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Is Osafo Maafo
currying favour with the new
administration?
Abdul Salam Sule, Ghanadot
If there was one New Patriotic Party (NPP) top official who had
favour from the immediate past
President, Mr. John Agyekum Kufour, to occupy key ministerial
positions in his administration, it was Hon. Yaw Osafo Maafo,
former Member of Parliament for Akim Oda in the Eastern Region.
In the 'positive change chapter one' of the Kufour
administration, Hon. Yaw Osafo Maafo was appointed as the
Finance Minister, a position which he held till the end of the
first term of the NPP administration. Though he was not
maintained at the Finance Ministry in President Kufour's second
term, Hon. Osafo Maafo was appointed
the Minister of Education and held the position till the end of
the year 2006.
With the calibre of Hon. Yaw Osafo Maafo in the erstwhile Kufour
administration, many were those who thought the former Finance
and Education Minister would at any point in time defend the
policies of the Kufour administration. Unfortunately, that has
not been the case and his recent public statement to oppose some
last minute actions of ex-President Kufour seems to suggest,
he (Osafo Maafo) is inviting favours from the new NDC
administration.
On the last state of the nation address ex-President Kufour
delivered in parliament, he proposed that, the mandate of the
Electoral Commissioner should be limited to two six year terms.
Barely a day after that proposal by the ex- president, Hon. Yaw
Osafo Maafo, to the amazement of many Ghanaians, jumped to the
defense of the Electoral Commissioner and said, Mr. J. A. Kufour
had erred. He argued that, the mandate of the electoral
commissioner was like that of an Appeal's Court Judge which
position was not tampered with until he
or she resigned or retired.
Also, on the eve of leaving office as the President of the
Republic of Ghana, Mr. John Agyekum Kufour announced an
increment in the salary level of the Ghanaian worker from
16%-34%, and it was to take effect from January 1st this year.
This action by the ex- President also caught the wrath of Hon.
Yaw Oasfo Maafo who in no uncertain terms disagreed with Mr. Kuffour. He described the actions of Mr. Kuffour as a deliberate
attempt to push the new administration into a tight corner.
The
current behavior of Hon. Yaw Osafo Maafo, of
opposing every action
of ex- President Kufour, has raised many eyebrows in the camp of
the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and some media outlets. The former
MP for Akim Oda has therefore come under various forms of attack
from various quarters, including some media outlets
and some hawks within the NPP for his remarks.
While some are
saying Hon. Yaw Osafo Maafo is undeservedly trying to pay back
Mr. Kufour for sacking him from his cabinet in the year 2006,
others say he is a bootlicker who is inviting favors from the
new NDC administration so that he can be forgiven some of
the errors he committed in his days as Minister of state.
which could pass for causing financial loss to the state.
It should be noted that, in his days as the Finance Minister,
Hon. Yaw Osafo Maafo pursued a loan agreement with CNTCI
Holdings Group Limited in the United Kingdom and even though he
was warned of a possible scam by the so called financial group,
he went ahead to spend state money to chase the loan.
But as predicted earlier on, the address to locate CNTCI
Holdings Group Limited was traced to a hair dressing saloon in
London called "Good Wish Saloon".
The scheme came to be known
as 'Saloon loan'
and to this day has been hanging around the neck of Hon. Yaw Osafo
Maafo like an albatross.
In the year 2005 when the then
President Kufour appointed him as the Minister of Education, he
contracted MacMilan Books to print text books for Ghana's
School children and that contract allegedly never passed through
the procurement process. Later on , when his attention was drawn
to it, he was reported to have said, he had forgotten. Strangely
enough, it was Hon. Yaw Osafo Maafo who in his days as the
finance minister championed the passing into law of the National
Procurement Act, which made it necessary for
government purchases to pass through the contract award process.
From the few examples given, there is the possibility that, Hon.
Yaw Osafo Maafo could be sent to court by the
new administration for causing financial
loss to the state. His recent public outbursts
that opposed some
of the policies of ex- President Kufour seem to indicate that
he was seeking favour
from the new administration.
In a sharp rebut, on Thursday January 15, 2009 edition of the
Independent newspaper, the Accra based private newspaper carried
a front page story, tiltled "OSAFO MAAFO FIGHTS BACK". In the
said publication, Hon. Yaw Osafo Maafo was reported to have
debunked the claims in some quarters that his recent comments in
respect of former President John Agyekum Kuffour's 16%-34%
salary increment for workers amount to attempt to please and
seek favour from the President John Evans Attah Mills-led
administration. He argued that, his comments in relation to the
last minute salary increments were purely technical and based on
his experience as the former Finance Minister and not based on
slanted political considerations.
"I am a professional and a technocrat, and so passionate about
things relating to the economy. Being a professional and one who
was once the best finance minister in Africa, I know what I am
talking about", the Independent newspaper quoted Hon. Yaw Osafo
Maafo to have said.
But whether Dr. Yaw Osafo Maafo's comments were based on
technocracy or sheer sycophancy and slanted political
consideration as being suggested in some media circles would be
known in the coming weeks.
Abdul Salam Sule, January 15, 2009
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