Nobody will escape Woyome dragnet, arrest just the beginning – Ablakwa

Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Deputy Information Minister Deputy Information Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has served notice the arrest and detention Friday of businessman Alfred Agbesi Woyome by the police is only the beginning of a series of actions Ghanaians must be looking to in connection with the judgment debt payment scandal. Ablakwa told Joy FM President John Mills has ordered the actions to be carried out to serve the national interest, ensure accountability and the culpable punished. Woyome was arrested Friday afternoon and has since been in the custody of the Ghana Police Service at its headquarters in Accra. Indications are that he will spend the weekend in custody and processed for court on Monday. “It is important to establish that what is being unveiled before us now is the beginning of a series of actions which the president has outlined to be carried out in this matter and his objective is to ensure that the national interest is served, is to ensure that whoever is in the wrong possession of monies belonging to the state of Ghana, that person is dealt with according to law and as much as possible retrievals are made so that the state of Ghana can get its money back and we can also be looking at possible prosecutions in this matter. So there are series of actions which the president has outlined and this is just the beginning,” he told Joy FM’s Dzifa Bampoh. Early Saturday morning a police detachment mounted a combat-ready front at the entrance of the section of the Police Headquarters where Woyome is being held. On Friday five women were arrested for storming the police headquarters to demand his release. The payment of about GHS58 million judgment to Alfred Woyome has been the focus of media and political discussions for the past two months and only on Thursday, the Economic and Organised Crimes Office presented an interim report of its investigations to President Mills. The report indicted Woyome and other serving and past public officers who all face arrest. Okudzeto Ablakwa intimated no one who must face the law in the matter will escape. “That won’t happen, because the president is very much on top of this situation, he knows what he has rolled out and there is no cause for alarm. We can assure the good people of this country that nobody will escape the net.”

Woyometically: The man Woyome

Agbesi Woyome His receipt of judgment debt of about 52 million cedis has been the main focus of public discussion consistently for more than two months now over which the Education Minister, Betty Mould Iddrisu who once was Attorney-General has resigned and which has contributed one way or the other to the removal recently of the Attorney-General. There have been two demonstrations, one for and the other against him and yet more fallouts, some of which are still unfolding. So who is the man, Alfred Agbesi Woyome? An old student of Bishop Herman College, Mr. Woyome was born at Dabala in the Volta Region. His mates in school recall him as a very stern and disciplined fellow. A very prosperous businessman, Mr. Woyome is famed for his generosity especially when it comes to sports. He is believed to have been the philanthropist who paid for planeloads of Ghanaian supporters to go to South Africa to cheer on the senior national football team, the Black Stars at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Mr. Woyome is said to have made a considerable amount of his wealth as a consultant to the deceased Libyan leader, Muammar Ghadafi in connection with the fallouts of the Lockerbie bombings. He has a foundation named after him, Woyome Foundation for Africa which aims to bring relief to HIV/AIDS sufferers on the continent by offering them anti-retrovirals. Famed South African jazz musician, Hugh Masakela is listed on the website of the foundation as a board member. On that same website he describes himself as someone with wide experience in international affairs and finance whose job as a consultant and a businessman has taken him round many African, European and other countries. His background in finance explains his financial engineering role in the sourcing of funds for the construction of stadia for the African Cup of nations in Ghana in 2008, which has brought him the unprecedented attention and controversy currently. Amongst the companies he owns is Anator Holdings, a group of companies with varied interests across various sectors and yet another group of companies, Stewise, with several subsidiaries including a shipping wing, oil and gas, pharmaceuticals and construction. He is also the former Honorary Vice Consul of Austria to Ghana. Mr. Woyome has strong links to the NDC and is said to have contributed significantly, finance-wise, to the 2008 presidential bid of President Mills. He was also recently spotted at the NDC Parliamentary primaries at the Odododiodoo Constituency here in Accra. Members of the NDC are however quick to also point out bouts of generosity to members of the NPP. Mr. Woyome has meanwhile denied suggestions that the judgment debt was doled out to him as payback for his financial backing of the NDC in 2008. More recently, Mr. Woyome has insisted whatever monies he received was for honest work and that he is being unfairly singled out for vilification if as much as 640 million cedis has been paid out as judgment debt and yet his 52 million has been the subject of public scrutiny. In a private telephone conversation with Joy News he said he is a typical businessman in Africa who wants to test the law in relation to government-private sector relations. He says he believes the judiciary is under attack and he has decided to fight on the side of the law. Woyomistically Social media is rife with talk about Woyome, what some have christened woyometrics, woyomisation, woyomisticy. These are some of the new words that trace their roots to, yes, Woyome. Here are a few. Woyometically: The systematic process of Woyomization Woyometicable: A system that can easily be Woyomised Woyomized: To be overwhelmed with Woyomism Woyomee: Someone who has been Woyomised Woyomer: Someone who Woyomises people Woyomator: The brain behind a Woyomistic act Woyometre: An instrument used in measuring a Woyomistic act Woyomistic: A wicked act of Woyomism Evans Mensah/Assistant Editor/Joy News

Woyome to spend weekend in custody?

