Ghanaian Journalist Halifax Ansah-Addo

Monday, 7 June 2010

Zita Flies To USA For Baby

By Halifax Ansah-Adddo
(Daily Guide Friday, 04 June 2010)

Ghana’s Tourism Minister, Zita Sabah Okaikoi, is residing with her maid-servant and bodyguard in a government of Ghana facility while on a private visit to New York to seek maternal care, information reaching DAILY GUIDE from the United States indicates.

Reports say the pregnant Minister and the two are cooling off on the 14th floor of 19 East 47th Street New York, NY 10017, a residential facility at the New York Consulate of the Ghana Mission in the United States.

The facility, DAILY GUIDE learnt, is exclusively reserved for Ghanaian officials on official working trips to the US, and is not to be used by persons on private visits.

The female Minister, together with her bodyguard and servant, are incurring extra cost for the Ghana Mission at a time a number of workers there have not been paid for months.

Apart from staying at the residential facility at the Consulate, reports say Zita and her private maid are chauffeur-driven in government of Ghana vehicles on their private rounds.

The vehicles are fueled and maintained by the Ghanaian tax payer, sources say.

Amazingly, all telephone numbers to the office of the consulate went unanswered and were directed to voice mails when DAILY GUIDE called.

Zita herself could also not be reached on phone and when DAILY GUIDE asked Deputy Information Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, what the Tourism Minister was doing outside the country, he seemed not to be in the know and suggested that Zita herself speaks to the issue.

Foreign Minister Alhaji Mohammad Mumuni could also not be reached on phone and two text messages sent to his phone for a reaction were not answered.

The 15-floor consulate was purchased for Ghana by ex-head of state General Ignatius Kutu Acheampong.

A source who spoke on anonymity explained: “The building is very big and there are some parts that are scarcely used.

It was restructured and rebuilt into two residential facilities by the Kufuor government and the minister is staying with her house-girl in one of them.”

When news broke in Ghana that Zita had travelled outside the country, ostensibly to seek maternal care, she had a lot of public bashing from persons who expressed surprise that a Minister for Tourism under the Mills administration did not find any hospital in Ghana worthy of her status, but had to travel to US just for maternal care.

