Chair of the Civil Society Platform on Oil and Gas Dr Steve Manteaw has said the concept of unexplained wealth in Ghana should be given a second thought by authorities.
He is convinced all wealth can be explained.
His comments come after the dismissed Chief Executive Officer of the Public Procurement Authority (PPA), Adjenim Boateng Adjei, was accused of not being able to explain the volumes of cash transaction in his bank account at Stanbic Bank.
A report issued by the Commission on Human Rights and Administration Justice (CHRAJ) has noted that the dismissed Mr Boateng Adjei was unable to explain the volumes of cash that passed through his bank account at Stanbic Bank after his appointment.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in a letter dated Friday, October 30, 2020 terminated his appointment.
The decision followed the submission of a report to President Akufo-Addo by CHRAJ on a conflict of interest investigations initiated against him.
It emanated from an investigative work by journalist Manasseh Azure Awuni over some contracts sanctioned by the Authority.
The CHRAJ report had concluded that Mr Adjei had put himself in a position where his personal interests conflicted with the performance of his functions as CEO and board member of PPA.
Portions of the report read: “The respondent (Mr Adjei) opened a USD Account at the Stanbic Bank on 03 April 2017 after his appointment as CEO of PPA. As of August 2-019 a total of USD516225 has been credited to the account and his debits stood at USD504607.87
“When confronted with the evidence of the sheer volume of cash that passed through his accounts the Respondent indicated that Frosty Ice Mineral Water Litd does not have a bank account and that proceeds from the sales of the water is lodged in his account. Frosty Ice Mineral water Ltd is the company the Respondent owns with us wife, Mercy Adjei. He also claimed that he received money from other family businesses but could not name the family businesses.”
A release issued by Eugene Arhin, the Director of Communications at the Presidency, announced the termination of the appointment the PPA boss, stating: “Having satisfied himself of the fact that the recommendation made by CHRAJ is properly motivated and well-founded, the President has expressed his appreciation and gratitude to Mr Joseph Whittal and CHRAJ for the thorough and methodical manner in which the matter has been addressed.”
Aspects of the investigative work relating to potential acts of corruption were referred to the Office of Special Prosecutor for action. The Prosecutor is yet to come out with his report.
Sharing his views on this matter, Dr Manteaw said in a Facebook post that “whoever created this concept of unexplained wealth must rethink it. Because all wealth can be explained as either genuine or illicit.”
He added: “Kudos to the President for acting swiftly on the recommendations of CHRAJ. This is how to encourage our accountability institutions.”
By Laud Nartey|3news.com|Ghana