Story so far:
Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta and his family are worried about the incessant calls for him to resign or be sacked by the President. Led by his Wife, Angela, they managed to have a discussion on the issue over lunch. However, there was no headway because President Akufo-Addo will not allow him to resign.
Meanwhile, 80 NPP MPs, in an unprecedented move, have held a press conference to demand his resignation or dismissal, otherwise, they will not participate in any government business involving him. This development alarms Mr. Ofori-Atta, thus he seeks solace in the President. He receives the expected succor as an emergency meeting involving the entire Majority Caucus was called to resolve the issue.
bearing in mind that this is make-believe. The output of my fertile imagination:
At the main entrance to Parliament
(A sleek black Toyota Land Cruiser- 2022 registered, enters the gates of Parliament House. The occupant alights when the vehicle parked at the car park. His black shiny shoe with black silk socks responds to the brightness of the sun. This yielded a bright sparkle to the eye. He quickens his steps and soon he is at the security check point. The occupant of the vehicle is a wealthy businessman. He owns JOSAGYA Ventures-Not real- Any resemblance to any existing company is purely coincidental. At least Google said there is no company by that name.)
MD of JOSAGYA: (Speaks to one of the security officers) Good afternoon chief. Prease, I am looking for Honourable Andy Appiah-Kubi.
Security Officer: Good afternoon sir. Please, is he expecting you?
MD of JOSAGYA: No prease.
Security Officer: Please go to his secretariat and speak to his Personal Assistant. (Directs him accordingly)
MD of JOSAGYA: Thank you.
Security Officer: You are welcome sir.
At Hon. Andy Appiah-Kubi’s secretariat
MD of JOSAGYA: Herro Madam!
Andy’s PA: Hello sir. Please how may I help you?
MD of JOSAGYA: Can I see Mr. Appiah-Kubi?
Andy’s PA: Please, is he expecting you?
MD of JOSAGYA: Prease No.
Andy’s PA: Eiiii! This will be difficult ooo.
MD of JOSAGYA: Prease try for me.
Andy’s PA: Hmm! Please have a seat. Let me see if I can find him. (Calls Andy on phone)
Andy: Ye-e-e-e-es
Andy’s PA: Sir please you have a visitor.
Andy: Who is it?
Andy’s PA: He said he is the MD of JOSAGYA.
Andy: Tell him to give me 10 minutes.
Andy’s PA: Sir, he will be with you shortly.
MD of JOSAGYA: Thank you.
(Twenty minutes later. Andy rushes to his PA’s office)
Andy: Ogyam! Welcome.
MD of JOSAGYA: Thank you.
Andy: Ei! To what do I owe this august visit?
MD of JOSAGYA: Oooh, I saw you on TV and I said let me come and see you?
Andy: You saw me on TV?
MD of JOSAGYA: Yes. About the Finance Minister.
Andy: Ooh that? That one is a caucus decision.
MD of JOSAGYA: I understand. But I want to meet all of you.
Andy: You know that is not possible.
MD of JOSAGYA: Please try for me.
Andy: Errm (Calls his PA) Please call… (Names some key MPs who joined him for the press briefing).
(The other members arrive)
Andy: Colleagues we have an august visitor here (Points to the MD of JOSAGYA)
MD of JOSAGYA: Hello!
All: Hi.
MD of JOSAGYA: I watched your press conference and decided to come and see you. Prease reconsider the decision to appeal to the President to sack Ofori-Atta. You know it is not in the interest of the business community to see this confusion in government and therefore for the sake of the business community and our businesses, ret us ensure everything is quiet.
Andy: Well, we have heard you. We have a meeting with the President this evening. We will have your plea in mind when we get there.