Essien Vs Dad: The Full Story

Interview By Halifax Ansah-Addo
Essien Vs Dad: The Full Story
Soccer hero Michael Essien and his dad, James Essien, are trading accusations and counter accusations about who neglected who and the world is watching the tango between dad and son.
Michael has issued a detailed press statement on the matter and threatened to take a few media houses to court because he was unhappy about the way the story was carried and when News-One contacted James for an interview on the matter, he gave some shocking revelations.
We present excerpts of the interview as well as a full text of Michael’s press statement.
News-One: “You seem to be destroying your son with this claim that he has neglected you.
James Essien: “It is not true I am out to destroy Michael, at least I am proud he has sent my name to the international levels and if I played football for Gold Coast and my son is playing for Ghana, what can I say but to be proud of him but truth must also be said that Essien is not looking after me as he is making the world to believe”
News-One: Why is not looking after you as you are alleging
James Essien: I believe it is because he grew up with the mother, Aba, so he is closer to her and takes care of her but I am an old man and I cannot tell lies against my own son, Michael does not care about me. I have not seen him for the past 15 years and I have not spoken to him for the past six years because I do not even have his number, let alone contact him and his mother has refused to give me the number; the sister, Diana also says she does not have the number”
News-One: But you know where to contact him when he is in Ghana.
James Essien: “No I do not. There was this time I heard he was in Ghana and would be training at the stadium so I dressed in my best cloths and travelled all the way to Accra…After the training I went to the dressing room but when my son saw me, he bent his head as if he was lacing his boots and remained there for over 15 minutes so I went to him and raised his head.
“Michael asked me who brought me to the stadium and it came to me as a surprise and I told him I was playing football at the stadium before he was born….When he got ready to leave I followed him to his car and reminded him that I came to see him for a discussion but he insisted he was busy.
“I then asked for transportation back home but he did not give me and asked me to meet him at Novotel the next Monday. I managed to perch with friends in Accra and finally got to Novotel on Monday only to be told Michael Essien left the country Friday night soon after my meeting with him”
News-One: Could it be he was hurt because you neglected him as a child?
James Essien: “Ha ha ha ha. I did not neglect Michael. When the mother and I broke up, he was about two years so all the children stayed with her but they always came to me during festivals and some holidays, it was after he got to France that I stopped hearing from him and had never had his number.
“I looked after him and I was the one who even sent him to Sewedro Secondary school after his JSS. On that day I even had an accident and this is a story many people in Sewedro still remember. From there he had a scholarship to St. Augustine.
“I must confess I was not sending him money when he was in school but it was not deliberate because I was not having money at the time… I did my best to look after him but as a revenue collector what could I have done. I took him to secondary school, when he had the Liberty opportunity I played a major role. You ask Alhaji Sly Tetteh.”
News-One: What about the three-bed room house he built for you?
James Essien: “This is where I live; a mud house built by my brother many years ago even before Michael was born. It is the room in which I stay that he renovated and added a hall. He has never built me a house. I do not believe he wrote that statement himself.”
News-One: He claims he sends you money for your up-keep and car maintenance.
James Essien: “Yes once in a while he sends me GH¢500 (about $400) but the money is not regular and at times has about six months interval. As for the car, it is still at the workshop because there is no money to repair it. I am the third person to own that car and it is not as new as you think.
News-One: Is it true he pays for your medical bills and sent you to the Asikuma Hospital?
James Essein: “If Michael Essien says he sent me to Assikuma Hospital, it is a big lie; it is a traditional medicine man that comes here to take care of me.”
News-One: “If you had a message for your son, what would it be?
James Essien: “Oh I want to see him. We should live as father and son. It is not that I am interested in burdening him with my problems. I was taking care of myself before Michael was born and since then I still take care of myself; look I was born on 28th September 1932 so I not a small boy and there is very little I still expect from this life. But Michael is my son, my blood, the one that makes me proud all over the world and I must at least be made to feel like a father but not a stranger to him. I would want him to know I still love him as my child and follow his career and all his games. In fact there are things I want to tell him as a father, things I want to tell him in person.”
News-One: Thank you for the opportunity.
James Essien: Thank you and tell those who do not believe what I am saying to come here to see things for themselves.”
FULL MICHAEL ESSIEN STATEMENT TO THE PRESS ON FATHER’S CLAIMSI have faced many many difficult challenges in my life but this is the hardest thing I have ever done as my heart bleeds over the false statements recently peddled by a small section of the Ghanaian media goaded by my own father.
I had never wanted to discuss my family in public or any good I do to anyone because when you do good, you go only for God’s recognition.
But for the thousands of Ghanaians and the highly respectable people of our country who have contacted me and know what I have consistently done for my father, I need to react to stop the attempt to destroy me in the eyes of the people of Ghana and disgrace my family.
Given what I have done for my father, when I was told of the false, vile and degrading comments he made about me, I wept because people normally do not get insults for doing good.
But my father decided to pay me back in such a terrible way. Because of this I have been unfortunately forced to say what I have done for him because he has gone to the extreme to disgrace my family. I will like to state the following facts:
1. My father currently lives in a three-bedroom house (not mud house) I instructed my sister to build for him with my own money.
2. He is visited monthly and more recently twice a week by my sister Diana on my orders to regularly give him money and other essentials I send. My mother, whom he has insulted so much, also provides for him.
3. I bought a car for him to make his transportation easier and part of the money I provide for him is used to fuel the car or repair it when it breaks down.
4. When his illness broke out I asked for him to be taken to the Asikuma Hospital but he said he wants traditional medicine. I provided money for him to undergo traditional treatment. It came to nothing and I ordered for him to be taken to the hospital. My family, I believe have also organised for a nurse to come home and look after him on regular basis.

Because of these reasons and many more reasons I won’t state publicly, I am shocked by what he is alleged to have said but God knows I have done my best to thoroughly look after a man who didn’t even raise me or take part in my upbringing and who has 8 other children who can help.
What has surprised me though is how certain media houses in Ghana can present one side of a story and not seek to check the other side before going all out to criticise my whole family.
I want to state here categorically that even after such distasteful comments; I will continue to support my father as I believe it is the right thing to do.
I will not discuss this matter further as I have asked my legal team in Ghana to investigate all the allegations and the media that callously carried out this agenda and take action where necessary.
Thank you
Signed: Michael Essien.

