Ghana’s Attorney-General and Minister of Justice Godfred Yeboah Dame has accused Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, the Member of Parliament for the North Tongu in the Volta region, of peddling deliberate and malevolent lies against him.
Mr. Dame has stated that he considers claims by Okudzeto Ablakwa that he acted in conflict of interest by being the Secretary of the company formed to operate the National Cathedral, and as well as serving on the Public Procurement Board, as inspired by evil intentions and malevolence.
“I consider the allegations by Mr. Okudzeto Ablakwa malevolent and ill-inspired for the simple reason that a cursory examination of the facts would have revealed the untruth in them. I call on the Member of Parliament to retract and apologize to the public for the falsehood he has published against me, failing which I may institute legal action against him,” Mr. Dame has stated.
This was contained in a statement intercepted by the Daily Searchlight yesterday.
It was titled ‘PRESS RELEASE–RE-ALLEGATIONS OF CONFLICT OF INTEREST AGAINST GODFRED YEBOAH DAME (ATTORNEY GENERAL AND MINISTER FOR JUSTICE) BY HON. SAMUEL OKUDZETO ABLAKWA (MP)’.
In that statement, Mr. Dame stated that his attention has been drawn to a publication by Mr. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa (MP) on his Facebook page on 21st June 2022 at 11:09 am thus;
“It is quite revealing to observe that when the National Cathedral was incorporated on the 18th July 2019; the Deputy AG, Godfred Dame was registered as Secretary. During that same period, he served on the board of the PPA which approved Adaye’s irregular sole sourcing contract.
“The foregoing allegations are utterly false, I note that Mr. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, (MP) has since followed up the said Facebook post with a number of interviews on various media platforms repeating the same or similar allegations against me. Mr. Ablakwa’s completely dishonest allegations have spurred other members of the public to make similar statements about me, either out of ignorance or plain mischief.
Mr. Dame stated for the record approval of an application to single-source Messrs, Sir David Adjaye & Associate was granted by the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) on 13th December 2018.
However, the National Cathedral of Ghana was incorporated as a company limited by guarantee (non-profit making entity) on 18th July 2019.
“Quite clearly, at the time of the approval by PPA (on whose governing board I served in my former capacity as Deputy Attorney General), no company known as The National Cathedral of Ghana had been formed for me to be Secretary of, or have any purported interest in to declare. I could not have had a so-called interest in a non-existent company. If Mr. Okudzeto Ablakwa had cared to read or examine the relevant documents well, as he should have, this plain fact would not have been lost on him,” Mr. Dame said.
He stated that the incorporation status of the National Cathedral of Ghana as a company limited by guarantee makes the company a not non-profit entity, citing section 8(1) of the Companies Act, 2019 (Act 992)) which received presidential asset on 2nd August 2019.
“The same provision existed under section 10 (10) of the repealed Companies Acts, 1963 (Act 179) which was the law in force at the time of incorporation.
“I am neither a registered director nor a subscriber (member) of the National Cathedral. my status as secretary to the company at incorporation was solely on account of my status as Deputy Attorney-General and the company was set up by the state in the exercise of its full capacity. In fact, the registered subscriber (member) is the Ghana Museums and Monuments Board, an organ of the state.
“No issues of conflicts of interests arise by virtue of my status as secretary to the company Article 80(3) of the Constitution prohibits a Minister of State from holding any other office of profit or emolument whether private or public unless with the permission of the Speaker. The National Cathedral, registered as a company limited by guarantee is a pot-forprofit entity. My role as a secretary is thus not caught within the ambit of Article 80(3). In any event, I have never received any emolument in my capacity as Secretary to the National Cathedral of Ghana.
“These Plain facts would have been obvious to Mr. Okudzeto Ablakwa, if he had done title research or inquiry, which he owed a duty to do, before rushing to the media with wild and unfounded allegations.
“For the avoidance of doubt, I state that my role as Secretary (not a director or member) to a not-for-profit company owned by the state does not present me with any personal interest which conflicts with the performance of my functions as a Minister.
“The record reflects the fact that even in respect of companies limited by liability (profit-making entities), the state regularly appoints public officers, including Ministers, to serve as members of the board of directors to protect the public interest where the State is a shareholder.
“I consider the allegations by Mr. Okudzeto Ablakwa malevolent and ill-inspired for the simple reason that a cursory examination of the facts would have revealed the untruth in them. I call on the Member of Parliament to retract and apologize to the public for the falsehood he has published against me, failing which I may institute legal action against him,” he concluded.
