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Is Osafo Maafo currying favour with the new administration?
Abdul Salam Sule, Ghanadot

If there was one New Patriotic Party (NPP) top official who had favour from the immediate past President, Mr. John Agyekum Kufour, to occupy key ministerial positions in his administration, it was Hon. Yaw Osafo Maafo, former Member of Parliament for Akim Oda in the Eastern Region.


In the 'positive change chapter one' of the Kufour administration, Hon. Yaw Osafo Maafo was appointed as the Finance Minister, a position which he held till the end of the first term of the NPP administration. Though he was not maintained at the Finance Ministry in President Kufour's second term, Hon. Osafo Maafo was appointed the Minister of Education and held the position till the end of the year 2006.


With the calibre of Hon. Yaw Osafo Maafo in the erstwhile Kufour administration, many were those who thought the former Finance and Education Minister would at any point in time defend the policies of the Kufour administration. Unfortunately, that has not been the case and his recent public statement to oppose some last minute actions of ex-President Kufour seems to suggest, he (Osafo Maafo) is inviting favours from the new NDC administration.


On the last state of the nation address ex-President Kufour delivered in parliament, he proposed that, the mandate of the Electoral Commissioner should be limited to two six year terms. Barely a day after that proposal by the ex- president, Hon. Yaw Osafo Maafo, to the amazement of many Ghanaians, jumped to the defense of the Electoral Commissioner and said, Mr. J. A. Kufour had erred. He argued that, the mandate of the electoral commissioner was like that of an Appeal's Court Judge which position was not tampered with until he or she resigned or retired.


Also, on the eve of leaving office as the President of the Republic of Ghana, Mr. John Agyekum Kufour announced an increment in the salary level of the Ghanaian worker from 16%-34%, and it was to take effect from January 1st this year. This action by the ex- President also caught the wrath of Hon. Yaw Oasfo Maafo who in no uncertain terms disagreed with Mr. Kuffour. He described the actions of Mr. Kuffour as a deliberate attempt to push the new administration into a tight corner.

 

The current behavior of Hon. Yaw Osafo Maafo, of opposing every action of ex- President Kufour, has raised many eyebrows in the camp of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and some media outlets. The former MP for Akim Oda has therefore come under various forms of attack from various quarters, including some media outlets and some hawks within the NPP for his remarks.

 

While some are saying Hon. Yaw Osafo Maafo is undeservedly trying to pay back Mr. Kufour for sacking him from his cabinet in the year 2006, others say he is a bootlicker who is inviting favors from the new NDC administration so that he can be forgiven some of the errors he committed in his days as Minister of state. which could pass for causing financial loss to the state.


It should be noted that, in his days as the Finance Minister, Hon. Yaw Osafo Maafo pursued a loan agreement with CNTCI Holdings Group Limited in the United Kingdom and even though he was warned of a possible scam by the so called financial group, he went ahead to spend state money to chase the loan.

But as predicted earlier on, the address to locate CNTCI Holdings Group Limited was traced to a hair dressing saloon in London called "Good Wish Saloon". The scheme came to be known as 'Saloon loan' and to this day has been hanging around the neck of Hon. Yaw Osafo Maafo like an albatross.

 

In the year 2005 when the then President Kufour appointed him as the Minister of Education, he contracted MacMilan Books to print text books for Ghana's School children and that contract allegedly never passed through the procurement process. Later on , when his attention was drawn to it, he was reported to have said, he had forgotten. Strangely enough, it was Hon. Yaw Osafo Maafo who in his days as the finance minister championed the passing into law of the National Procurement Act, which made it necessary for government purchases to pass through the contract award process.


From the few examples given, there is the possibility that, Hon. Yaw Osafo Maafo could be sent to court by the new administration for causing financial loss to the state.  His recent public outbursts that opposed some of the policies of ex- President Kufour seem to indicate that he was seeking favour from the new administration.


In a sharp rebut, on Thursday January 15, 2009 edition of the Independent newspaper, the Accra based private newspaper carried a front page story, tiltled "OSAFO MAAFO FIGHTS BACK". In the said publication, Hon. Yaw Osafo Maafo was reported to have debunked the claims in some quarters that his recent comments in respect of former President John Agyekum Kuffour's 16%-34% salary increment for workers amount to attempt to please and seek favour from the  President John Evans Attah Mills-led administration. He argued that, his comments in relation to the last minute salary increments were purely technical and based on his experience as the former Finance Minister and not based on slanted political considerations.


"I am a professional and a technocrat, and so passionate about things relating to the economy. Being a professional and one who was once the best finance minister in Africa, I know what I am talking about", the Independent newspaper quoted Hon. Yaw Osafo Maafo to have said.


But whether Dr. Yaw Osafo Maafo's comments were based on technocracy or sheer sycophancy and slanted political consideration as being suggested in some media circles would be known in the coming weeks.


Abdul Salam Sule, January 15, 2009

 

   

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