The Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service has granted police enquiry bail to some former ministers in the erstwhile National Democratic Congress (NDC) government and Members of Parliament (MPs), who have been caught in an alleged double-salary scandal.
The formal arrest and the grant of bail are said to have started last Thursday when some of the appointees honoured the CID invitation.
It is unclear the number of the former appointees who honoured the police invitation, but Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, MP for Ellembelle and Nii Laryea Afotey Agbo, MP for Kpone Katamanso, are said to have been interrogated by the police.
More of the appointees are expected at the Financial Forensic Unit at the CID headquarters this week, with Inusah Fuseini – who served as Minister of Roads and Highways under President Mahama – indicating during a number of radio interviews that he is reporting today.
As at press time yesterday, another NDC MP, whose name could not be disclosed, was said to have arrived at the CID office to be interrogated.
A certain Bashir Fuseini Alhassan, who is believed to be ABA Fuseini, NDC MP for Sagnerigu and former deputy minister for the Northern Region, was also there last week and was made to write a statement before being admitted to bail.
All those who have been to the CID headquarters and are said to be technically under arrest were made to write statements before they were granted bail. They all honoured the invitations with their lawyers.
According to sources, the police had already written to the accounts department of parliament for more information concerning the double salary saga.
The affected people have also been asked to submit their bank statements.
Frantic Efforts
Over the weekend, some of the former NDC appointees being investigated were said to be making frantic efforts to submit their bank statements to the CID.
It emerged that a number of them sent their bank statements for scrutiny by the CID, despite the claim by top-notch members of the party that the move to investigate them was a case of ‘political witch-hunt.’
Anomaly Detection
DAILY GUIDE learnt that some of the former ministers cum MPs, who allegedly drew salaries as MPs and ministers of state, detected the double salary anomaly and notified the authorities for the right thing to be done.
However, it is unclear whether the monies that had already been credited to the accounts of such people were returned to chest.
Bernard Allotey Jacobs, NDC Central Regional Chairman, who conceded that some of the ex-ministers who were MPs actually received double salaries, said they were ready to use their ex-gratia to offset them.
It’s not clear if they had ever been paid double from 2013 to 2016 as being alleged.
In all, about 48 names are on the list spanning five years from 2012.
Inside Job
Mr Bagbin, the second deputy speaker of parliament and NDC MP for Nadowli/Kaleo, has already confirmed that he had been contacted by the CID.
On his Twitter handle on Wednesday, April 11 – after the minority’s press conference – Mr Bagbin alleged that some selfish individuals who want to lead the opposition party might have leaked the names to the CID.
“If anybody thinks that leaking our names to the police CID thwarts our chances and advances their selfish claim to leadership in our party, then my brother, think again because when we go down, we go down together. A word to the wise…,” according to the tweet.
Haruna Iddrisu had also been contacted and is likely to meet the CID on Thursday, April 19, having told the police that he was out of the country.
Specific Charge
The police have said that the alleged double salary saga “is contrary to Section 124 (1) of the Criminal and other Offences Act 1960 (Act 29) as amended in 2012 (Act 849). Section 124 relates to the offence of stealing.”
The list appears to show that a good number of the ministers, who served under former President John Mahama, took double salaries for four years, whilst others received double salaries for two and three years, probably because they were reshuffled.
Salary Permutation
In 2012, four of the ministers, who reportedly took double salaries, are currently not serving in parliament, but by 2013 the double salaried appointees had increased to 22 while in 2014 about 18 were said to have been involved.
For 2015 and 2016, 15 and 12 appointees purportedly took double salaries respectively.
This list showed that the appointees received double salaries at least once a month, whilst others received them monthly throughout the years.
Clear Target
In the ensuing heat, one of the affected MPs, Inusah Fuseini, said on Peace FM yesterday that the NPP government was targeting them, saying, “There is some level of criminal targeting of former appointees.