Akwapim Chief Wild Over Sex....“…Arse-hole…Motherfucker…I’ll Shoot You…”

News-One of Wednesday Dec. 16, 2009

Talks making the rounds are that the Tufuhene of Akropong- Akwapim, Nana Yaw Ampem Darko, known in private life as George Darko of ‘Ako Te Brofo’ fame, may be one of the persons behind the pornography sex scandal that hit the area recently.
Though the reports are not yet confirmed, George Darko, an ace musician, has denied that he was one of the persons who got a number of girls from the area to strip naked and allow their photos to be taken for a pornographic production which would be sold in Germany.
News-One gathered that when Happy FM in Accra first broke the story, George Darko went to the station twice to deny that he had a his involvement in the scandal though his name had not been mentioned.
He had also spent a good part of his life in Germany, they very country where the said pornography is believed to be on sale and when News-One visited the Akropong area, several residents said it is strongly suspected that George Darko may have something to do with the matter.
The Chief cum musician got very angry and screamed all sorts of vulgarisms, curses and threats when News-One asked him of the reports. Below are excerpts of the interaction between George Darko and the News-One reporter.
Nana George Darko: You are a stupid idiot; a motherfucker arse-hole. Don’t ask me such a stupid question again. Do you hate me? Or is it the name George Darko you hate? Have I called your girl friend?
Reporter: I don’t have a problem with you.
Nana George Darko: Why would you put such a calamity on me? Tell me one reason.
Reporter: I have not done what you are alleging.
Nana George Darko: Look my brother if I had a gun in front of me, I would have killed you. I swear my father. I swear God, I would have killed you.
Reporter: You are threatening the life of a journalist with a gun
Nana George Darko: And so what
Reporter: And you call yourself a Chief?
Nana George Darko: If I have not done something and you want to soil my reputation what do you want me to do? I have worked for my name and I respect my name and I know what God has done for me and I don’t want you to tarnish my reputation.
Reporter: I asked you a simple question and you insulted everything on me; from my motherfucker to me arse-hole.
Nana George Darko: And so what?
Reporter: And so you are being unfair to me.
Nana George Darko: Your motherfucker and so what? You are soiling me reputation and it is your motherfucker you are concerned about? What you told me was that you hear I am one of the persons behind this thing….
Reporter: Don’t I have the right to hear things?
Nana George Darko: You have the right to hear things and so what?
Reporter: And don’t I have the right to ask questions?
Nana George Darko: You have done your conclusions before asking the questions. How can I George Darko indulge in such a shameful act? You should not have even mentioned that and let me tell you have thrown the baby away with the bath water okay?
Reporter: Nana, I would lodge a complaint of threat to murder against you.
Nana George Darko: I don’t care….You should have asked me that what is going on and I would tell you everything. But when you ask me that you have heard I am one of the people behind this thing, charley, I swear God, I swear my God-damn motherfucker, I swear my stool and everything, that look, I don’t know you but anyway God save you.
About 200 of the said photos available to News-One appeared completely different from the ones in the conventional pornographic magazines. Many of the girls had horrible “vital statistics” with very bushy and unkempt pubic hairs.
While some appeared to be teenagers and had sores and blisters on their bodies, others were nursing mothers with pot bellies and even went along with their babies. Many of them even had unclean panties aka ‘pioto’, with holes in them.

Ghana’s Creeping Lunacy

By Halifax Ansah-Addo
Jaws dropped in Ghana when news broke that two adult men, including a primary school teacher, had been stripped naked and paraded in town by some armed soldiers on official duty in the Northern sector of the country.
Neighbors of the two naked men who attempted to go to their rescue were beaten and shoved aside as the men were marched to a basic school in the community and mocked before several children including some pupils of one of the naked men.
The episode is not different from what Ghanaian soldiers do to any civilian they spot wearing any form of military camouflage material. Even when the camouflage has not been sown as an army uniform, the wearer would still be forced to remove it and hand over immediately. Yet many boutiques in Ghana have on sale designer clothing in the form of military camouflage.
The Ghana Armed Forces has been silent over this widely-spread development and it was thus not unexpected that once again, the military command came out to publicly deny the strip-naked story, even when the military had not conducted any form of investigations into the matter.
A fortnight later, Daily Guide, the paper I work for, produced a secret video recording of the episode. The video captured the two men being assaulted by soldiers dressed as if they were going to war. The two men had been stripped completely naked and were bleeding, apparently from severe torture they had endured from the soldiers.
The video also captured the soldiers pushing the muzzle of their guns into the mounts of the naked men whose hands had been tied at their backs.
Though the video captured the faces of the soldiers behind the abuses, no arrests had been made and many several other Ghanaians are continuously forced by soldiers to go naked in public anytime they are spotted wearing any form of military camouflage.
The insanity is gaining grounds and makes raised doubts whether indeed Ghana still deserves to be touted as an ‘icon of democracy in Africa’ where rule of law is respected.
In the Ghanaian culture, it is sacrilegious for a man to be forced to walk in town naked. It is taken that such a man has been stripped of his dignity, honor and self respect. It is tantamount to killing his very soul.

