Professor Ransford Gyampo, a senior lecturer and political scientist at the University of Ghana, has strongly criticized President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for making comments that could potentially undermine the ongoing investigation into the scandal involving former Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources, Cecilia Abena-Dapaah.
The President in accepting the resignation of the former minister said “At the end of the day, your integrity, whilst in office, will be fully established”.
But the respected academician in an interview on Eyewitness News, on Monday, July 24, voiced his disapproval of the President’s remarks, stating that such comments have the potential to interfere with the findings and independence of security agencies handling the investigation.
He further emphasized that it is a recurring issue where the President tends to express hope for the exoneration of individuals under investigation.
“The president accepted her resignation, but I didn’t like the bit where he expressed hope that she [Cecilia Abena- Dapaah] was going to be exonerated. It shouldn’t come from the president. It’s becoming one too many, sometimes when people are going to be investigated, you hear the number one gentleman of the land making comments to the effect that the person is not even guilty.
“Regardless of how independent people are, they tend to be holding to the president. When we have this kind of issue of the president expressing this kind of hope. It tends to undermine their independent capacity to be able to work and come out with findings. He should just have accepted the resignation letter and he shouldn’t have commented further”.
However, he applauded the former minister for taking such a bold decision to resign from her position.
“I’m enthused and excited that she resigned, in Ghana we don’t resign, regardless, we don’t know how to resign. For me, I think it’s good, I’m happy that she resigned. She saved herself and the president from the kind of critique that would have been levelled against the president, who wouldn’t have heeded any call to fire her” he stated.
Officials from the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) on Monday, July 24, 2023, searched the home of the former Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources.
Madam Dapaah was earlier on Monday picked for questioning over suspected corruption.
Two house helps of Madam Dapaah and her husband, Daniel Osei Kuffour, are before an Accra Circuit Court, for allegedly stealing monies and items running into millions of Ghana Cedis.
