Tony Aidoo Punches I.C. Quaye

The head of Policy Evaluation in the Office of the President has blamed ex-Greater Accra Regional Minister, Sheik Ibrahim Cudjoe Quaye for the US$6,576 million judgment debt that has bedeviled the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), leading to auction notices placed on all its properties including the official residence of the Accra Mayor. Dr. Tony Aidoo�s comments appears to be the very first time that an official of the Castle has made a statement on AMA�s massive indebtedness, which recently forced the Assembly to hold an emergency meeting on Saturday, July 7, 2012 at its offices on Asafoatse Nettey Road in Accra, and led to an SOS to government. The accusation against the ex-Minister comes amidst claims at the AMA that he and, Mr. Ofei Darko, the first Mayor of Accra under the Kufuor presidency, teamed up and abrogated the contract between the AMA and the City and Country Waste Limited (CCWL) to enable the ex-minister�s junior brother, popularly known as�Bola Man� to have access to the contract. Dr. Aidoo wondered how many of the properties including waste trucks and other equipment seized from CCWL were either sold or given out to the ex-Regional Minister�s junior brother, who is into waste management, but was struggling, until the advent of the Kufuor regime. The NDC firebrand questioned:�who is the stealer?� in reference to the ex-Minister�s claim that NDC officials are thieves, which he corrupted by saying, �NDC, they are stealers� Dr. Aidoo made the comment, last Saturday, on Radio Gold�s socio-political programme �Alhaji and Alhaji� while comparing the New Patriotic Party�s (NPP) 8-year legacy to that of the ruling National Democratic Congress� (NDC) three and half-year legacy, as they go into the 2012 election. But in a rather hush response when The Herald contacted Sheikh I.C Quaye, the former Greater Accra Regional Minister in the Kufour regime said �it is rubbish, I have reacted to this on Peace FM, Adom FM, Joy FM all over�. Sheikh I.C Quaye, who is leaving Parliament after 18-years as a representation for Ayawaso Central Constituency, directed this reporter to call on him today for a dossier covering the distribution of the properties belonging to CCWL, when its contract with the Assembly was abrogated in 2001. He further said Mr. Amon Kotey, who made the allegations against him (I.C), also played a key role in the distribution of the properties of the company, as the then Presiding Member of the Assembly. The AMA recently passed a resolution accepting a Ghana Supreme Court�s February 13, 2008 judgment which said the Assembly should pay CCWL a whopping US$6,575,928.52, in addition to interest to be calculated on the interest rate at the time the contract was abrogated. It said, however, that the �Assembly as its current financial standing does not have the financial capability to pay the US$6,575,928.52 judgment debt it owes to CCWL as per the Republic of Ghana Supreme Court�s 13th February 2008 ruling�. �The Assembly�s landed properties that have been earmarked for sale at reserve prices to defray the judgment debt be possibly avoided before the stipulated auction date�, it revealed. �The Accra Metropolitan Assembly therefore humbly appeals to Government through the Attorney Generals Departments to pay the US$6,575,928.52 judgment debt that the Accra Metropolitan Assembly owes the City And Country Waste Limited on its behalf to enable the Assembly have respite to concentrate on its better Ghana development activities�, the assembly said.