NDC Funded From Nigeria

Story By Halifax Ansah-Addo
Daily Guide of June 22, 2009

POLITICAL FEATHERS have been ruffled in the Rivers State of Nigeria over revelations that an amount of $3.5 million of Nigerian taxpayer’s money was secretly given to Ghana’s ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) to help the party finance its 2008 election campaign.

The laws of Ghana do not permit political parties to solicit sponsorship from a foreign country or non-Ghanaians.

The Rivers State Governor, Rt. Hon. Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi, is accused of having given out the said amount to the NDC and that it was allegedly channeled through former President Jerry John Rawlings, who visits the Rivers State quite often and is a personal friend of the governor’s.

Pointblanknews.com, a Nigerian-based online media house, first broke the news and the publisher, Jackson Ude, in a telephone interview with DAILY GUIDE alleged that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is currently investigating Governor Amaechi for money-laundering and financial misappropriation.

The report claimed that “according to credible sources, part of the money that Amaechi is struggling to reconcile in the books may have actually gone into providing funds for the ruling party in Ghana, an alleged contribution to the election of incumbent Ghanaian President, John Atta Mills. A whopping Four Hundred Million, about $3.5 million, was allegedly transferred to facilitate the process in Ghana.

“Former Ghanaian dictator, Flight Lt. Jerry John Rawlings (Retired), has been identified as the alleged conduit through which the huge sums were transferred to the ruling party in Ghana.

Rawlings has been a regular visitor to Rivers State. Another individual identified as a courier for Governor Amaechi is one Nyeson Wike, an aide to Amaechi.

“Amaechi is said to have also invested several millions in blue chip companies in Ghana. He and other Governors in Nigeria are said to have devised a new strategy of investing stolen loots from Nigeria to neighboring countries, and Ghana with its seemingly stable economy has become a favored destination. In the last one year, Amaechi is said to have stashed away over one billion Naira to selected companies in Ghana, in a manner designed to beat the watchful eyes of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) who are still investigating the State for money laundering.”

Jackson Ude told DAILY GUIDE that the Office of the Rivers State Governor has decided not to comment on the allegation with an excuse that that the office is already being investigated for other financial issues.

DAILY GUIDE could also not get the Governor to comment on the story as attempts to reach him proved futile and he did not reply several e-mails sent to him to request for an interview.

CHOICE FM UNDER ATTACK

Story by Halifax Ansah-Addo
Daily Guide of Friday, June 19, 2009.
CHOICE FM, an Accra based private radio station, has been ordered not to broadcast a political current affairs programme it intends to start airing from this Saturday.
Promotional adverts for the programme, ‘Ghana Speaks’ has already started running on air when the station was yesterday warned that it would be broadcasting the program at the risk of the Host losing his life and the station running into problems.
Choice Fm belongs to Fred Oware, who was recently sacked by government from his position as Chief Executive Officer of the Bui Hydro Energy Development Project.
The threatening order, which was first sent in the form of a telephone call and a sms text message from a telephone number 0244371682, was reinforced by three men who stormed the station yesterday and introduced themselves to the General Manager, Raymond Afaga-Chie, as National Security agents.
The agents, said they had ‘orders from above’ to order the station not to broadcast the program because the promotional advert was injurious to the government in power and the Host, Martin Adjei-Mensah, is a know student leader of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP).
Mr. Raymond Afaga-Chie in an interview with Daily Guide yesterday said the three intruders appeared mean and demanded to have a blue print of the programme’s contents and synopsis for the weeks to come.
“They were shouting on me to tell them the aim of the programme but I asked them to listen to the promo because it says it all and moreover we are a private station so I am not accountable to them in any way.
“I was surprised that they did not want to show their ID cards and when I insisted, one of them went back to the car only to come back and say they were from National security so I better cooperate with them in my own interest” Mr. Afaga-Chie added.
The promo of the programme raises questions on whether or not the new government had lived up to expectation in the last six months or it had been given more than it can handle.
The threatening sms which was sent to Martin Adjei-Mensah’s phone read: “How can you, a onetime serving President of TESCON NPP wing host a programme; it is because you want to be biased. You useless bastard. Stars it and you will see if you want to see something. BIG FOOL. We would finish you.”
Though Adjei-Mensah admitted he was a former President of the students’ wing of the NPP at the University of Ghana Legon, he said the programme would be an objective one and would follow the ethics of broadcasting.
Choice Fm says it would go ahead to air the programme this Saturday at 7pm and the issue had been reported to the Police for investigations.