Alfred Woyome Several hours after he was seized from his car Friday and bundled into a police operations vehicle and taken to the headquarters of the Ghana Police Service, businessman Alfred Agbesi Woyome appears set to spend the weekend in the custody of the police. News of his arrest sent scores of his supporters and others said to be supporters of the ruling National Democratic Congress, NDC, to the police command center, but their presence and subsequent confrontation with the police led to the arrest of five of the supporters. Woyome, thought to be a financier of the NDC, was also visited by party chairman, Dr. Kwabena Adjei and propaganda secretary, Richard Quashigah. Neither of the two was available for comment. Late into the night, however, Woyome was still being held by the police ostensibly to be processed for court on Monday on charges said to border on ‘defrauding by false presentences’. The police are known to keep suspects they arrest on Friday’s throughout the weekend and sent to court on Monday, with several condemnation of the practice going unheeded. Woyome’s arrest comes on the heels of the interim report of the Economic and Organised Crimes Office following its probe into the controversial GHS51 million judgment debt paid him. Legal watchers claim he and his suspected collaborators could face over a dozen criminal charges. Current and former public officials suspected to have neglected to do due diligence or who were complicit could also face a more serious charge of willfully causing financial loss to the state.

After Woyome, some ex-government officials must also be arrested - Kennedy Agyapong

Ken Agyapong Outspoken NPP member and MP for Assin North, Kennedy Ohene Agyapong has welcomed the arrest of embattled NDC financier, Alfred Agbesi Woyome and wants the arrest of some ex-government officials implicated in the EOCO report. According to Kennedy Agyapong, any action by the state that will get to the bottom of the Woyome saga must be appreciated and welcomed by every Ghanaian regardless of one’s political affiliation. He said it will be unfair to Alfred Woyome if he is the only one arrested while other government officials implicated in the EOCO report over the controversial GHS58 million judgment debt paid to Woyome walk free. The arrest of Mr. Woyome was necessitated by assurances from President Mills that anybody found culpable in the raging Woyome judgment debt saga will face the law. The Economic and Organized Crimes Office on Thursday presented to President Mills an interim report of its investigations on the matter, indicting Woyome of wrongfully suing the state when he had no basis whatsoever to do so. Alfred Woyome has resigned his chairmanship of the National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBBSI) to allow full investigations into the matter. Speaking on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen on Friday soon after the arrest of Woyome, Ken Agyapong noted that the arrest of Woyome shows the law is now working but he should not go alone. ”I see the law is now working and I don’t care who is involved whether past or current officials.” “It is sad Woyome does not think about Ghana and being led by money, money, money. He has now landed himself into trouble. Woyome is a nation wrecker who should not be countenanced at all,” ken said. He stressed that some ex-government officials who were indicted in the EOCO report which was presented to the President, must also be arrested by the BNI to testify of what they knew of the Woyome saga. “Our own people who know about the deal must also be arrested to BNI and testify their side of the story. I know that the name Woyome has no contract with the government of Ghana but went ahead to claim money from the state”. He also called for the immediate arrest of owner of Trassaco Valley, Tarraconi who he accused of also benefiting 38 million euros in judgment debt using the name of Waterville Engineering Company. ”Tarraconi must also be arrested for defrauding the country. His company has been compensated already but went ahead to claim another money from government. He is a fraudster and should not be left freely because he is a white. No!” The NPP firebrand asserted that former Attorney General, Betty Mould Iddrisu who was involved in the payment of the money to Woyome must also be arrested immediately. “It is Betty Mould who put pressure on the Finance Minister to pay the money to Woyome so she is also culpable”. Kennedy Agyapong said even though the arrest of Alfred Woyome is good news, it is an attempt by President Mills to exonerate himself and the party (NDC). “Mills is just playing on the minds of Ghanaians by sacrificing Woyome and leaving out others. In politics, for a party like the NDC to be affected then someone must be sacrificed to save it. Mills is just sacrificing Woyome in order to save the NDC from shame and big disgrace but still Woyome deserves the treatment meted out to him,” he asserted. He wondered why Waterville, clearly knowing that they had a contract and needed to be compensated, would use Woyome? ”You see Waterville knew they had nothing to claim from government of Ghana so they hid at the back of Woyome to claim cheap money from Ghana. Why is it that they gave power of attorney to Woyome to sue government for compensation instead of Waterville themselves?” The Assin North MP who flayed President Mills over the Woyome saga called on him to remove Finance Minister Dr. Kwabena Duffour and Deputy A-G, Ebo Barton Oduro because they were all involved in the payment to Woyome. ”It will be unfair to Woyome if Betty, Barton Oduro, Duffour and others are not arrested for causing the nation dearly."

Alfred Woyome arrested; NDC chairman, Quashigah storm Police HQ

The National Chairman of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), Dr. Kwabena Adjei and the propaganda secretary of the party, Richard Quashigah, are at the police headquarters following the arrest of NDC financier Alfred Woyome on the orders of President John Evans Atta Mills. 

Reports reaching Citifmonline. com have it that three of his women supporters, who stormed the police CID headquarters to demand his release, have been arrested. 

One is said to be a close relative of Mr. Woyome, who allegedly exchanged fisticuffs with a police officer at the CID premises. 

Mr. Woyome is currently at the Police Headquarters for questioning exactly 24 hours after the Economic and Organised Crimes Office submitted its interim report implicating him in manipulation of documents and information to milk the country. 

Woyome was arrested on his way to work on Friday and was virtually forced out of his car in traffic, but it is however unclear whether his arrest follows an advice from the Attorney General and Minister of Justice Benjamin Kunbuor on the EOCO report.

Some sympathisers of Alfred Woyome at the Police Headquarters

Dr. Kunbuor, according to a Deputy Information Minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, is expected to brief President Mills on what decision to take in the never-ending Woyome saga by close of day today. 

Mr. Ablakwa indicated that the President has and will always maintain his integrity to ensure that his reputation is not impugned. 

President Mills tasked the Attorney General to study the interim report submitted by the EOCO and immediately advice him on government’s next line of action. 

