Ablakwa Slams Asabee For �Irresponsible� Remarks

Deputy Minister of Information, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has hit back at a former Minister for Information in the erstwhile Kufuor administration, Hon. Asamoah Boateng (Asabee), for claiming that the swiftness he (Ablakwa) showcases in running to the defence of foreign companies demanding huge monies from government as liability is a sure indication that he is profitting from them. The deputy information minister had hinted to Kwame Sefa Kayi on PeaceFM�s �Kokrokoo� that yet another judgement debt scandal with a Spanish Company, Isofoton S A, where the company is seeking damages of $1.3 million following a breach of its contract with the Ministry of Agriculture under the erstwhile Kufuor administration, is sure to become the next albatross of judgement debt to hang on government�s neck after the galloper vehicles controversy. He also revealed that, in the coming weeks, government will be �serializing� by making public, more judgement debt issues. Following his statements and other comments made on the issue, �Asabee� accused the Deputy Minister of standing to gain from the payment of judgment debt to some of these foreign companies hence Ablakwa�s interest in serializing them and his penchant to readily hold brief for some of these foreign firms. But reacting to the accusation in an interview on PeaceFm News @ 12, the Deputy Information Minister demanded that the former government appointee provides proof of his accusation, stressing that he only tables the issues for purposes of transparency. �It is a very, very unfortunate and irresponsible statement. If you are making an allegation bordering on corruption, you have to provide evidence. What is the evidence of Hon. Asamoah Boateng to accuse me that me I stand to benefit from these matters? I have said that we are bringing out all these judgment debts for Ghanaians to see. For someone who is corrupt, I will be covering it up but I am the one who is rather disclosing these issues of judgment debt for greater transparency. These irresponsible statements are most unfortunate especially from a former official�� he said. He accused Asabee of passing those comments to create the impression that the Mills� administration�s sole aim of making the cases of judgement debt public was for equalization purposes. ��how can judgment debts stand for corruption? I just don�t understand these people�the issue is that we can avoid most of the judgment debts; so all that I am saying is that the public officials should behave in such a manner that the country will not be incurring all these costs and liabilities; they know and that is why they want to shift the argument. It is not those paying the debts but those who caused the debts; that is the issue so we have to go to the genesis of the matter�� Ablakwa asserted.