Big Men No Lie, Mahama!

Yesterday, I began a rebuttal exercise on an interview former President John Dramani Mahama granted to state-run Daily Graphic which published the contents last Saturday. In the said interview, the former head of state, who is seeking to return to Government House in the December poll, claimed that the infamous Airbus bribery scandal, which hit the US and UK courts, was an issue between the Airbus company and its representatives, who were found to be in breach of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) rules.

Read the lips of the immediate past head of state of the Republic of Ghana: “This is clearly and unambiguously stated in all the available documents of the UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO). It has nothing to do with the government of Ghana, or with any of official of government. To state otherwise is to misrepresent the conclusion of the SFO report and spread deliberate falsehood.”

Truth in Ghana is on holiday! The erstwhile Provisional National Defence Council sent truth into exile when the men on horseback invaded Government House.  It only makes fleeting visits to the centre of the earth these days. But to suggest that the UK court made no reference to Ghana and its state officials in the prosecution of bribe-soaked officials of Airbus SE is tantamount to living in a cloud-cuckoo land.

Both courts in the United States and Britain descended heavily on Ghana Government Official 1, using his relative in the UK, Intermediary 5, as a conduit pipe in the ‘gory’ act of enriching himself to the tune of five million Euros.

The maxim in our part of the world is that Big Men No Lie.  I get the impression though, that the former President is not only being economical with the truth, but is throwing dust into our eyes.

The court in the US listed the top government official in Ghana as Individual 1, and the intermediary as the link in the UK as Intermediary 4. The court papers said: Between 2009 and 2016, Individual 1, a citizen of Ghana, was a high ranking elected government official in Ghana during the relevant ITAR time period. Beginning in, or around, 2009, a few months after Individual 1 took office, Individual 1 was in direct and repeated contact with senior Airbus executives from both Defence & Space Division and SMO International about Airbus Space campaigns.

“Individual 1,” said court documents in the United States, was influential in having the Government of Ghana approve aircraft purchases, and Individual 1 contacted Airbus senior executives during the government approval process. In 2011, during Individual 1’s time in office, the Ghanaians Parliament approved the purchase of two C-295 aircraft,” documents tended in the US court said.

In what was described in court as Family and Friends, the documents said: “In connection with the sales to Ghana, beginning on or January 1, 2009, the Defence and Space Division’s Spanish subsidiary contracted with Individual 1’s brother, Consultant 4, a citizen of Ghana and the United Kingdom, to act as third party consultant for Airbus during the C-295 sales campaigns. Airbus purposefully sought to engage Consultant 4 due to his closeness to Individual 1, and Airbus management included Consultant 4 in their communications with Individual 1. Airbus used Consultant 4 as a CONDUIT for messages intended for Individual 1.”

According to evidence in court, Consultant 4 traded on his access to Individual 1. Consultant 5, a citizen of the United Kingdom, worked in conjunction with Consultant 4 to assist in the sale. Consultant 4 and Consultant 5, initially, were engaged by Airbus without any written business partner agreement, and without Airbus completing due diligence.

“Airbus initially agreed to pay Consultant 4 through a company owned by Consultant 4 and Consultant 5, in excess of 3,000,000 Euros for the Ghana C-295 sales campaign.

Airbus worked with Consultant 4 and Consultant 5 for two years, before submitting a business partner application to Airbus’ compliance staff. In October 2011, Airbus compliance staff rejected the proposed contract between Airbus and Consultant 4 and Consultant 5’s company, because Consultant 4 had a familiar relationship to Individual 1. Specifically, Airbus compliance staff found that the shareholders of the company are so close to the decision makers.”

Yesterday, I established, citing Serious Office documents in court in Britain and indictment papers in US court, I was able to establish ‘gory details about how the National Democratic Congress of John Evans Atta Mills and John Dramani Mahama took bribes and allowed European aircraft manufacturer Airbus SE to supply the Ghana Armed Forces with uncertified aircraft.

In the United Kingdom, the Serious Fraud Office said in documents exhibited at the Southwark Crown Court in London quoted at least five million Euros as payment of kickbacks to a top Ghanaian official through an intermediary, who is a close relative of “a high-ranking elected Ghanaian official during the Mahama administration.”

These are evidence from the United Kingdom and the United States. Like Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia told the world during the Pink Sheet trial of 2013; “You and I were not there.”

What clearly came out of both the UK and the United States is that Ghana and its state officials were seriously indicted for accepting kick-backs. If Mr. John Mahama believes these indictments were based on wrong premise, that is a different ball game.

To insist that Ghana and its officials were not indicted at all in court is a white lie. The immediate past President of Ghana will have to package a different story to tell Ghanaians. If anybody is spreading falsehood, I am afraid it is the former head of state, who is trying rather too hard to mislead all of us.

Yesterday, I was shocked to read that Forbes, the American magazine that has specialised in ranking the rich of this world, has listed Mr. John Dramani Mahama as the third richest Ghanaian alive.

According to Forbes, the former President is worth US$900 million. That is serious dough. It will be interesting to unravel how the former head of state became that rich. It will be interesting to know how he rated himself when he was sworn in as Vice-President of Ghana in January 2009.

It is becoming the norm that African leaders campaign for power on the need to rescue the people from the pangs of poverty, and rather line up their pockets, while pushing the people they have come to redeem deeper below the poverty line.

Why is it that the richest people in Africa happen to be politicians and leaders of one-man churches? The Mobutu’s of this world and the Sani Abacha’s must be a thing of the past. Public office is meant for service and not the conduit pipe to richness.

One disappointment in our politico-economic evolution is that declaration of assets by state officials remains mere paper guarantees.

The other day, I heard the publicity apologist of the former head of state stating at a press conference, that the former head of state seeking a return to Government House in January next year intends to use corruption as a campaign tool. Let the former President take note, some of us welcome the challenge. We will probe him all the way from his entry into national politics.

In an event like this, I wonder whether the choice of Mr. Martin Amidu as Special Prosecutor has brought anything beneficial to the body politic. When this Airbus bribery scam first broke out, the President charged the Special Prosecutor to liaise with the courts in the US and UK to get hold of the court documents. The Special Prosecutor was to use the documentation to establish whether or not there is a case to pursue.

It is nearly four months ago. I do not believe Ghanaians have been told what really happened. Mr. Amidu made so much noise about his Citizen Vigilante role in the events leading to his choice as the first Special Prosecutor in this land of our birth. Since his appointment, he has been of no use to the high office, I dare state. The Special Prosecutor’s office is the weakest link in the President’s drive to move this nation forward. Mr. Martin Amidu should wake up from his slumber or gracefully give up his office.

I shall return!

Ebo Quansah in Accra

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect The Chronicle’s editorial stance

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