President John Mahama’s first term has been characterised by several scandals – many of them bordering on corruption – that have lowered his standing in the eyes of some Ghanaians.
The sheer scale of some of the scandals is likely to influence how many people vote in the upcoming December elections.
Today, primenewsghana.com brings you a list of six major Mahama administration scandals that have the potential to adversely affect his re-election bid.
1. Bus branding scandal
In 2015, investigations into the branding of 116 Metro Mass Transit Buses involving GH¢3.6million revealed that the company contracted, Smarttys, over-billed the government to the tune of about GH¢1.9million.
The ensuing public outrage compelled the Minister of Transport Dzifa Attivor who handed out the contract to resign.
The development caused deep embarrassment for the government, which subsequently reached an agreement with Smarttys for the company to return GH¢1,548,608.04 to the state.
2. Mahama Ford gift scandal
An investigation by Joy FM’s Manasseh Azure Awuni revelation in June 2016 that President John Mahama received a Ford Expedition vehicle estimated to cost $100,000 from a Burkinabe contractor, Djibril Kanazoe, sparked condemnation from a section of the public.
Opposition politicians and some civil society organisations accused the president of receiving a bribe, especially after it emerged that the businessman had won two government contracts worth over GH¢100 million after the president received the vehicle.
3. GYEEDA Scandal
In 2013, Manasseh Azure Awuni conducted an investigation into the operations of GYEEDA and uncovered massive corruption, which led to policy change in the running of the agency.
The government set up a five-member committee to probe the allegations further. The committee’s report largely corroborated Manasseh’s findings and made various recommendations to government. As part of the reforms, parliament passed a law to regulate the operations of GYEEDA, which was later renamed Youth Employment Agency (YEA).
His investigation also led to the cancellation of all GYEEDA contracts with service providers, except the contract with Zoomlion Limited. This saved the nation millions of cedis. The scandal has helped deepen the perception of corruption in the Mahama administration.
4. SADA Scandal
In 2014, Manasseh Azure Awuni‘s investigation revealed that the Ghana’s Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA) had misappropriated millions of dollars allocated to it.
The investigations showed that SADA paid GH₵32,498,000 to ACICL to plant five million trees in the savannah zone, but could only account for about 700,000 trees.
It also found that SADA spent GH¢15 million on guinea fowls, but could only account for a few of the birds.
The revelation prompted President John Mahama to abrogate SADA’s contracts with Asongtaba Cottage Limited, managers of the multi-million-cedi guinea fowl project. 5. NSS Scandal
In 2014, officials of the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) uncovered a GH¢7.9 million deep-rooted rot at the National Service Secretariat (NSS).
Investigations showed that the amount represented the allowance paid to 22,612 non-existent service people in more than 100 districts across the country.
Twenty district directors of the NSS were picked up for their alleged roles in the malfeasance.
5. BrochureGate Scandal
A brochure which was produced by the presidency at an undisclosed cost and distributed during Ghana’s 59th Independence Day celebration at the Black Star Square in March was found to contain several embarrassing errors.
Among the many mistakes in the brochure was the representation of Kenyan President, Uhuru Kenyatta, as the President of Ghana.
The development provoked national outrage, with many Ghanaians condemning the presidency for embarrassing the country.
A former minister and Daily Graphic, Elizabeth Ohene, offered one of the government’s fiercest criticisms in an article titled “Is this government a mistake?â€
What other scandals do you think can affect Mahama’s reelection bid in December? Let us have thoughts in the comments section below.
6. Brazil 2014 disaster
During the Brazil 2014 World Cup, the government flew a reported four million dollars on a chartered plane to the Black Stars after they threatened to boycott their final Group D game against Portugal.
The transportation of the money from the airport to the team’s hotel in Brazilia was the subject of international media coverage, creating huge embarrassment for the country.
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