2020 in review: Scandals that made waves in the Akufo-Addo government
The year 2020 came with its own issues, as the world was dealing with a global pandemic, the coronavirus disease, also known as the COVID-19.
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As usual of human nature especially those in high authorities, scandals find their way of getting out to trend for a period of time.
Despite the world suffering from a global pandemic, some scandals popped up in the media space, generating a lot of controversies and conversations.
Source: Original
Unlike the year 2019 that had a lot of controversies, the year 2020 had just a few.
Well, the few incidents of scandals can be credited to the pandemic, which did not make room for a lot of activities to take place.
YEN.com.gh highlights four major scandals that took place in 2020 under the Akudo-Addo government.
1. Agyapa deal
Number one is the Agyapa Royalties deal.
The Agyapa Royalties Deal is the government’s strategy to raise capital from the proceeds of the extractive (mining) sector to finance the country’s developmental projects.
It is worthy to note that, the Agyapa Royalties deal is a strategy that governments across nations have adopted to raise money on the global financial market.
The unending saga is mainly because the content and character of the offshore Agyapa Royalties company is shrouded in secrecy; and the fact that the off-shore company is incorporated in tax haven Jersey, in the Canary Isle, UK.
“The NDC demanded that Akufo-Addo retrieved the billions of cedis his government illegally paid under the shady ‘Agyapa’ deal to Databank, which is owned by his cousin and Finance Minister, Ken Ofori Atta.
2. Auditor General
Another scandal that made the airwaves was the 'sacking' of the auditor general, Daniel Domelovo.
It started of with a letter addressed to the auditor general requesting him to go on his accumulated leave.
It is believed that, the directive to go leave was In May 2020, the Auditor-General, Daniel Domelevo, was found guilty of contempt for failing to respond to a suit filed by the Senior Minister, Yaw Osafo Maafo, which was challenging the $1m surcharge on him.
Some civil organizations and individuals alleged that the Auditor-General’s resolve to surcharge alleged corrupt officials, including top appointees like the Senior Minister led to his removal.
3. Amidu
Another scandal that trended for days into weeks id the issue of Martin Amidu's resignation.
The special prosecutor, Martin Alamisi Amidu resigned from his office after stating various reasons.
One of the reasons he stated for his resignation was the interference from government in the line of his duty.
His resignation brought up a whole lot of issues as both camps kept on responding to each others releases.
It is however rumored that Amidu is seeking Asylum in the UK.
4. Akufo-Addo taking bribe
Well, this particular scandal was not actually a scandal as the was immediately quashed on arrival. In some few days to the 2020 general elections, there was a viral video circulatingthat president Akufo-Addo was taking bribe in an envelope.
According to NPP, the video was doctored by the NDC, to paint the presidential candidate in a bad light.
In other news, the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) says it is confident the Supreme Court will affirm the reelection of President Nana Akufo-Addo in the 2020 polls.
NPP’s director of communication, Yaw Buaben Asamoa, said the legal team of the president is ready to expose the emptiness of the petition and the continuous denial that Akufo-Addo indeed won the election “without any iota of doubt.”
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Source: YEN.com.gh
