[ 2017-03-29 ]

Mahama Ayariga and Boakye Agyarko

Ayariga bribery report ready! Parliament set for debate
The five member committee constituted to
investigate the bribery allegations against Energy
Minister Boakye Agyarko and some members of the
Appointment Committee of Parliament has presented
its final report to the plenary Wednesday.

It is not clear yet what the findings of the
report are and the recommendations thereof, but
members of the committee are emphatic nothing will
be shelved under the carpet.

The Joe Ghartey committee was constituted after
allegations by the Bawku Central MP Mahama Ayariga
that the Chairman of the Appointment Committee Joe
Osei Owusu had given ?3,000 each to minority
members of the committee to approve the Minister
of Energy nominee at the time.

Ayariga told an Accra based radio Station Radio
Gold that the money was given to the Minority
Chief Whip Muntaka Mubarak for onward distribution
to the members of the Minority.

He explained that the Minority MPs on the
committee initially accepted the monies thinking
it was payment of their sitting allowance but when
they got to know it was monies from the Minister
designate to bribe them, they returned the money.

Boakye Agyarko was at the time battling to be
approved by consensus following a rather combative
vetting process.

Approval for both Agyarko and the Senior Minister
Yaw Osafo Maafo had both been shelved by the
committee following controversial comments they
made during the vetting process.

But the bribery allegation by Ayariga, as dramatic
as it was, was met with vehement denials by Joe
Osei Owusu, Muntaka Mubarak and the Energy
Minister Boakye Agyarko.

Mubarak swore by Allah that he neither received
any money from Osei Owusu nor did he distribute
same to Minority MPs on the committee.

Energy Minister Boakye Agyarko also insisted that
he never bribed or even attempted to do same
because there was no motivation to bribe, arguing,
with the overwhelming majority of the NPP in
Parliament he was going to be approved any way
even if by majority decision.

He did not see any reason why he should bribe
anybody much less members of the minority. Like
the chairman of the Appointment Committee Joe Osei
Owusu, he threatened to sue Mahama Ayariga in
order to clear his name and reputation.

In the face of the denials, Mahama Ayariga
insisted that even though he had been told that
the money was to bribe the members of the
committee he did not directly receive the monies
from Osei Owusu and Boakye Agyarko. However, he
maintained the money was paid by his chief whip
Muntaka Mubarak.

He and two other members of the committee,
Alhassan Suhuyini and Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa
subsequently petitioned the Speaker Prof Mike
Ocquaye to investigate the matter.

The Speaker then constituted the Joe Ghartey
Committee to investigate the matter. The committee
made up of Ben Abdallah, Offinso South, Ama Pomaah
Boateng, Juaben, B.T Baba, Talensi, and Magnus
Kofi Amoateng, Yilo Krobo sat in public and heard
the key players in the bribery scandal- Joe Osei
Owusu, Boakye Agyarko, Muntaka Mubarak, Mahama
Ayariga and Okudzeto Ablakwa.

The committee after hearing and cross examining
the key witnesses compiled the report which has
been presented to Parliament for a debate.

Joy News' parliamentary correspondent Joseph Opoku
Gakpo reports that a motion will be moved later
today to set the debate underway.

Members of the committee are however keeping the
details of the report and recommendations close to
their chest.

Ben Abdallah told Opoku Gakpo that once the
sitting was heard in public every detail of the
report will soon be made public for everybody to
know what transpired.

Source - Myjoyonline.com

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