While the ear-splitting commotion of Ghanaians following the scandalous double salary news item reported against some former appointees of the erstwhile John Mahama administration is yet to take a backstage, a stalwart of the opposition National Democratic Congress has appealed to His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to cause for the cessation of the criminal investigations launched into the allegations brought against these former appointees.
Ignoring the volcanic explosions which have greeted these obvious acts of thievery on the part of Inusah Fuseini and the other named culprits which have inevitably and indubitably dented the image of the opposition party, Professor Kwamena Ahwoi opines that the whole exercise by the Police CID is needless and must be abandoned midstream.
According to the leading member of the National Democratic Congress, the incident is purely an employer-employee relationship that must stay within the confines of the two sides, and should not be subjected to the influence of any outside body. He thus appealed to President Akufo-Addo to magnanimously and humanely resort to dealing with this issue without involving the police.
Opting for a different body instead of the CID section of the Ghana Police Service, Prof. Ahwoi, in his letter to His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has asked for a committee to be established to delve into the matter.
This begs the question; Would it not be appropriate, per this call from Mr Ahwoi that we halt prosecuting Alfred Agbesi Woyome for wilfully causing financial loss to the state since the transaction was between him and the state that supposedly contracted him? It can also be stretched that an employee who steals from an employer should not be punished using the laws of the land if Mr Ahwoi’s call is to be heeded.
More depressing is the argument Prof. Ahwoi makes which seeks to put the blame at the doorstep of the employer who paid the employee more than he or she deserved. Since the employee did not ask to be paid double, according to Prof. Ahwoi, he or she cannot be held accountable for it. This argument is flawed much as it is untenable. As MPs, they were not oblivious to the fact that our constitution debars public officers from taking two different salaries from the same government.
For a seasoned political figure and an academician who has read a lot to make this submission beats the imagination. It is a clear departure from the niche Prof. Kwamena Ahwoi has garnered over the years.
It is also instructive noting this point that some MPs who had discovered they had been paid twice refunded the monies immediately they detected them. Apparently, this consolatory perspective of a party’s elder must not produce its due or desired effects.
For all intents and purposes, Professor Ahwoi’s intervention is a subtle move to shield the members of the NDC who flouted the laws of the land with impunity. It is also meant to save the NDC further shame as a result of this incident. The opposition party have been strangulating from the stench that emits from the odour of their corrupt acts.
Prof. Ahwoi is essentially asking President Akufo-Addo to dishonour the oath he swore to protect the integrity of the office he occupies and also to liberate these criminally minded individuals from the jaws of the law. President Akufo-Addo is a champion human rights advocate and would not trade his years of dedicated service to the country for some non-existent glory or praise from the opposition National Democratic Congress. It is hoped that President Akufo-Addo would not grant this unholy demand made by Prof Kwamena Ahwoi.
Source: otecfmghana.com/P.K.Sarpong
