Featured: On Amidu, Gyampo and Baffoe

On social media, was an article allegedly authored by Martin Amidu which was entitled “PRESIDENT MAHAMA, LETS STOP THE EMPTY RHETORIC OF ECONOMIC CRIME SCENES AND WALK THE PRE-ELECTION CAN-DO TALK: BY MARTIN A. B. K. AMIDU.” In that article, he expressed his displeasure when he heard H.E. John Mahama describe Ghana’s economy under ex-president Nana Addo, as an ‘economic crime scene.’In a Ghanaweb publication on Saturday February 22,2025 on the same issue, read the headline, “We voted for action, not excuses” – Amidu chides Mahama over ‘Ghana is a crime scene, comment.

Quoting a mynewsgh.com report, Ghanaweb stated that Martin Amidu described Mahama’s criticism of the Akufo-Addo administration as a “a worn-out excuse,” further arguing that every government since 2001, had used the same rhetoric to justify borrowing and tough economic decisions.

In the second paragraph of his letter dated February 21, 2025 which appeared on social media, Martin Amidu stated that “President John Agyekum Kufour sent Ghana to HIPC using this same empty “economic crime” scene rhetoric as his smokescreen upon his assumption of power on 7 January 2001.”

Before I talked on the statement he made about President Kufuor, I will wish to draw Martin Amidu’s attention to the fact that H.E. John Mahama is justified in making that statement. It is a fact that the Nana Addo’s administration did a lot of developments which should have ranked him high on the praise list. However, reports on the Ghost Names Saga at the National Service Secretariat, which existed from 2017 to 2024, cannot be described as anything other than, high crime.

This exposé came during the last days of the Nana Addo’s administration and yet no investigations were made to bring out the suspects.So, in what way can H.E. John Mahama describe this?

Now, Hon. Martin Amidu must be educated on the HIPC Initiative. A country cannot apply for the Relief and within a couple of months, it will be granted. There are processes the country will have to go through that may take more than four years.

The applicant nation must demonstrate with programmes on how it would use the Relief funds to alleviate poverty. The loans are not just pardoned. The applicant nation must prove, funds for repayment and would be compelled to re-invest these funds into projects in the country that would alleviate poverty.

Now, Prez. Kufuor did not make Ghana go HIPC and Martin Amidu knows that. The facts of the case are that the PNDC/NDC government wrecked our economy. When Rawlings stole our democracy on December 31, 1981, the dollar was ¢2.75 to $1.00.

By December 2000,after nineteen years of his misrule,the dollar was ¢7,163.00, a depreciation of 260,372.07%.

Inflation hit 122.87% in 1983 and during Rawlings’ 19 years, it averaged 32.89%.

Because of the economic recklessness, Rawlings applied for HIPC Initiative Relief and he was mandated to introduce some programmes to prove whether when given the Relief, Ghana could benefit from it. So, we had programmes like PAMSCAD and others.

In 2000, on behalf of the state and the NDC government, Finance minister, Hon Peprah signed the Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers in which, by April 2001, Ghana would formally declare HIPC to the Bretton Woods Institution and access the relief. So, if the NDC had won the 2000 General Elections, it would have declared GhanaHIPC, by April 2001.

When Kufuor took over in 2001, he was faced with a country dead broke with only one month export cover. Minister SpioGarbrah of the NDC even came out to say, “we shall see where Kufuor will get money to pay workers’ salaries.” These words clearly summarised the state of the economy left behind by Rawlings and the NDC.

Martin Amidu should understand that if Kufuor ever said that the economy he met was bad, he was clearly justified by facts and figures and the admission made by an NDC cabinet minister.

Now were we not in this country when Hon. Martin Amidu, the running mate of JEAM called himself, the Shadow Vice President? That can be said to be a joke, just to reduce tension. However, were we not informed that in 2001 he applied, to study in the USA and indicated in his application that he was a minister of state at the time of applying, when he was not? The university sent a letter to the Office of the President when Jake was Chief of Staff to find out how come a minister of state would apply for resident-student status, while he still headed a ministry in his country.

