opoku Prempeh and his onetime Deputy Dr. Yaw Osei Adutum were grilled on by the Appointments Committee of Parliament, last week.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Bluegrass Group Ltd, Kwadwo Darko-Mensah alias Onasis has been arrested by officials of the National Investigations Bureaus (NIB) formerly Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) to assist in an ongoing investigation.
But The Herald’s investigations into the matter is beginning to reveal some interesting information which suggest Mathew Opoku Prempeh has a lot to hide on those to whom the contract was awarded and what caused the delay.
The Herald is informed that NIB had stormed the home of Onasis on the claim of searching weapons and picked him away on that claim, however, his interrogation had been on the mathematical sets supply contract in which Sarah Mary Olufemi Adetola the wife of Nana Asante Bediatuo had been named.
So serious is the revelation that Mathew Opoku Prempeh who has been nominated to be Minister of Energy, could be cited for perjury by the Appointment Committee over the mathematical sets supply contract because he did not speak the truth. His claim that the company has supplied the mathematical sets has also been disputed by insiders at NIB who say, what has been supplied is just around 50%.
The arrest of the businessman, Mr. Darko-Mensah, a known sympathizer of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), on the claim of assisting in investigation over a very serious matter, The Herald learnt from highly placed sources within the NIB, to be a ruse by a powerful individual at the Presidency to cover up the real story behind supply contract.
Mr. Darko-Mensah Onasis is the Local Agent of an international company, Cornfield Group Ltd which was mandated in 2019 to deliver a total of eight-hundred and fifty-three thousand (853,000) pieces of mathematical sets at a cost of ?75 per unit by the Ministry of Education in September 2019 which was neither delivered on schedule or in full.
The 853,000 mathematical sets were supposed to be given to students for the 2020 WASSCE. Because of this WASSCE timeline, the contract was treated as “urgent” and sole-sourced without any form of bidding in September 2019 to the company.
In addition, the mathematical sets contractor Bluegrass Limited was granted a free tax waiver of $3.6million by the government on the recommendation of Mathew Opoku Prempeh, Education Minister. The tax waiver was approved by parliament.
Throughout the 2020 WASSCE however, no student received the “math sets” from the government.
Indeed, the Institute for Education Studies (IFEST) for example questioned why the mathematical sets which were sole-sourced at a “high price” were never delivered on time for the very purpose it was tagged as “urgent”.
They criticize the validity of the sole sourcing procedure adopted and the 75 Ghana cedis cost because the contract can no longer be classified as an urgent need for the WASSCE candidates now.
At ?75 per mathematical set, the total contract came to ?63,975,675. Blueglass Limited failed to deliver within the agreed time. It later issued PR-statements announcing it had delivered “first consignment” without stating any figure, even long after the WASSCE was over.
It is alleged that officers of the NIB arrested Kwadwo Darko-Mensah in relation to the contract.
The issue of the Mathematical sets contract and the arrest and detention of CEO of Bluegrass Ltd Kwadwo Darko-Mensah came up during the vetting of Mathew Opoku-Prempeh with the former Education Minister disowning Mr. Darko-Mensah, claiming he “didn’t know him from anywhere”, a claim insiders say could make the minister-designate liable to perjury.
Mathew Opoku Prempeh struggled to answer questions posed on the maths set matter by NDC MP Alhassan Suhuyini.
Opoku Prempeh attempted to deflect blame to his deputy Adu Twum over the Mathematical sets contracts after Dr. Adu Twum in his vetting said he had no answer for the question on the Mathematical sets.
Source: The Herald
News
NPP, NDC Agree To Remain Peaceful After Petition Verdict – Government
Government says it has reached an agreement with the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) to do everything possible to maintain the stability enjoyed in the country ahead of the pronouncement of the verdict in the ongoing 2020 election petition hearing.
According to the President’s representative at the Information Ministry, this was one of the resolutions reached at a high-powered delegation from both sides at a meeting on February 25, 2021.
The consultative meeting of 30 participants including top security hierarchy and chaired by Chief of Staff, Akosua Frema Osei-Opare was hosted by the National Security Ministry.
