Press release
Media Group
NPP UK & Ireland
1st October 2009
Mabey and Johnson – NPP
UK and Ireland calls on the Ghanaian civil society to act
now!
We in NPP UK and Ireland and many of our
concerned citizens in UK have been watching brief on the
bribery matter that involved the whole NDC government
machinery between 1993 and 2001 here in UK and in Ghana. On
Friday, 25 September 2009, the British company involved,
Mabey & Johnson Ltd, appeared at Southwark Crown Court,
London for sentencing in relation to the admitted offences
of overseas corruption and breaching UN sanctions. The
company was ordered to pay £6.6M. This is the first
prosecution brought in the UK against a company for these
offences.
Background
M & J, is a privately owned by a family company based in
Twyford, Berkshire UK and founded in 1922. It is an
engineering company, supplying steel bridges all over the
world, largely in the developing world. M & J had already
indicated at a magistrates' court hearing on 10 July 2009
that it would plead guilty to these offences.
Corruption
The prosecution for corruption arises from the company's
voluntary disclosure to the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) of
evidence to indicate that the company had sought to
influence decision-makers in public contracts in Jamaica and
Ghana between 1993 and 2001. The decision to voluntarily
disclose the corruption offences to the SFO was taken by the
management of Mabey & Johnson's holding company in February
2008 whereupon an investigation was opened.
M&J and the bribery in Ghana
M &
J conducted business in Ghana over a number of decades. John
Hardy QC, stated in the Prosecution opening statement that
Mr. Kwame Ofori, aka Danny Ofori Atta was influential with
the ruling party, NDC in Ghana. In March/April 1996, he
attended the offices of M & J in Twyford and complained that
the M & J's office in Ghana was not distributing funds
appropriately. Mr. Ofori stated that the situation had been
deteriorating even more since a certain manager had
arrived. The reality was that Mr Ofori was no longer any
good and someone else had to be a conduit.
Kwame Peprah,
the then acting Minister of Finance and Chairman of the NDC
Finance Committee was the new conduit. Baba Kamara,
Treasurer and Minister of Roads and Highways, helped
facilitate the contract.
Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings,
wife of the then president of Ghana was a member of the NDC
Finance Committee.
Obed
Asamoah was also a member and an influential person to know.
Summary of payments:
Dr. Attoh Quarshie (former Roads Minister) -
£55,000 ($88,000)
Saddique Bonniface (then a student at Exeter
University in UK received £500 ($800) as his educational
expenses) but this is unclear as there is another paper
trail of bribes leading to a Boniface Snr.
It is
unclear who Boniface Snr. was and whether it was the same
Boniface who received further monies.
Amadu Seidu (former Deputy Roads Minister) -
£10,000 ($16,000)
Edward Lord-Attivor (Chairman Inter-City
Transport Corporation) - £10,000 ($16000)
Dr George Sipah-Yankey (current Health
Minister) - £15,000 ($24000)
Dr. Attoh Quarshie,
the then Minister of Roads and Highways received a cheque in
the sum of £55,000 for "Contract Consultancy". Instructions
were received to enable Dr. Quarshie to immediately cash
that cheque. The prosecution reiterated how much money
laundering was going on under then NDC regime. The court
stated that Amadu Seidu received £5,000 - it was paid to an
account in Guernsey.
Boniface
received transfers from M & J to an account in Barclays
Bank, Watford. It was a feature of the NDC officials, the
court was told, to travel to the UK and open bank accounts
in London, Watford, Channel Islands, Guernsey, etc. The
officials received kick backs (bribes) which were disguised
as commissions/consultancies. They paid 10 to 15% of
contract value. They inflated the contract price to allow
for payment of 'commission'. The Company, M & J did not lose
anything. They did not lose any profit.
As
a result of theses bribes, M & J were paid £1.3
million ($2.08m) for Tano Bridge and £4 million ($6.4m) for
the Priority Bridge Programme in 1994 and £10 million ($16m)
for the feeder
roads they constructed up to 1998.