MD of JOSAGYA: Thank you very much for understanding. Prease oo, because I came here to talk to you, and you listened to me, I want you to take this envelope. It is ‘amamre’ – tradition. (Hands over envelope to Andy)
Andy: (Opens the envelope) The money is bigoooo! (Laughs as the others join in). Ogyam. Unfortunately, we cannot accept this money. We are not doing this for money. Our constituents are angry over what is happening in this country. Do you remember that they pelted sachet water at our Leader? Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonso? And they booed the President and the Vice President? If we do not do anything about it, it will cost us our seats. As you know, the President is not standing for election again so he can afford to ignore the wailings of the people. We cannot. So you, thanks for coming. We have heard you. When we meet the President we shall see what happens. (Hands over the envelope to the MD of JOSAGYA) Or my colleagues?
All: You said it perfectly.
MD of JOSAGYA: Awwww! You have put me to shame.
Andy: There is nothing shameful about this. Don’t worry. It is just us. And no word on this will go out there. Rest assured.
MD of JOSAGYA: I will count on your assurance. Thank you for this meeting.
Andy: It is a pleasure.
(MD of JOSAGYA is led out of the room)
One of the MPs: What kind of Anas entrapment is this?
All: Hahahahahahahahaha!!!
(It is 5:30pm. At the Jubilee House. All is set for the meeting. The MPs in their black V8s start trooping in and soon the President calls the meeting to order. Present were; Ken, Dr. Bawumia, Frema Osei Opare (Chief of Staff), Nana Asante Bediatuo (Secretary to the President), Yaw Osafo Maafo, Lord Commey and Eugene Arhin)
NADAA: I don’t know if I should say good evening. Obviously, it is not. It is very unfortunate that we have to meet under such circumstances. I believe you all know why we have gathered here. That press conference you held this morning is a serious stab in my back. How can you do this to me at a time when the citizenry have resorted to boing me and Dr Bawumia wherever we go? What is it that you cannot wait to be discussed?
That I should sack Ken, my cousin? Where were you people when he was funding my campaign? Sack him? Who among you will be able to manage the economy better than him, if not for COVID-19 and the Russia-Ukraine war?
As I have said before, it is this same man who took us out of an IMF programme we inherited when we assumed office. As far as I am concerned, he has performed excellently. Therefore, I will not sack Ken today, tomorrow, or tomorrow’s next. We came together and we are leaving together. (One could hear a pin drop from the silence that followed his speech)
Osei: Well, Your Excellency, your emotional disposition under the circumstance is absolutely comprehensible. Having said that, I believe that as an astute lawyer, you will agree that it will be prudent to afford our colleagues here the opportunity to, at least, give you the rationale for their unprecedented public demonstration, which as I said on phone, befuddled me. Andy, would you like to say something?
Andy: Your Excellency, all we are saying is that our constituents are threatening to vote us out if we don’t get Ofori-Atta out. The people are suffering and they are saying Mr. Ofori-Atta has not been of much help. This is evident in the booing that you and Dr. Bawumia suffered. In fact, some of them are asking, ‘what at all is Ofori-Atta hiding for you?’ We don’t want to go into premature retirement, so please consider our request.
NADAA: Well, as far as I am concerned, this meeting is over. You Andy, what were you able to contribute as Deputy Minister for Railways Development to my 2020 campaign? I guess I have made my positon clear. (Walks out of the meeting. He was followed by Dr. Bawumia, Frema, Asante Bediatuo and the rest in that order).
Osei: Hmm! Lord Commey! Please can we use this place for a minute?
Lord Commey: Oh Why not?
Osei: Colleagues, I suggest we have a short meeting before we depart.
All: (Murmurings)
Osei: Order! Order! Clearly, this is not what we bargained for. My concern though is that we cannot go and tell this to the journalists. You know they will be waiting out there. Please, any suggestions?
All: (Random chatter as Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu confers with Andy and a few of the 80 rebel MPs)
Osei: Alright, Alright! I have an idea. I am going to issue a press release that says we met the President and he has asked us to hold on to the request until after the negotiation with the IMF has been concluded and the 2023 budget has been read. How about that?
Majority: Our minds are made up.