The report also established that an amount of GhC400, 000 was “paid to the wife of Mr. Nerquaye-Tetteh [Chief State Attorney] on June 16, 2011” but failed to mention reasons behind the payment. 


By: Martin Asiedu-Dartey/Citifmonline. com

Woyome arrested

The Police have arrested National Democratic Congres financier Alfred Woyome, and is being held at the Police Headquarters in Accra. Joy News reporter Evans Mensah reporting from the Police Headquarters said scores of NDC supporters have besieged the police fortress and demanding the immediate release of Woyome. At least three of them, all women, have been arrested for rowdy behaviour. Castle sources which confirmed the arrest to Joy News said it was in connection with the ongoing financial scandal involving the payment of some GHS58 million in judgement debt to him. Woyome only yesterday resigned his chairmanship of the National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBBSI) to allow for investigations into the matter. The Economic and Organised Crimes Office on Thursday presented an interim report of investigations it conducted on the matter to President Mills, indicting Woyome of wrongfully suing the state when he had no basis whatsoever to do so. More soon

Woyome Can Go To Hell - Allotey Jacobs

Allotey Jacobs Related Stories Central Regional Communications Director of the NDC, Bernard Allotey Jacobs has taken the controversy surrounding the Woyome financial scandal to yet another level by telling Mr. Woyome ‘to go to hell’. According to Allotey Jacobs, he is confident about the position of President Mills that the matter be investigated to expose all the issues involved in the payment of the GHC58million so he cares less about the latest accusation by Mr. Woyome against the Economic and Organised Crimes Office (EOCO). "I don’t care if he goes to court against EOCO, he can even go to heaven if he wants, as long as he thinks he can defend himself,” he said. He disclosed that the NPP is more liable than any official of the NDC in the whole matter and warned the NPP officials who are politicizing the issue to desist from such propaganda because those who are likely to go to jail over the Woyome issue are NPP members and not NDC. Allotey Jacobs denied claims that Mr. Alfred Woyome is an NDC financier because he (Allotey) has never met him nor does he know him to be associated with the NDC but rather the NPP. He challenged the NPP to come out with the grand scheme planned between some members of the NPP and Alfred Woyome at the time the agreement was done between them purposely to ‘chop’ the nation’s money instead of blaming the Mills administration. These explanations notwithstanding, the NPP member of parliament for Ahafo-Ano South, Stephen Balado Manu argued that not only did Mrs. Betty Mould Iddrisu support what he described as the fraudulent payment of money to Mr. Woyome, but connived with other members of government to steal and 'chop' Ghana’s money. He identified government officials to be cited for fraud in the scheme as, Mrs. Mould Iddrisu, Dr. Kwabena Duffour, Finance Minister, Chief of Staff Mr. Newman, Director at the finance ministry, Deputy Attorney General Ebo Barton Odro and President Mills since his office was notified of the payment before it was effected. The NPP MP expressed his disappointment at the former Attorney General, Mrs. Mould Iddrisu adding that even a first year law student would not make such a mistake. “I suspect that the allegation by Herbert Mensah some time ago about the GHC90million came from this Woyome scandal that we are now witnessing,” said Balado Manu. “Ask them if Woyome did not pay for their Sunyani “gargantuan’ congress?” he said repeatedly. The Ahafo Ano South MP said the only way to properly investigate this Woyome issue is to bring it before the Public Accounts Committee of parliament or a commission of enquiry but that suggestion was rejected by Allotey Jacobs who accused the NPP of wanting to influence the case against the government because the Public Accounts Committee is chaired by their member. Source: Afia Pokuaa/Adom News

Jake: Shame, Shame, Shame, That A President’s Directive Can Be So Flouted By Ministers

Prez Mills Related Stories National Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Jake Otanka Obetsebi Lamptey, says it is shameful on the part of President Mills to have lied by creating the impression that he had no knowledge of the GHc51m judgment debt which was paid to Mr. Agbesi Woyome. To him, President Mills cannot absolve himself from the controversial payment to Mr. Woyome since he is the leader of government and the report by the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) is explicit that he (Mills) on two occasions, gave a directive that the monies should not be paid. “…it is a ‘shame, shame, shame, that upon all the powers vested in the president, his directives could be flouted by his own ministers,” he said. Speaking in an interview during PeaceFM News@6 on the Interim Report presented by EOCO to President Mills on the issue of judgment debts, Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey said Alfred Woyome’s case was just a tip of the iceberg. “What we are seeing is the tip of the iceberg; there is a whole waft of different judgment debts that were not contested by this government. Some have been contested by the Kufour government successfully. Mr. Woyome is reported to have said why only him? Why is everybody looking at his payment and not the other payments? But all we saying is that the matter is before parliament, let parliament do a proper investigation so we can expose all of this criminal payments that has been entered into by this government led by his Excellency President John Evans Atta Mills,” he said. The head of EOCO, Mr. Mortey Akpadzi, on Thursday presented an Interim Report to President Mills which stated that Mr. Woyome manipulated documents and information in order to receive what is now termed as “gargantuan” judgment debts paid to an individual. The report said Mr. Woyome rode on the negligence and complicity of public officials to dupe the state of “money which he was clearly not entitled to”, adding that an amount of GhC400, 000 was “paid to the wife of Mr. Nerquaye-Tetteh [Chief State Attorney ] on June 16, 2011” but failed to mention reasons behind that payment. Jake Obetsebi Lamptey Presenting the Interim Report to President Mills at the Osu, Castle, the EOCO Boss revealed that President Mills intervened on two occasions to stop the payment of monies to the embattled NDC bankroller, but his directives were spurned by some officials hence the payment of the GhC51 million. But the NPP National Chair scoffed at President Mills’ reported intervention saying the only intercession made was to sack the immediate past Attorney-General, Martin Amidu when he (Amidu) contested “this terrible gargantuan fraud” in court. “What have been the interventions of the president? One of his interventions seems to be that when his Attorney-General went to court, to go and expose this terrible gargantuan fraud that had been perpetuated upon the good people of Ghana, his reward was to be sacked. So the warning is so clear to the ministers, don’t do anything that I don’t want to hear about,” Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey said.

