GH¢30m leaked memo on OSP’s vehicles was deliberate – Edudzi Tameklo

The Head of Legal Affairs of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Godwin Edudzi Tameklo, has said that the GH¢30 million worth of vehicles requested by the Office of the Special Prosecutor at the Ministry of Finance, was deliberate.

According to him, the leak is an intentional effort by some persons within the government to discredit the anti-corruption office’s authority.

This comes after a GhanaWeb report on December 10, 2023, that the request of GH¢30 million worth of vehicles was made by the OSP to the Ministry of Finance.

The request made by the OSP listed four types of armoured-plated vehicles and twelve types of soft/light-body vehicles. The total amount of the vehicles requested came up to GH¢29,952,000.

Speaking on Accra-based TV3 on December 11, 2023, the NDC legal affairs head pointed out the contradiction in President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s endorsement of the OSP head, Kissi Agyebeng, while some of his appointees allegedly work against the very office set up to combat corruption.

“If he [reference to Kissi Agyebeng] is competent, why is it that consistently, a person appointed by the same Akufo-Addo has taken it upon himself to undermine the very office set up by the president? What I am trying to understand is that you say that the person is competent and he is doing his work. The mandate was handed over to him by the same president. We didn’t appoint Kissi Agyebeng, the nomination was not done by us, it was done by the Attorney General of the republic who was appointed by President Akufo-Addo. Subsequently, Akufo-Addo endorsed that nomination, sent his name to parliament, he was approved by the parliament and he signed his appointment letter, giving him a seven year mandate.

“But every evening, an appointee of President Akufo-Addo has taken it upon himself to undermine his work. Even a confidential memo he has sent to the government about vehicles to be purchased for the smooth running of his office has been leaked; this was deliberate. You see, it was deliberately done to create an impression about the OSP,” he explained.

Edudzi Tameklo further emphasised the necessity of well-equipped law enforcement agencies, citing examples from around the world, including the FBI in the United States.

He argued that the leak was an attempt to divert attention from recent exposés on alleged corruption within the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia administration, particularly highlighting the case of the former minister, Cecilia Dapaah.

“All over the world, law enforcement officers don’t use bicycles. Even in the movies we watch, see the kind of vehicles the likes of the FBI, CIA use in their criminal investigation conduct.

“I recall when the FBI in America went into Donald Trump’s house, you could see the kind of vehicles and paraphernalia they used. This is because when you are going after crime, you are putting your life on the line. So, why in God’s name will an appointee of President Akufo-Addo be undermining and trying to discredit the work. Do you know why, the exposé on Cecilia Dapaah, provided the most potent smoking gun relative to the pervasive corruption under the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia administration,” he added.