The announcement from the seat of Government that President John Evans Atta Mills has relieved the Attorney-General, Martin Amidu, of his post, has the potential of advertising to the international community that Ghana, under the current Head of State, has no stomach for fighting corruption.
The history books will in future record that once upon a time, a man took occupancy of the seat of Government, whose officials doled out GH�58 million of state money to a person who is reported to be a friend of the Head of State and a financier of the ruling party.
When a new Attorney-General appointed by the President discovered that the money had been fraudulently handed over to an individual named Alfred Agbesi Woyome, and initiated moves in the courts to recover the money, the Head of State ordered his dismissal on the grounds that he had made an allegation of improper behaviour against some personalities suspected to have handed the state money to this individual.
We are in very interesting times. The Chronicle, though, is in no doubt about the consequences of this Presidential directive. The Head of State has shot himself in the foot, we dare state. We are inclined to believe that with the dismissal of Mr. Amidu, the writ he has filed at the High Court, demanding the return of the money would not be pursued any longer. The suit will lie fallow in the court. There will come a time, sooner or later, when the trial judge would be forced to dismiss the application.
On the other hand, those succeeding Martin Amidu would offer such a porous defence that the application would fail. That would leave the President and his advisers to go after the enemy in the opposing camp, as they have tried to do.
We are in very interesting times. This administration is behaving like punch-drunk boxers aiming wild blows at imaginary enemies, while those causing the mess leading to serious hemorrhage of state funds continue to dine with officialdom.
Martin Amidu might have been sacked, but his ability to confront very challenging issues would continue to linger in the minds of Ghanaians for a long time to come. By filing a writ at the High Court seeking the return of the whopping GH�52 million of state money doled out to one man, the immediate past Attorney-General has won the hearts and minds of many Ghanaians.
As he himself stated in that famous press conference, Mr. Martin Amidu is not worried about the sack. The Chronicle pays homage to his ability to look wrong in the face and pronounce on it. If the President and his advisers believe that running a stage is an exhibition of bravado, let them go on with it.
We recall that in 2001, when a farmer decided to pay for security gadgets at former President John Agyekum�s residence at a cost of �41 million (GH�4,100) hell broke loose. A number of officials of this administration, who were then in opposition, virtually picketed the residence of the former President, while demanding to know how a private individual could pay for such gadgets at the home of the then head of state.
If a single individual close to the President, and known to have carried out several favours on behalf of the Head of State and the ruling party, is handed this huge amount of state money and the government insists on playing politics with the issue, God save this country.
The people of Ghana could take consolation in the fact that in life, no condition is permanent!
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