Source: Chris Joe Quaicoe/Peacefmonline.com

Prez Ordered Ministry Not To Pay "Woyome" Debt, But...

Related Stories It has been established that President John Evans Atta Mills intervened on two occasions and ordered the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning not to effect payment of the judgement debt to Mr Alfred Woyome. According to the interim report of the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) on the Woyome judgement debt saga, in the first instance, it was on the President’s directive that the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Dr Kwabena Duffour, in turn issued instructions to stop the payment. The report, which was presented to the President at the Castle, Osu, Thursday, said it was at that stage that Mr Woyome caused a writ of summons to be issued in the High Court and made claims for the payment of four per cent of 1,106,470,587 euros plus interest and cost. It said on May 24, 2010, Mr Woyome obtained a judgement at the court in the sum of GH¢41,811,480.59 plus interest of five million euros (GH¢9,447,000) and costs of GH¢25,000, making the total amount payable to Mr Woyome GH¢51,283,480.59. “At this stage, the Ministry of Finance negotiated payment terms with the solicitors of Mr Woyome, according to which a first instalment of GH¢7,094,493.53 would be paid not later than the first week of July 2010; second instalment of GH¢17,094,493.53 by the end of July 2010 and the third instalment of GH¢17,094,493,53 by the end of August 2010,” the report revealed. In the second instance, it said before the Ministry of Finance could pay the first instalment of GH¢17,094,493.53, the President ordered the Attorney-General to take action in court to set aside the court’s order. Accordingly, the A-G applied to the court for a stay of execution of the settlement, it said, adding, “The court, however, refused to grant the application and ordered the government to pay according to the settlement reached earlier.” The President, on December 20, 2011, caused a letter to be written to EOCO, directing the office to undertake investigations into the circumstances surrounding the payment of GH¢42 million to Vamed/ Waterville Engineering and Mr Alfred Woyome as judgement debt and give the facts for people to draw their own conclusion. He further directed EOCO “to find the total amount of monies paid out as judgement debts since the present administration took over the reins of government since January 7, 2009 and who the beneficiaries are”. Receiving the interim report, President Mills thanked EOCO for doing a great job for the nation. He said while he appreciated the work and public interest in it, it was “unfortunate that a group of people were unwilling to co-operate with the investigations”. “What we all yearn for is the truth. What is right today will be right tomorrow,” he stressed, saying that the country’s democracy could only progress if all branches were allowed to operate. He expressed concern over the way people had developed different versions of what had become known as “the Woyome gate”, stressing that there could only be one truth. President Mills directed the Attorney-General to study the report and advise him in the interest of “truth and justice and for the benefit of the people we swear to protect”. The Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Dr Benjamin Kunbuor, expressed the belief that the report would put to rest the issues surrounding the saga, saying, “We will study the report and get back to you, Mr President.” The Executive Director of EOCO, Mr Mortey Akpadzi, presenting the report to the President, said on December 19, 2011, before President Mills’s directive to the anti-graft body to investigate the Woyome issue, he (Mr Akpadzi) had received a petition from Mr Benjamin Akyena Brentuo requesting the office to investigate former President John Agyekum Kufuor and the Cabinet of 2005/2006 for wilfully causing financial loss to the state. He said the basis for the petition was that the Kufuor administration had made the government to unnecessarily pay a judgement debt of approximately GH¢52 million to Mr Woyome as a result of the illegal abrogation of the tender process for the construction of stadia for the CAN 2008 football tournament.

