President John Atta Mills
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10th January, 2012
My Hands Are Clean - President Mills
By Edmund Mingle
President John Evans Atta Mills says his hands are clean in the Woyome case, saying he cannot be that irresponsible in doling out such a huge amount to an individual.
He said this in an answer to series of questions at his third encounter with the media at the Castle in Accra yesterday, which was dominated by questions on the Woyome saga,
President Mills said he had no hand in the payment of 58 million dollars in judgment debt to Alfred Agbesi Woyome, a businessman and member of the ruling National Democratic Congress, as his critics claim.
He said he couldn’t have been so irresponsible to order his Finance Minister to pay such a whopping amount to a single individual, while that money could have been used for the benefit of the poor.
“How can I be so criminal-minded, so irresponsible to give 58 million to any person, when I know the plight of our people who need water, schools and the basic amenities” he asked.
Since the issue of the payment of the judgment debt to Mr. Woyome broke, the opposition, particularly the Minority in Parliament, has accused the President of having knowledge of the matter and authorised the payment.
President Mills has however, directed the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) to investigate the matter, stressing that the Finance Minister did not have to seek his permission to pay judgment debts.
He explained that it was not the practice for him as President to order his Finance Minister to make any payments of debts, especially when such expenditures had been captured in the budget.
“I know it is criminal, irresponsible, the height of naivety for a President to call his Minister of Finance and say pay this man this amount. I don’t see how that can happen."
He appealed to Ghanaians to desist from drawing conclusions in the Woyome case, and asked that all should wait for the outcome of the inquiry.
“We shouldn’t jump the gun,” he said.
Asked whether the investigation by EOCO was not in contravention to the filing of a motion for the court to set aside the judgment, President Mills said the EOCO’s work was only to find the details and truth about the case.
“We all deserve to know the truth,” he said, adding that he had full confidence in the EOCO to do an excellent job.
The President promised to take swift action on the expected report from EOCO, assuring that those found culpable would be dealt with.
“I will apply the law to the latter,” he assured the journalists.
President Mills also accused the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) of unfairly blaming him for the act just to score cheap political points, stressing “you may want to nail Atta Mills to the cross, but if you want to do so, please find the right reasons.”
He said Ghanaians also deserved to know who created the liability for the many judgment debt paid by the government, adding that the nation must find a way of avoiding such debts, many of which emanated from the abrogation of contracts.
Responding to a question on his administration’s fight against corruption, President Mills noted that although many successes had been achieved, there were still challenges to overcome.
Citing the recent Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index which showed that Ghana slipped in its rankings, President Mills said the corruption report did not cover only politicians but all Ghanaians.
Therefore, he said the issue would have to be looked at in a holistic manner.
“The fight against corruption needs a concerted effort by all so that we all become watch-dogs against corruption,” he stressed.
Touching on the investigations into the circumstance surrounding the turning of a cocaine exhibit into baking powder, President Mills said he was awaiting the final report from the Bureau of National Investigation in order to take the necessary action.
On the impending elections, President Mills was asked whether his government was ready to finance the verification of the biometric register in addition to the biometric registration exercise by the Electoral Commission, to which he answered in the affirmative.
He said the government was willing to support the decisions of the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) working in collaboration with the EC, adding that if the Committee decided that there should be biometric verification, the government would fully support it.
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