Today, Hon Martin Amidu want tobe seen as someone who is full of justice, very honest, highly incorruptible and man of integrity. His application to that US university, however tells a different story.

Did we not read from GhanaWeb, dated January 14, 2020, “Today in 2012: Mills tells Martin Amidu to resign,”that due to Martin Amidu’s gross misconduct during cabinet meeting in which he almost beat up the late president, H.E. John Evans Atta Mills. He was dismissed from office as Attorney-General? In that article, former deputy chief of staff, Valerie Sawyer, was quoted as stating in her 2017 article that “Martin Amidu was fired due to his pomposity, over-blotted ego and sense of self-importance.”

Today, Martin Amidu, is saying that others must live above board. He said he was forced to resign his post of Special Persecutor, but did not add that he rejected office accommodations provided for the Office of the Special Persecutor, insisting on a more expensive state of art, office block, before he would work.

H.E. John Dramani Mahama should be left to do his work. Of course, as human he will err along the line. This should warrant criticisms but this time round, it should be constructive criticisms and offering of good and better solutions, instead of the usual barking without any sound reasons. The president has described Ghana’s economy under the past administration the way he sees it. Those who disagree with him must come out with concrete evidence to prove otherwise.

Prof. Ransford Gyampo, in my opinion, should not have been added to government. He was suspended together with Prof. Paul Butakor, by the University of Ghana for the unpardonable and criminal act of demanding sex from female students before grading them after examination. While Paul Butakor, had gone into seclusion as a humble and repentant person sh

Could, Gyampo swung on the political swing-set and forced himself into high position, ready to advise Ghanaians how to live moral lives. Is he aware that by the mere sound of his name, it could spark off nightmares in the minds of his female victims? There maybe a very brilliant woman selling in the market because she refused to have sex with Prof. Gyampo and got dismissed from the university for poor grades or another woman working as a director in a corporate institution, who, filled with guilt, is always hauntedby that singular act of allowing Gyampo to dis-virgin her, so that she could get grades she never deserved.

The act of using what one has got, to wrongfully get what one wants, is criminal and corruption. And Prof. Gyampoand lecturers like him, have turned out tens of thousands of such corrupt women into the system and yet he is always standing out to speak against corruption.

Today, workers were given pay rise of 10%, which is unimaginable. If workers were given 15% pay increase during the Nana Addo’s administration, Prof Gyampo would have destroyed the reputation of that government to workers and demanded a national strike action.

But today, with pay rise as low as 10%, Prof. Gyampo is saying the workers gladly accepted it because, President Mahama met them personally to negotiate the pay rise. If the professor has nothing good to say, he should stop insulting the intelligence of workers in Ghana. He should hide his face and quietly enjoy his new position. In fact, the University of Ghana should take the blame for not dismissing him.

Kwame Baffoe aka Abronye, should know that the era where he could baselessly incite Ghanaians are gone. He should know he belongs to the UP Tradition and should not act like socialists who will lie and lie and keep lying until it is accepted as the truth. How could he say that H.E. John Mahama withdrew GH¢500 million meant to pay the salaries of the dismissed workers and kept it on himself in the Jubilee House?

He wanted to justify this by saying that, in the last NPP budget, that amount was budgeted to be used to pay those workers employed after December 7, 2025 but are now wrongfully laid off. And so, with the workers no longer around, President Mahama went for the money.

If Abronye does not know how things work out, he should first seek counsel before he utters any word. A little education here. When a budget is read and approved by Parliament, it does not mean the sector ministries can immediately start withdrawing their allocation.

Before any withdrawal, the ministries must go to Parliament to justify why they need the money. And so how can a ministry go to Parliament and request to be given money to pay non-existing workers? Are we talking ghost-workers, here? That is not how things are done.

Kwame Baffoe aka Abronye must refrain from talking propaganda like a socialist. His masters in the NPP should advise him.

Hon. Daniel Dugan

 

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