EOCO Report: Woyome Manipulated Documents; Paid State Attorney’s Wife GhC400k

Woyome     Related Stories   The embattled NDC financier Alfred Woyome manipulated documents and information in order to receive the controversial GhC51 million judgment debt, the interim report of the Economic and Organised Crimes Office (EOCO) revealed. A copy of the EOCO report in the custody of Citifmonline. com, which was presented to the President of Ghana, John Evans Atta Mills on Thursday, said Woyome rode on the negligence and complicity of public officials to dupe the state of “money which he was clearly not entitled to. ” To buttress its evidence that public officials or those associated with them connived with Woyome to milk the country, the EOCO report established that an amount of GhC400, 000 was “paid to the wife of Mr. Nerquaye-Tetteh [Chief State Attorney ] on June 16, 2011” but failed to mention reasons behind that payment. According to the damning report, although the Chief State Attorney, Mr. Nerquaye-Tetteh, who was directly in-charge of the case for the Attorney-General’s department, had argued that the government did not have a defense to fight the case and for that matter halt the payment that was totally false. The report said: “There were however enough grounds to defend the action but this was not done. In the files at the AG’s department could be found a lot of evidence which indicated clearly that at the least, Mr. Woyome could not establish his case. ” EOCO said the former Attorney-General and Minister for Justice Betty Mould-Iddrisu, who resigned recently from government as education minister – the one who undertook all the judgment debt negotiations – “should have made sure that the suit in court was defended. ” The report also cited the director of legal affairs at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, Mr. Paul Asimenu, as the “person who wrote the opinion which eventually led to the decision that Mr. Woyome was entitled to his claim. ” It stated that during interrogations, Mr. Asimenu “admitted that the figures he quoted in his advise as the basis of the evaluation by the finance committee of the CTRB [Central Tender Review Board] on which he served was wrong and that he misled the Hon. AG. He also admitted that he went further to give personal advise to the AG on the correctness of the claim since it was international best practice. ” “Mr. Asimenu assumed a role which helped in creating the conditions which made it possible for Mr. Woyome to get paid what he clearly was not due,” the EOCO report established. The NDC financier was awarded the whopping sum in 2010 after having made a case that the erstwhile Kufuor administration wrongfully terminated his contract to build stadia ahead of the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations in Ghana. In that direction, a former minister under the Kufuor administration Yaw Osafo-Maafo, who served as a sports minister then, has been mentioned in the report as the “author of the Cabinet Memo dated 27th July, 2005, which informed Cabinet of the illegality of the intended action to abrogate the tender process for the CAN 2008 stadia works. ” “However, he was the same person, who knowing that it was illegal to terminate the process at the stage it had reached, went ahead and wrote terminating it. It is yet to be fully established however, whether it was Cabinet, which in spite of being warned about the illegality of the act or abrogating the tender process, ordered the abrogation,” the report noted. It questioned why payments were made out of the consolidated fund for contracts which had been signed with foreign entities, adding that “the investigations are yet to determine whether or not the contracts were subjected to Parliamentary approval. ” It stated further: “Then again, the refusal by the previous administration to pay Waterville when it had been clear that Waterville had done some work at the instance of the government has led to a situation where interest accrued and loss of profit had to be paid for after mediation. “Mr. O. B Amoah was the Deputy Minister, who gave the green light for Waterville to proceed to site and start work at a time the contract had not been approved by Parliament. ” Following huge public outcry and media scrutiny, President Mills ordered the national investigative outfit to look into the facts that led to the payment of the amount, which the opposition NPP has described as the biggest loss to the state in the political history of the country. On different platforms President Mills has denied knowledge of the payment of the judgment debt to his party’s financier, however, the EOCO report said “…before the MOFEP [Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning] could pay the first installment of GhC17,094,493. 53 as agreed, His Excellency, the President ordered the Attorney General to take action in court to set aside the court’s order and accordingly, the AG applied to court for a Stay of Execution of the settlement. The court, however, refused to grant the application and ordered government to pay according to the settlement reached earlier. ”       Source: citifmonline

A-G ordered Woyome payment; Duffuor tells Mills

Dr. Kwabena Duffuor, Finance and Economic Planning Minister. In the wake of the ongoing controversy surrounding ‘the Woyome judgment debt payment saga’, The New Crusading GUIDE has intercepted a document which indicates that the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning was virtually ‘pressurized’ by the Attorney General (AG) in a letter dated April 29, 2010, to pay Mr. Alfred Agbesi Woyome “what was due him.” In an official letter addressed to the President through the Chief of Staff at the Osu Castle, the Finance and Economic Planning Minister, Dr. Kwabena Duffuor, mentioned that his ministry, by a letter dated April 12, 2010, asked the AG to clarify the petitioner’s (Woyome’s) claim of right to the amount. Dr. Duffuor, in his letter titled: “report on payment of judgement debt to Mr. Alfred Agbesi Woyome”, informed the Office of the President that “the Attorney General specifically advised that the claim for 2% of the total value of the project that Mr. Woyome and Austro-Investment engineered, which they have agreed should be paid to Mr. Woyome, was in order and thus recommended that the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning should pay the amount due.” It will be recalled that President Mills, in an interview with an Accra-based radio station, Radio Gold on the Woyome saga, announced that he had ordered the two ministries involved - the Attorney General’s Department and the Finance Ministry - to give him a report, which would be published “so that the world would know what happened.” The Finance Minister’s letter (published on page 2) in response to the President’s directive, went on to explain to him (President) that “as a result of this ministry’s refusal to comply with the above, the Attorney General followed up with letter dated 28th may, 2010 stating that as a result of the position taken by the ministry of finance and economic planning, Mr. Woyome had gone to court and obtained judgment on 24th may in the sum of GHS 25,000.00, giving a total of GHS 51, 283,480.59.” According to the correspondence which is dated January 6, 2012, the Minister, among other things, recalled that his Ministry went ahead to negotiate with solicitors of Mr. Woyome to pay the money in three equal installments. “Even as the Ministry was in the process of paying the first installment as agreed during the first week in July, 2010, the Attorney General surprisingly went to court for a stay of execution which was refused on 9th July, 2010,” the Minister submitted in his letter - which was also copied to the Vice President, John Dramani Mahama. Meanwhile, a copy of the said AG’s letter which directed the Finance Ministry to make the payment partly reads, “it will be recalled that the claim is for project financial engineering fees by Mr. Woyome and Austro-Invest. The financial arrangements were made in respect of the concurrent approval given by the central review board for the award of contract to Vamed Engineering, who transferred its rights in the project to waterville holdings (copies of letter of transfer and acceptance attached) and (copy of letter of central tender review board dated 5th august 2005 attached). It was in these circumstances that the then government terminated the entire process.” The AG, in his letter which is also available to this paper said, “it is my opinion that this letter dated 5th August 2005 formed the basis of a binding agreement between Vamed and the government of Ghana and the process having been terminated wrongfully by the government, the claimants were entitled to compensation for services rendered.”

Woyomegate: Letter from Betty Mould to Dr. Duffour on 29th April, 2010

The Hon. Minister
Minister of Finance & Economic Planning
Ministries, Accra

Attn: Dr. Kwabena Duffour

SETTLEMENT OF CLAIMS INVOLVING THE REHABILITATION OF THE OHENE DJAN, BABA YARA AND EL WAK SPORTS STADIA This is in response to your letter dated 12th April, 2009.