Story by Halifax Ansah-Addo
Daily Guide of Thursday June 18 2009

STEPHEN ASAMOAH-Boateng, the ‘most wanted’ former Information Minister, yesterday packed his toothbrush and paste, cosmetics and toiletries, cloths and boxer shorts plus a King James bible and followed his wife; pretty-faced Zuleika to the headquarters of the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI).
National Security agents, yesterday morning, pounced on Zuleika at her residence in an attempt to arrest her after they had gone to the Tantra Hill residence of her mother to throw their weights about and issue wild threats of arrest.
Asamoah-Boateng’s family packed their toiletries and panties to the BNI because they are unsure on when and if they would be given back their freedom to return home; already, his sister-in-law, 25-year old Yasmin Damoah, who was arrested without charge last Tuesday morning passed the night at the bureau and it is uncertain when she would be released or allowed to speak to her lawyers.
Perhaps, Asamoah- Boateng’s years of experience from living as in exile as a political refugee has taught him a few lessons in responding to invitations from national security greyhounds; especially when such invitations are politically motivated.
The untamed hunt for Zuleika and her relatives is part of a government agenda to throw the hangman’s noose on the neck of her husband, Mr. Asamoah-Boateng, over reports that an in-law of his had shares in a company that won an GHC86, 915.85 government contract last year.
Reports are that a top government official has whispered to the President that Mr. Asamoah-Boateng wrongly influenced the award of the said contract to Plexiform, thus the BNI has been unleashed to do a meticulous investigation to prove the allegation so as to get the ex-Minister under lock and key.
Zuleika’s arrest yesterday has to do with allegations from government that she “obstructed justice” when she dramatically snatched her husband’s passport from some BNI agents at the Kotoka International Airport last Sunday and kept it on a part of her body where no sane man would dare remove.
This happened after the said agents ambushed Asabee, Zuleika and their two kids aged four and two at the Airport and physically prevented them from boarding a British Airways flight to London; flight after delaying for an hour, was eventually ordered to off-load the checked-in luggage of Asamoah-Boateng and his family.
The agents, who refused to disclose their identity cards, claimed Asabee could not travel because he was to report to the BNI the next day; they seized his passport and those of his family and he was neither told the reason for the invitation nor shown any arrest warrant.
Asabee had since rejected the invitation and insisted that he would only respond to a formal invitation and not a verbal one from agents who would not disclose their identity.
Deputy Minister for Information, Okudjato Ablakwa, in an interview on the issue said “Stephen Asamoah-Boateng is being investigated for corruption, conflict of interest and abuse of office.”
Meanwhile, Plexiform upon completion of the contract has not been paid as a result of a presidential directive that the payment should be halted.
The Acting Chief Director at the Ministry, D.A.Y. Sampong, apparently displeased over the issue, has fired a letter to the Office of the President, asking that the President authorizes the release of funds for the payment of the contract because the Ministry went through “the necessary procurement processes to award the contract to M/S Plexiform Ventures”.
The Ag Chief Director noted that “the Ministry was on the verge of issuing the cheque to the company when a directive was received from the office of the President that all payments should not be made prior to approval by the Office of the President.”
The contract was awarded after it had properly gone through tender and the Ministry’s Entity Tender committee, of which Mr. Asamoah-Boateng was not a member, had accepted the Evaluation Report and unanimously agreed that out of the three companies that bid for the contract, Plexiform Ventures stood tall in aptitude, yet had the lowest price quotation and period to execute the contract.