The New Patriotic Party (NPP) Constituency chairman for Biakoye in the Volta Region, Mr Anane Forson, has accused the former Chief of Staff and Minister for Presidential Affairs, Mr Kwadwo Okyere Mpiani, of causing financial loss to the state, with regards to a 5 million Euro irrigation contract, under a Spanish grant, which he took away from ISOTOFON and awarded to ICADEMA.
According to him if the government of Ghana today, pays compensation to ISOFOTON, of which he Anane Forson is a representative, she should look nowhere, but hold Mr Mpiani responsible.
“He wrote the letter, and took over the contract from me and gave it to ICADEMA. If we are paid today by the government, or we are compensated today, then of course, the conclusion is that if Mpiani had allowed us to do the job, they would not be any need for us to go to the court to seek for justice.
If the government takes $1 million or $2 million from the coffers of the state to pay us, then it is a financial loss to the state, and Mpiani should be held responsible for that,” Forson told Radio Gold.
The NPP Constituency Chairman, during the interview, minced no words when he categorically stated in response to a question: “Kwadwo Mpiani should be held responsible for causing financial loss to the state.”
Mr Anane Forson further stated that he had problems with the former Chief of Staff on his management style, and the ‘impunity’ with which he treated them. According to him, at a point in time, he sent a delegation of prominent NPP members to talk to Mr Mpiani, to desist from taking the contact from ISOTOFON, but he told them that he was not prepared to ‘arm his enemies’ to be rich.”
To him, even though he spoke to his lawyer, Mr Egbert Faibile, to ensure that the right things had been done to ensure that the case did not go to court to warrant any compensation or cost to the state, he and his team were treated with impunity, hence their action in court.
Mr Anane Forson, who was not prepared to name the individuals behind the new company, INCADEMA that took over the contract, suspected that relatives of former President Kufuor were behind the company.
“I don’t want to talk about who is behind the INCADEMA.
I am only interested in my case that I won a contract and Mr Mpiani took it away from me and gave it to another company. I don’t what to talk about those who are behind the company, but at the end of the day, we shall all know about who is behind it,” he said. Pressed about whether the contract was taken from him because of internal NPP politicking, the Constituency chairman, noted that it could partly be attributed to that, but refused to delve into whether it involved pro-Akufo-Addo and pro-Alan Kyerematen factions, adding that when one declares his or her stand for a particular candidate, that person would be victimized in one way or the other.
ISOTOFON won a contract under the previous regime, but it was later taken and handed over to ICADEMA. As a result, the representatives of ISOTOFON took the government to court on the charge of breach of contract, and won the case. ISOTOFON was represented in court by Mr Owusu Yeboa, former Volta Regional Minister. The 5 million Euro contract was in respect of an irrigation project powered by solar energy, under the auspices of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture. The government of Ghana is now to pay damages to ISOTOFON.
Source: Bismark Bebli/The Chronicle/Ghana
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