The
contract values exceeded the sums set out in those
contracts. Payments received in the Ghana contracts were
valued at £26 million ($41.6m). These bribes went on until
the general election of 2000.
There was a paper trail of highly incriminating evidence
where between 1994 and 1999, direct payments were made to
Politicians and Civil Servants of Ghana. Government
officials and individual politicians were paid bribes to the
whacking tune of £470,792.62 ($753,267.20)
Sentence
Ghana is to receive £750,000 ($1.2m) with
reparations of £658,000 ($1.05m)
and confiscation order of
£1.1million ($1.6m)
It is therefore up to us as a country to
pursue the outcomes of this matter - the financial loses
that we have incurred as against the corrupt financial gains
the individuals and the government of the NDC made from
mid-1980s till they were thrown out by the people of Ghana
for a better government.
We call on the current NDC government of Ghana whose corrupt
predecessors benefited from this to come forward to collect
the reparation money and fines totaling over £1.4 million.
The representative of the Ghana High Commission, Mr. Quansah,
who described himself as the Acting High Commissioner in the
court came unprepared and without any clear instructions
from President Atta Mills or his appointed representative,
Dr. Dodoo (whom the SFO have been dealing with). The Judge
commented several times that if the Ghana Government was
unable or unwilling to accept the reparation, then the money
should be sent back to the SFO (within 28 days) and perhaps
used for the purposes of Overseas Aid. The specific details
were not revealed.
Demands
We in NPP UK and Ireland on behalf of all
concerned Ghanaian citizens in Ghana and all over the world
call on the government of Ghana
-
to instruct the Attorney-General to
immediately secure a copy of the Judgement from
Southwark Crown Court and question those individuals
named in the Court's Judgement immediately without
delay.
-
to set up an independent Commission of
Enquiry to commence an investigation of the individuals
and businesses M&J in Ghana who profited or benefited
from the bribes. They should refund the money or their
assets confiscated and for criminal charges/penalties
for causing financial loss to the state be brought
against them IMMEDIATELY.
-
ALTERNATIVELY, Parliament should be
recalled immediately and the whole committee of it or
the Constitutional Select Committee of Parliament call
the Attorney General to immediately institute the
necessary investigation as directed by the President and
call the A-G to the floor of Parliament to answer
questions about Mabey and Johnson.
-
to ensure that the reparation money be
used for a worthwhile project in Ghana that will touch
on the lives and benefit the ordinary people in health
and education under the supervision of an independent
body to be set up by Parliament. This should be
monitored clearly by the citizenry. to see to it that
government officials involved in the matter resign
IMMEDIATELY pending investigation into the matter;
-
We urge the President of Ghana to condemn
such behaviour by government officials and let the whole
nation know where he as a person and his government
stand on the matter;
-
We believe that former President
Rawlings, who is always preaching accountability, must
himself state clearly to the nation what he knew and
what his role in the matter was, including his failure
to stop the corrupt officials that he appointed.
-
We also believe that the NPP as the main
party in opposition owe it to the people of Ghana to
mount pressure on the government to follow up with the
recommendations in this statement and the many that
other Ghanaians may have suggested. We should not let
this matter go away quietly and pressure must be mounted
on the President to sack his officials who were involved
in this scandal. The National Executives of the NPP
should therefore immediately petition the Govt. to
institute the necessary investigation into the matter.
We also call on the media, the fourth estate
of the Republic to continue to highlight the hypocrisy of
the NDC government, former president Rawlings under whose
watch this massive scandal of international dimension took
place and to ensure that politicians are never again allowed
to use our goodwill to align their own pockets.
We further call on all Anti-corruption NGOs,
Christian Council, Religious organizations to raise their
voices in protest against the NDC Corruption in this matter.
Public Demonstrations should be waged as soon as possible
in protests demanding immediate firing/dismissal of all
those named who are currently in government. eg. Sipa Yankey,
Kwame Peprah, Attoh Quarshie, etc.
Media Group
NPP UK & Ireland
1st October 2009