31st October, 2022
(The Super Morning Show team call Osei to discuss the outcome of the meeting with the President. Osei sounds unconvincing as he is unable to say for certain that the President will sack Ofori-Atta after the IMF negotiation has been concluded. Evans Mensah and the PM Express crew book a pre-recorded interview with Osei. The one-hour interview is about to end).
Evans: I have information that a certain wealthy businessman tried to dissuade your colleagues who want Ofori-Atta sacked from pursuing their agenda?
Osei: Well, I’m told on authority that in the heat of the events in Parliament, some businessman came here and tried to do something. I was told that he came here and tried to mediate in his own way what he thinks the problem is. He was repelled by the people and he was told not to involve himself. So he went away. If that is the case, I want to talk to that man and know his motive. But people could also be indulging in speculation. So we want to hear him to see what it is… Did he come here? Did he come with any inducement? What was the motivation? Not having heard him, I don’t want to prejudge.”
Evans: Who is this businessman?
Osei: The man in question is a known figure in the business community who has his own way of dealing with both sides of the political divide.
Evans: I think I know him!
Osei: Well, you must have a very fertile imagination.
Evans: It must be the MD of JOSAGYA!
Osei: You did not hear that from me.
Evans: (To his crew) Team, it is a wrap. (Camera, light and sound switched off. Evans turns to Osei) But you can tell me off record.
Osei: Your guess is as good as mine.
(Closing credits roll)
The End.
It’s time to go
Back to real life. It is clear to me, from watching the proceedings at the eight-member Ad hoc Committee set up by Parliament to consider the censure motion against Mr. Ken Ofori-Atta, that he is going nowhere- He will not resign and he will not be fired.
I say so because, I saw his wife, Angela, right behind him in solidarity. And guess who else was at the hearing in support of Mr. Ofori-Atta – Mrs. Frema Osei Opare, Chief of Staff.
Plus, Hon. Patrick Yaw Boamah, who is part of rebel NPP MPs and a member of the Committee was blowing hot and cold in his submissions. Finally, Hon. K.T. Hammond was his usual playful self.
Lest I forget, there was this woman who was virtually dictating the answers to Mr. Ofori-Atta. I hear she is the Coordinating Director- Technical at the Ministry of Finance, Eva Mends. Unless she is a political appointee, I think her level of loyalty is high to a fault. To the extent that sometimes she answered the question before Mr. Ofori-Atta spoke. They sat so close they could smell each other’s breath. Ei! No wonder after the break she kept a little distance between them. I am sure Angela told her, ‘thanks for the support but keep your distance’.
As regards the unnamed businessman, a private legal practitioner and host of Newsfile on JoyNews, Mr. Samson Lardy Anyenini has said that “In our criminal jurisprudence, sometimes attempt is sufficient. You do not have to consummate the crime; attempt may be sufficient. In what we refer to as inchoate offense.”
According to him, under the inchoate offense, an attempt “can cost you sufficient grounds of which a prosecution can be mounted and mounted successfully.”
He said this in respect of the attempt by the dismissed Minister of State at the Ministry of Finance, Charles Adu Boahen, to solicit funds for the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia as captured in the latest expose by Anas Aremeyaw Anas.
I don’t know what other lawyers will say in this regard. For me, the case has been made for that unnamed businessman to be arrested and prosecuted for attempting to bribe a public officer. I hear OccupyGhana has petitioned my friend the Special Prosecutor, Mr. Kissi Agyebeng accordingly. I hereby add my voice to this call.
If this is not done, and the outcome made public, the little hope I have left in this country will fade away, forever. But who cares? I can hear you retort. No one. I guess.
Zdravo- That’s goodbye in Bosnian
Let God lead! Follow Him directly, not through any human.
The writer works at Myjoyonline.com. He is also the author of two books whose contents share knowledge on how anyone desirous of writing like him can do so. Eric can be reached via email eric.mensah-ayettey@myjoyonline.com. The two books cost GHC80.00.