In that letter, you stated that Austro-Invest by its letter dated 16th February 2010 indicated that it is prepared to accept one percent (1%) of the total value of the project as compensation and that Austro-Invest had agreed with Mr. Alfred Woyome for the amount to be divided between them.

You also stated that you have a copy of a petition by Mr. Woyome in which be makes a claim for two percent (2%) of the total value of the project, to be shared between Mr. Woyome and Austro-Invest.

Furthermore, you indicated that your Accounts Office require clarity and evidence on the supporting documentation with regard to whether the claim is being made by the consortium that won the bid to conduct the financial engineering led by Mr. Woyome, jointly or separately.

Further to a Ministry of Finance letter dated 4th May 2005, Mr. Woyome made arrangements for the grant of concessional loans for the rehabilitation of the Ohene Djan and Baba Yara stadia and the construction of three others for the Ghana 2008 football tournament, the construction of six (6) hospitals and the Cobait to Irradiation Plant among others.

Mr. Woyome’s role in project financial engineering is further evidenced by the letter from the Ministry of Education and Sports dated 5th July 2005 and an earlier letter from the then Minister for Environment and Science, Prof. Kasim Kasanga dated 28th October 2004. In addition, Mr. Woyome together with Waterville set up offices in Vienna, Austria and Washington D.C. Italy and Switzerland as part of the project financial engineering work for the projects in Ghana (copies of letters attached). It can be seen from the available documentation that Mr. Woyome, as Alternate Director of M-Powapak at the time, acted as the principal party in discussions with government officials to facilitate the financial engineering of the projects.

Mr. Woyome then entered into an agreement with Austro-Invest on 1st September 2005 (copy attached) in which the Parties agreed to formalize their collaboration into a working business relationship for their mutual and common benefit. The agreement provided that Austro-Invest shall offer service relating to syndication of funds from financial institutions as part of the financial structuring and acquisition of projects by Mr. Woyome. The Parties also agreed that Mr. Woyome will pay Austro-Invest up to 15% of the total amount syndicated. This figure was subsequently negotiated downwards to 1% for Austro-Invest in the 16th February 2010 agreement.

Mr. Woyome’s role, as district from Austro-Invest’s role which was mainly for the syndication of funds, is further evidenced by correspondences with international financial institutions such as the Export-Import Bank of the United States and the Final Demand Letter of J. Michael Farrell, a Washington-based lawyer, who worked on Mr. Woyome’s instructions in respect of a contract involving Austro-Invest (copy of Demand Letter attached).

Mr. Michael Farrell has recently threatened to institute legal action against Mr. Woyome and the Government of Ghana for non-payment of legal fees relating to his work for Mr. Woyome (copy attached). Mr. Woyome has on 19th April 2010 also instituted a civil action against the Attorney-General and the Ministry of Finance to compel the Government of Ghana to pay him GH¢41,811,480.59 being the cost of financial engineering owed to him, interest on the said sum from September 2006 till date of payment and genera damages for the inconvenience suffered by him for the delay in paying the financial engineering fees.

I wish to state therefore that the claim for the payment of two percent (2%) of the total value of the project was made by Mr. Alfred Woyome and Austro-Invest jointly and severally. Mr. Woyome’s claim is for one percent (1%) of the total value of the project engineering fees whilst the claim for Austro-Invest is also for compensation of one percent (1%) of the total value of the project financial engineering fees.

I wish to repeat here that the two percent (2%) that I recommended should be paid Mr. Woyome and Austro-Invest jointly and severally, but in the name of Mr. Woyome in accordance with their agreement of 16th February 2010, was arrived at through negotiations with Mr. Woyome. It is hoped that settlement of this matter through negotiations will forestall the legal action and the huge financial costs that will be incurred as a result of the payment of interest and damages.

Mr. Woyome, by his petition dated 18th February had indicated that the normal percentage charged for such project financial engineering is four percent (4%), but it was negotiated down to two percent (2%) by Government. I requested for the input of the Building Industry Consultants Limited, Mr. Magnus Rex Danquah and the Ministry of Finance to enable me make an informed decision with regard to what should be paid as compensation. It was based on the information received that I gave the opinion dated 31st March 2010 and the subsequent opinion dated 11th April 2010.

It will be recalled that the claim is for project financial engineering fees by Mr. Woyome and Austro-Invest. The financial arrangements were made in respect of the concurrent approval given by the Central Tender Review Board for the award of contract to Vamed Engineering, who transferred its rights in the project to Waterville Holdings (copies of letter of transfer and acceptance attached) and (copy of letter of Central Tender Review Board dated 5th August 2005 attached). It was in these circumstances that the then Government terminated the entire process.
It is my opinion that this letter dated 5th August 2005 formed the basis of a binding agreement between Vamed and the government of Ghana and the process having been terminated wrongfully by the government, the claimants were entitled to compensation for services rendered.

The claim for two percent (2%) of the total value of the project that Mr. Woyome and Austro-Invest financially engineered, which they have agreed should be paid to Mr. Woyome is therefore in order, hence my recommendation that you authorize payment of the amount due. Your Ministry may, however, negotiate with Mr. Woyome regarding the modalities for the payments of the amount due him.

Finally, I am making available to you the enclosed documentation from the Solicitor for Mr. Woyome for your records. I hope the documents will be of some relevance to you.

