Country is broke, but politicians are filthy rich… ATO FORSON DONATES GH¢1.15 MILLION CASH!

…To Central Region NDC

At the time that Ghana is so broke that it has to go begging to international lending agencies, her politicians are filthy rich!

Even opposition members have huge amounts of cash to burn!

One such opposition member with bags of cash to spare is the Minority Leader, Dr Cassiel Ato Baah Forson, who has donated the ‘generous’ amount of GHC50,000.00 (fifty thousand Ghana Cedis) to each of the twenty-three (23) constituencies in the Central region. 

In all, Dr Cassiel Ato Baah Forson donated the whopping sum of GH¢1,150,000.00 (one million, one hundred and fifty thousand) to the Central region branch of the NDC!

The person who donated the cash sum on behalf of Dr Cassiel Ato Baah Forson was Lawyer Sammy Gyamfi, the National Communication Officer of the NDC.

The last time news emerged that a politician had such huge sums sitting on her, the whole country was up in arms, and even the controversial Office of Special Prosecutor (OSP) launched an investigation, which started off with a bang and ended up in a fizzling whine.

Dr. Forson’s known employment over the past eight years has been that he has been a Member of Parliament from the Central Region on the side of the opposition NDC, but apparently, even being out of government has been lucrative.

JOHN MAHAMA

In January, following the release of results of the corruption perception index, Mr. John Mahama, the leader of the NDC, lamented about how politicians were fleecing the country. 

Former President John Mahama reiterated his commitment to tackle corruption in Ghana head-on amid growing concerns about the country’s stalled progress on the corruption perception index. 

This came in the wake of Transparency International’s release of the 2023 index, which showed Ghana’s ranking had not improved despite promises and efforts to tackle corruption.

In a grim assessment, the Ghana Integrity Initiative stated that Ghana’s anti-corruption campaign has shown zero improvement in the last four years. 

Ghana scored 43 out of a clean score of 100 and ranked 70th out of 180 countries and territories included in the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) 2023, released on January 30, 2024. This marks the fourth consecutive year of stagnation in Ghana’s anti-corruption efforts, as indicated by the CPI. 

During a #BuildingGhanaTour town hall event in Koforidua, Mahama condemned a shady revenue assurance contract between the Ghana Revenue Authority and Strategic Mobilisation Limited (SML), pledging that his administration would not accept or recognise it. He also vowed to hold accountable those involved in the contract for the funds they have taken.

Mahama went on to express his frustration with the lack of progress in the fight against corruption, stating, “You cannot fleece a country like this… now Ghanaians are not surprised again; reports of corruption does not shock Ghanaians again, because everybody is tired of hearing of the cases and no effort by the government to fight it.”

His comments reflect growing concerns among Ghanaians about the prevalence of corruption in the country and the need for stronger measures to address it. 

Mahama’s pledge to strengthen the fight against corruption came at a crucial time as Ghana continues to grapple with the impact of corruption on its development and governance.

It remains to be seen whether Mr. Mahama would be so vociferous as to the sources of the millions that Ato Forson donated.