‘Small boy’ Agyebeng grills Cecilia Dapaah over alleged corruption

The former Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources, Cecilia Abena Dapaah, is being interrogated by the Special Prosecutor after being placed under arrest.

The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) informed the general public about the questioning and arrest on Monday, July 24, 2023 two days after the minister resigned.

The action by the OSP followed news of huge amounts of money allegedly kept at her Abelemkpe residence and allegedly stolen by her House helps, according to a criminal case filed in court by the police.

The two-paragraph statement from the OSP reads: “Cecilia Abena Dapaah, who resigned from the position of Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources on July 22, 2023 was placed under arrest by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) in respect of suspected corruption and corruption-related offences regarding large amounts of money and other valuable items reportedly stolen from her residence. Ms. Dapaah is being questioned by authorised Offices of the OSP.”

The news of her arrest and subsequent questioning by the OSP comes at the back of calls from Ghanaians on both mainstream and social media platforms for a probe.

For instance, Dr. John Kwakye, the Director of Research at the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) in a tweet cited the issue of Victoria Hammah and insisted that Cecilia Dapaah’s case should be investigated by the OSP.

It will be recalled that Victoria Lakshmi Hammah, who served as a deputy minister under the previous administration of John Mahama, was fired for dreaming of making a million dollars in office.

Dr. Kwakye wrote, “Minister Cecilia Dapaah should be investigated by the OSP about the source of her wealth. After all, Victoria Hammah paid a political price for merely envisioning accumulating $1 million in office.”

The minority leader, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson also urged the minister to voluntarily resign and called for an investigation by an independent body.

The former Bantama MP, Cecilia Abena Dapaah, tendered her resignation less than 48 hours after news of allegedly keeping huge amounts of money at her residence broke, which President Akufo-Addo accepted.

In her resignation letter, she expressed confidence in her integrity and told the President that she was ready for any probe,as she would be exonerated.

In his reply, President Akufo-Addo also expressed confidence that her integrity in public service would be established.

DIVERGENT VIEWS

Meanwhile, there are opposing views on the statement by the President, that the integrity of his former appointee would be established after the investigation.

While some view it as a conclusion on the outcome of the investigation, others think otherwise.

For instance, the Chief Executive Officer of the IMANI Centre for Policy and Education, Franklin Cudjoe, has opined that the President should not have been categorical in his statement.

“Maybe, yes, the person had integrity while in office. But this case has not been investigated to establish how the minister came to have these huge amounts of money. Yes, it is true that one is presumed innocent until proven guilty, but the President’s statement should not be this categorical ahead of the investigation into the matter. That was wrong,” he told Ghana Report.

However, Dr. Osei Asante, a Political Science Lecturer at the University of Ghana argued that  the President did not err in expressing his optimism that the resigned Sanitation Minister will come clean over corruption accusations.

He was of the view that the President’s expression of confidence in the minister would not in any way compromise any investigation into the case.

“I don’t see anything wrong with what the President said,” he said, describing the President’s comment as an “ordinary statement,” he told Joy FM on yesterday.