Betty Mould Iddrisu (Mrs)
Attorney-General
Minister for Justice
29th April, 2010

cc:

The Chief of Staff
Office of the President
The Castle –Osu

The Deputy Ministers
Ministry of Finance & Economic Planning

The Ag. Chief Director
Ministry of Finance & Economic Planning

The Director, Legal
Ministry of Finance & Economic Planning

Woyomegate: Did Dr. Duffour's letter to Mills expose, implicate Betty-Mould?

Dr. Kwabena Duffour REPORT ON PAYMENT OF JUDGEMENT DEBT TO MR. ALFRED AGBESI WOYOME  *1: I refer to your letter on the above subject matter dated December 15, 2011. *2: Available records show that Government in conjunction with the  Local Organizing Committee (LOC) for the Ghana 2008 Football tournament advertised for Expressions of Interest in year 2005. The tender was to be awarded on Turnkey basis including the arrangement of requisite financing for the project. *3: Following the receipt of financial offers, a Finance Sub–Committee with representation from the Ministry of Finance evaluated the financial bids and made recommendations on most competitive bid to the Hon. Minister for Education and Sports. The Committee recommended the bid submitted by Vamed Engineering. The technical bids were evaluated separately by the then Ministry of Education and Sports. *4: The records also show that the Ministry of Education and Sports entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with Waterville Holdings and Micheletti (Gh) Ltd. on November 30th, 2005 for the turnkey, design, construction, fixtures, fittings, and equipping of the Ohene Djan Accra and the Construction of an 8–Lane athletic track at El- Wak Stadium. *5: On 26th April 2006, formal contracts were signed between the parties. *6: In early 2010, the Honourable Attorney General informed this Ministry of a petition filed by Mr. Woyome for payment of compensation for the cost of financial engineering on mobilization of funds for the staging of the CAN 2008 Football Tournament (See Appendix 1). *7: By a letter dated 31st March, 2010, the Hon. Attorney General informed this Ministry that a settlement had been reached with Mr. Woyome and requested the Ministry to pay 2% of amount claimed (GH¢1, 106,470,587.00). *8: The Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning by letter dated 12th April, 2010 asked the Attorney General to clarify the petitioner’s claim of right to the amount. (See Appendix 2). *9: The Attorney General reverted on 29th April, 2010 with the explanation that Mr. Woyome’s claim was supported by documentation including letters from the Ministry of Education and Sports. The Attorney General specifically advised that the claim for 2% of the total value of the project that Mr. Woyome and Austro–Invest engineered, which they have agreed should be paid to Mr. Woyome, was in order and thus recommended that Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning should pay the amount due. The Ministry was also mandated to negotiate with Mr. Woyome on modalities for the payment of the amount (See Appendix 3) *10: As a result of this Ministry’s refusal to comply with the above, the Attorney General followed up with letter dated 28th May, 2010 stating that as a result of the position taken by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, Mr. Woyome had gone to Court and obtained judgment on 24th May, 2010 in the sum of GH¢ 41,811,480.59 plus interest of Euro 5 million (GH¢ 9,447,000.00) and cost of GH¢ 25,000.00, giving a total of GH¢51, 283,480.59 (See Appendix 4). *11: At this stage, Ministry of Finance negotiated with the Solicitors for Mr. Woyome to pay the money in three equal installments as follows: *1st installment: GH¢17, 094,493.53 to be paid not later than the first week of July 2010 *2nd installment: GH¢17, 094, 493.53 due by end of July 2010 *3rd installment: GH¢17, 094, 493.53 due by end of August 2010 (See Appendix 5) *12: Even as the Ministry was in the process of paying the first installment as agreed during the first week in July, 2010, the Attorney General surprisingly went to court for a stay of execution which was refused on 9th July, 2010 (See Appendix 6). The court ordered as follows: *Judgment Debt – GH¢41, 811,480.59 *Interest from September 2006 to April 2010 – GH¢9, 447,000.00 *Costs – GH¢25, 000.00 -TOTAL – GH¢51, 283,480.59 *13: Subsequent to the refusal of the stay of execution application, the Attorney General filed a writ and obtained a partial stay of execution of the terms of settlement. In granting the partial stay, the Judge ordered that the first installment of GH¢17, 094, 493.53 that was due Mr. Woyome on 30th June (payable in the first week of July) plus interest thereon be paid pending the final determination of the suit. The Court also ordered that Mr. Woyome give an undertaking to refund the money paid him should he lose the case (See Appendix 6). *14: In a letter dated 7th December, 2010 from the Solicitors of Mr. Woyome to the Attorney-General which was conveyed to this Ministry by the Attorney-General on 9th December, 2010 the Ministry was informed that a pre-trial settlement conference had taken place and an understanding reached that the parties should attempt an out of Court settlement (See Appendix 7). In the letter under reference, the Attorney-General asked the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning to honour the terms of settlement including the balance of GH¢34,188,987.06. *15: In view of the heavy burden on public finances, the Ministry negotiated a phased payment of the debt by installments. This was fully settled between January 2011 and September 2011. The breakdown of the installment payments are outlined below: ---*1. January 27, 2011---------GH¢10,000,000.00 ---*2. April 8, 2011------------GH¢10,000,000.00 ---*3. September 12, 2011-------GH¢14,188,987.06 Total-------GH¢34,188,987.06 *16: The Ministry has recently been served with copy of a suit on the payment of additional interest on the judgement debt. The suit is being defended by Honourable Attorney-General. *17: Enclosed are copies of the relevant documents including the report of the finance bid evaluation committee, the MOU and Contract. *18: Please revert to us if you require any further clarification on matters outlined above. DR. KWABENA DUFFOUR MINISTER 6TH January, 2012 cc: H.E. The President, Castle - Osu H.E. The Vice President, Castle – Osu Source: The New Crusading Guide

DUFFUOR WARNED BETTY …Over Fraudulent Woyome payment

From Sebastian R. Freiku, Kumasi

Dr. Kwabena Duffour

THE CHRONICLE has sighted a document emanating from the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, in which the Sector Minister, Dr. Kwabena Duffuor asked the then Attorney General and Minister for Justice to do due diligence in the authorization of the  payment of  1,106,470,587.00 Euros to Alfred Agbesi Woyome.

