Majority Leader Deflates Mosquito’s Propaganda

Majority Leader, Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin, has strongly denied claim by national chairman of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) that, the recent meeting the minority leadership had with President Akufo-Addo at the presidency, was what forced the government to release the KPMG audit report on the controversial SML-GRA deal.

Describing Mr Johnson Asiedu Nketia’s statement as false, Mr Afenyo-Markin, said no such agreement was reached between the presidency and the Minority leadership, as the NDC national chairman popularly called, ‘General Mosquito’ wants the public to believe.

“I find it a bit worrying. I initiated the meeting with the president, engaged my colleague and we had a fruitful discussion and all 10 of us were present and we had a very good discussion. I don’t know where this issue of precondition and I don’t know who briefed Mr Asiedu Nketia on this.

Sometimes, when we tweak some of these things, we have to be careful how we want to go about it. But the president had already initiated the process of getting this KPMG done and had even given directives”, Mr Afenyo-Markin said.

Recall that last week, the leadership of the Minority side in Parliament in a surprise move, joined their counterparts from the Majority side, to visit the president at the Jubilee House.

The Minority had earlier on Friday, May 17, staged a walk out in Parliament, when the House was preparing to approve the nomination of ministers, loan agreements, among others.

Details of the meeting with the President was not divulged to the public, but Mr Asiedu Nketia, in an interview said the Minority went into the meeting after the presidency, had agreed to their request that it will release the report by KPMG and also cooperate in the House.

“It was a condition that Dr Ato Forson gave when there was a meeting between the president and the leadership of parliament. The president was trying to get their concurrence on a number of issues and the approval of these agreements.

So we (Minority) said that we suspected there was something wrong and then you put KPMG there to verify, the report is in, you don’t want us to see it and then you want us proceed to approve something?

So, publish the report for every Ghanaian to know so that we will see that what you are presenting to Parliament contains the corrective measures”, he said stressing the Minority will now analyze the report and take a decision”, the former NDC general secretary said.

However, two days after that meeting, government released the report on Wednesday, May 22, after it said it was not going to make details of the report public.

The presidency in a statement, said government backtracked on its earlier decision not to release the report, because it wants to deepen transparency and good governance.

But Mr Afenyo-Markin in an interview on the AM Show on JoyNews yesterday, May 27 said, he was surprised about the claim by the NDC Chair.

According to the Majority leader, who doubles as MP for Effutu Constituency, he was the one that facilitated the meeting and at no point in the arrangement did the parties come to that decision.

He said the meeting with the two sides had no preconditions attached to it, adding that, the President decided to release the report on his own accord, and not because anyone or group of people made it the bargaining chip.

Mr Afenyo-Markin said, it is within the right of the president and the law backs his position not to release the report as he was exempted from the law. However, he said it was also the right of the president to backtrack and make the report.

He said the meeting last Monday, was fruitful as no member of the sides of the leadership in Parliament came out to speak in detail about what transpired so, he was surprised about the assertion by the NDC elder.

“I am saying that there was no such thing as precondition for cooperation. I am saying that, that is why out of respect for Mr. Asiedu Nketia, I don’t want to go into it. I was the leader of that delegation and I am saying that there was no such thing.

No conditions were given and I after the meeting none of us in leadership came out to specifically to say that we discussed item A, item B and all that. A general statement was issued, we have had fruitful discussion on governance issues, national issues that was it. That is why I told you what you claim Mr Asiedu Nketia said. I am very surprised,” he clarified.

Source: Anchorghana.com