The fate of the over $51 million Woyome money as it has come to be known, has not surprised many Ghanaians.
For many Ghanaians who have followed the case and similar ones on corruption, the threat to ‘spill the beans’ by Alfred Agbesi Woyome, the financial engineer, was a sufficient proof that the case would hit a cul de sac: with the announcement that the Attorney General was discontinuing the case; the fear or suspicion of Ghanaians has finally come to pass. Pursue the case to its logical conclusion and contend with the repercussions of the naming of persons who ate the pie, of course, by Woyome.
You don’t go down alone when you know the names of accomplices lurking in the dark and who hold important government positions. You hold this card to your chest and place it on the table when push comes to shove.
We recall President John Mahama’s promise to deal with corruption cases if only these are backed with adequate evidence when his government was put on the spot for being corrupt and therefore, unwilling to prosecute his corrupt appointees.
The Woyome case, a fait accompli, requiring the application of the relevant law to retrieve the ill-gotten money is one of the best test cases. That President John Mahama and his government have failed this critical test at this time of the political history of the country is significant and speaks volumes about the corruption tag around the neck of the government.
Let them stand up and be counted who want public assets and properties protected against the thievery of government appointees and seek the recovery of the already stolen ones.
Taxes are excessive; schools still under trees; interventionist projects initiated by the Kufuor administration such as the National Health Insurance Scheme, Free Maternal Care for pregnant women, collapsed as unemployment stares at us because of the reckless management of public funds. The Accra Psychiatric Hospital is still shut down and many businesses dead as a result of bad governance and dwindled revenue through thievery of public funds. It sounds preposterous therefore, that an amount of money which comes close to the national budget can be dissipated so carelessly yet retrieval is not a government option.
We may not know what happened behind the scenes but we can bet a lot transpired so telltale details can be protected. It was not an easy decision but finally regardless of anticipated attacks by the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) and anti-graft crusaders, the best option for the Mahama administration is to let sleeping dogs lie.
The ruling party – a portion of the black-hole into which the money has disappeared – should be smiling for escaping from the naming and shaming action that was on the verge of being played out. But one day the people of this country would be in a state to demand their money.
Former President Jerry John Rawlings should be shuddering in his hall as he ponders over the whole Woyome debacle. He led the charge against those accused of raising loans from banks using their privileged positions. They were eventually lined up on stakes and shot on his orders. Today, a worse scenario has been played out by the leadership of the party he founded.
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