The six-paragraph caution letter said by inference that due diligence was necessary for audit purposes.

It was revealed that the payment of the GH¢58 million to Alfred Woyome was upon the insistence of Mrs. Betty Mould Iddrisu as the Attorney General and Minister for Justice.

Dr. Duffuor, who was responding to a letter of March 31, 2010, by Mrs. Betty Mould Iddrisu,   requested for clarity and evidence and an advice on the implication of a purported agreement  between Austro-Invest Management and Mr. Woyome, and any further documentation that  substantiated Mr. Woyome’s claim.

He also wanted to be informed as to whether the claim is being made by the consortium that won the bid to conduct the financial engineering led by Mr. Woyome jointly or separately.

In a correspondence dated April 12, 2010, the Finance Minister had drawn the attention of the former Attorney General to queries raised by the Accounts office of the Ministry, regarding supporting documentation for the claim, involving the rehabilitation of the three sports stadia, namely Ohene Djan, Baba Yara and El-Wak.

Mrs. Betty Iddrisu, in defending the payment of the amount had attached a letter of February 16, 2010, in which Austro-Invest announced its preparedness to accept 1% of the total value of the project as compensation, which also stated that the amount should be divided between Austro-Invest and Woyome.

She also furnished the Finance Minister with a petition by Woyome, which claimed 2% of the total value of the project, 1% for Austro-Invest and 1% for Woyome.

In response to the concerns raised by the Finance Minister, Mrs. Betty Mould Iddrisu in a letter of April 29, 2010, advised that Woyome’s claim was in order and recommended the authorization of the payment of the amount, due jointly and severally to Mr. Woyome.

She advised that the Ministry should negotiate the modalities for the payment of the amount with Mr. Woyome. Mrs. Betty Mould Iddrisu referred to a letter of the Central Tender review Board dated August 5, 2005, which in her opinion formed the basis of a binding agreement between Vamed and the Government of Ghana.

She said the process, having been wrongfully terminated by the Government, the claimants were entitled to compensation for services rendered.

Defending her position, the former Attorney General referred to a Ministry of Finance letter of May 4, 2005, and said Mr. Woyome made arrangements for the grant of concessional loans for the rehabilitation of the Ohene Djan and Baba Yara stadia, and three others for the Ghana 2008 football tournament, the construction of six hospitals and the Cobalt 60 Irradiation Plant, among others.

She said Mr. Woyome’s role in project financial engineering is further evidenced by a Ministry of Education and Sports of July 5, 2005, and an earlier letter of October 28, 2004, from the then Minister for Environment and Science, Prof. Kassim Kasanga.

In further support of Woyome’s claim, Mrs. Betty Mould Iddrisu indicated that Woyome, together with Waterville set up offices in Austria (Vienna), U.S.A. (Washington DC), Italy and Switzerland, as part of the project financial engineering work for the projects in Ghana, and that as Alternate Director of M-Powapak at the time, Mr. Woyome acted as principal party in discussing with government officials to facilitate the financial engineering of the projects.

Subsequently, Woyome entered into an agreement with Austro-Invest on September 1st, 2005, in which the parties agreed to formalize their collaboration into a working business relationship for their mutual and common benefit, which agreement provided that Austro-Invest shall offer services relating to syndication of funds from financial Institutions, as part of the financial structuring and acquisitions of projects by Mr. Woyome.

According to Mrs. Betty Mould Iddrisu, even though the parties agreed that Mr. Woyome will pay Austro-Invest up to 1.5% of the total amount syndicated, the figure was subsequently  negotiated downwards to 1% for Austro-Invest per the said February 16 2010 agreement.

Mrs. Betty Mould Iddrisu further indicated that Mr. Woyome’s role, which was mainly for the syndication of funds, quite different from that of Austro-Invest, is evidence by correspondences with international financial Institutions, such as the Export-Import Bank of USA and the final demand letter of a Washington-based lawyer, Mr. Michael Farrell, who worked on Mr. Woyome’s instructions in respect of a contract involving Austro-Invest.

The Attorney General hoped that the settlement would forestall huge financial costs as a result of payment of interest and damages.

Also in response to a concern by the Finance Minister, Mrs. Betty Mould Iddrisu, in another correspondence  dated May 28, 2010,  and headed: “RE; Alfred Agbesi Woyome v The Attorney General & the Ministry of  Finance  and Economic Planning”,  said she  scheduled a meeting with Mr. Woyome and  his solicitors with  regards to  the breach of the agreement by the  Government of Ghana to pay the negotiated amount of GH¢41,811,480.59 during which Mr. Woyome indicated preparedness to accept the amount of GH¢41,811,480.59 based on the 2%  originally agreed upon.

The Attorney General insisted that the Government pays Mr. Woyome and Austro-Invest the negotiated amount of GH¢41,811,480.59 to resolve the matter once and for all. “It is still my position that we pay Mr. Woyome and Austro-Invest the negotiated amount of GH¢41, 811,480.59”, she stated.

Mrs. Betty Mould Iddrisu’s letters of April 29, 2010, and May 28, 2010, were copied to the Chief of Staff for the attention of Mr. J.H. Martey-Newman.