Former President John Mahama is currently in court seeking to annul the results of the December 7 election over irregularities which he believes saw Nana Akufo-Addo emerge President.
After weeks of arguments at the Supreme Court by lawyers for the petitioner and respondents, the apex court is set to deliver judgment on Thursday, March 4, 2021.
The statement signed by Kojo Oppong Nkrumah indicated that both parties agreed to trigger measures to prevent their party faithful from fueling chaos after the Supreme Court declaration.
“Regarding the on-going election petition, all parties committed to the
need to preserve the peace in the aftermath of the verdict by urging their
supporters to exercise restraint and desist from any provocative acts that could undermine law and order.”
The meeting was generally geared towards reviewing “the security arrangements put in place for the conduct of the elections and expressed divergent concerns about the events that characterized the collation and declaration of the results.”
While calling for closure to election-related violence that characterised the 2020 general election through investigation and sanctioning of perpetrators, the gathering further called on the Police Service to “improve upon the policing of election materials in future elections.”
“The parties called for thorough investigations into the incidents that marred the peaceful conduct and declaration of the results notably in Odododiodoo, Savlegu, Ablekuma Central, Sefwi Wiawso, and Techiman South constituencies among others.”
The March 1 statement further reiterated the “need to continue the political and security dialogue in the best interest of the country.”
Also present at the meeting were; the Presidential Advisor on Security, Brig. Gen. Emmanuel Okyere (Rtd), Albert Kan-Dapaah, the
President’s Representative at the Ministry of National Security, Ambrose
Dery, the President’s Representative at the Ministry of Interior, Freddie Blay and John Boadu, NPP Chairman and General Secretary respectively.
The NDC was also represented by Kofi Totobi-Quakyi, former Minister for National Security, Lt Col Larry Gbevlo-Lartey (Rtd), Former National Security Coordinator and Director for Operations, Capt (GN) Baffour Assasie-Gyimah, former Deputy National Security Advisor and Mr. Kofi Attoh, National Vice Chairman. Also, in attendance were the IGP James Oppong-Buanuh and the CDS Rear Admiral Seth Amoama.
Source: MyJoyonline
News
I Couldn’t Chew Ballot Papers Because Of My Nose Mask; ‘Shameful’ Carlos Ahenkorah Finally Explains Ballot Snatching
Tema West lawmaker, Carlos Ahenkorah has explained why he ‘disgracefully’ snatched ballot papers during the voting of a Speaker for the 8th Parliament on January 7, this year.
Speaking on UTV’s Morning Show he indicated that contrary to reports, he was unable to chew the ballot papers due to the nose mask he was wearing.
“The NDC came with a certain mind, a certain mindset and that is what they wanted to achieve and nothing was going to stop them,” he was quoted by ghanaweb.
He continued: “I realised that after the counting of the ballot papers, voting has been established and everything is finished,” Ahenkorah said trying to justify why he decided to go and snatch the papers for voting to start all over again so that the NPP side can ensure that the whip system is restored to enable them to get the 138 votes.
“Unfortunately, I didn’t get the kind of support Muntaka got from his people….”
News
Twitter Reacts To Kojo Oppong Nkrumah’s Rejection By The Appointments Committee
Information Minister-designate, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, jumped to the top spot of social media trends last night after he was rejected by the Appointments Committee of Parliament.
Information indicates that the nominations of Oppong Nkrumah, Hawa Koomson and Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto have been rejected by the committee after their vetting.
The reports state that Oppong Nkrumah was rejected because some committee members believe he was dishonest with his answers on some key issues.
One issue that cost him outright disapproval was his connection with television station MX24.
It is believed that while Oppong Nkrumah denied any affiliation with the media house, some members of the committee are firm in their conviction that he is the owner of the company.
His role in the contempt charge of former Deputy Attorney General Dominic Ayine by the seven justices of the Supreme Court sitting on the 2020 election petition has also been cited as a reason for his rejection.
Below are some reactions from Twitter to the news about Mr Nkrumah’s Rejection.
Source: GhanaWeb
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