The most disturbing evidence of regime transformation was the reemergence of predatory behaviour on the part of the ruling political elite. Corruption became more blatant in latter years eroding the ascetic image that had served the regime so well in the difficult days of the adjustment and robbing it of the moral stature and ability to demand sacrifices. Commissions on state contracts destined for the coffers of the NDC were alleged to be widespread (estimated to be 10-15% of contract values) as were demands that businesses large and small make contributions to the NDC; the price for this was the growing number of abandoned or poorly finished projects....a senior Minister, Mr. Kwame Peprah,recommended the divestiture of government shares in a major bank. The consultancy for the divestiture was then granted to a new company, among whose main shareholders were the minister himself and a business partner...In the subsequent divestiture, the bulk of the banks shares were acquired by the same company. A contract for the evaluation of bids for a major state oil company undergoing divestiture also went to an American corporation for which this company was a local partner. (This award was allegedly made without tender, and is said to have led to the World Bank withdrawing funding for the contract). In the second case, a secret investigation by the Serious Fraud Office revealed that of some 58 consultancy contracts issued by the Diverstiture Implementation Committee (DIC), 30 had gone to a single company, owned by a senior official of the DIC. The chair of the DIC was the Minister of Finance. ---- Eboe Hutchful, Professor of Africana Studies, & Political Scientist (2002)
Posted on: Sun, 08 Jun 2014 10:03:41 +0000
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