“It appears that the value of fairness, equity and justice is not being followed. If a public servant has been given a double salary, they are not reported to CID. The person is called to refund the money and if that is not done, that is when you report the person to an investigative authority. But this was not done… why the discrimination?”
Source: Daily Guide
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led. There was a recent documentary on some prisons in Ghana telling the stories of inmates on petty issues that sent them to jail. If truly, There is no discrimination when it comes to the rule of law, this is the time to prove it. It is time for institutions to work, and this is an opportunity to prove that, Ghanaian institutions are beginning to work. RULE OF LAW is not respecter or person, and this is the time. We will be on the street to demonstrate for the poor in prison if the law is not applied. No need for any committee to investigate, because crime is crime.
Brilliant submission. Let them go to court and defend themselves with the law. You can propose a few more articles to them
I agree. Very soon it would be hard for one of them to be a PRESIDENT. They are not setting good examples. Even the ladies are doing same, look at otiko, very arrogant and disrespectful.
These our brothers up there are distracting us. Most of these corrupt allegations and other bad news are mostly against them why? Look at Barwumia and mustapha hamid too, serial liars. Mahama another suspected theifff. Abuga pele and asabit are in jail. Must we always be in the news for bad reasons.
I don't understand the argument put across by the honorable members. The question is did they take the money or not? I was once paid leave allowance twice in my office, to avoid incrimination and to maintain my integrity, I quickly notified the Director of Finance who deducted it from my salary in the subsequent month. What prevented my honorable members from doing same?
I thought you guys were saying it never happened ? The Supreme Court judge said ; create, loot and share and he was dam right for saying that. N.D.C is made of people who only think about how to milk the country and nothing more. God save Ghana.
These NDC MP kriminals calling themselves honourable..... Honourable my foot. You were paid double salary in some cases for years and you refused to report it to be corrected? Then you do not deserve to be in parliament making laws for the rest of us to comply. You guys are simply dishonest people..... You were trying hard to discredit others calling them corrupt. Look at what you guys did to the Energy Minister during his vetting. Same to Alan in cash for seat investigations.... Prepare to go to jail for being dishonest in this double salary case. Next time stop pointing corrupt finger at your opponents. NDC in my opinion is a corrupt kriminal gang who are only interested in themselves... only....
Accountability!!!! What our politicians should know is that, they will have to account for their stewardship one day. This is pure ***barred word***. How can you be receiving double salaries and you never reported to the appropriate authorities for it to be corrected? These are people who make laws for us. God have mercy!!! They all do not deserve the title of honourable.
SUPER INCOMPETENT NANA GOVERNMENT!!DO THEY PAY THEIR OWN SALARIES????
Please please please lets stop these persecutions. I say this for a few reasons and anyone having a contrary view should debate. The law that the writer quoted is qualified at some point. The culprit should knowingly commit the offence and the person had the INTENTION of doing so. It is rather Article 125 of the said amended which describes stealing. If that is what the police are charging these former appointees with, then the alleged culprit must "dishonestly appropriates a thing of which he is not the owner". There should be some dishonesty here. The salaries were paid into an account which can be verified at anytime so if someone wants to be dishonest about something, that said person will not cause the act to be done with an easily verifiable instrument. The police or prosecutors have to prove this dishonesty here. S124 talks about previous conduct and its attendant punishment. Now proportionality will have to be considered here. Will a court convict over such issues? I don't believe so as such people will not gain much or can work anytime to get much more of that money. In the equation will be other remedies like allowing them to pay back which will serve the tax payer better that arraigning them before court. The intention of the statute will also be considered where in my view this is not what parliament intended. The issue of other past government appointees and the way they were treated will be a point in focus. In the background will be former NPP appointees and if they have also enjoyed double salaries in the past. Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu has made pronouncements to this effect that during the Kuffuo'sr term these things happened. There are other issues which can be discussed and it is clear that it is a persecution rather than a prosecution. Other charges in my humble opinion should be proffered instead of this.