GHc1m renovation: Maritime Authority board to blame – Yaw Oppong
Private Legal Practioner, Yaw Oppong, has said the Board of the Ghana
Maritime Authority should not be absolved in the controversy over
the GHc 1 million spent on the renovation of the Director General’s
official residence.
He even suggested that this controversy was cause for board members to resign.
“In a situation like this, no one may even have to call on you to resign,” Mr. Oppong remarked on The Big Issue.
Other than that, he said “if any of them thinks that they were
opposed to it [the renovation] and they feel strongly now, we should
hear them speak.”
The authority’s boss, Kwame Owusu, has borne the brunt of public
backlash though he has maintained that he followed due process in the
renovation, which was also plagued with accusations of conflict of
interest.
“It means that the body, the governing body has always been aware of
these matters going on and they have sanctioned it,” Mr. Oppong
surmised.
In view of this, he also said there was little cause to blame Mr. Owusu alone for the expenditure.
“There will be very little merit in even taking him out and blaming him
for it even though as a body, and he is part of it, he is also to blame
if there is any wrongdoing at the end of the day.”
As a statutory institution, the Maritime Authority board is made up
of a chairperson; the Director-General of the Authority; one
representative of the Ministry of Roads and Transport; one
representative of the Fisheries Commission; one representative of the
Ghana Navy; one representative of the Volta River Authority; one
representative of the Environmental Protection Agency; one
representative of the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority; one person
each from each of the following bodies nominated by the respective
members: Ghanaian registered ship owners; Ghana
Institute of Freight
Forwarders; Ghana Shippers Council; and two women with specialised
knowledge in the maritime industry nominated by the Minister.
Transport Minister orders probe
Meanwhile, the Minister of Transport, Kwaku Ofori Asiamah, has directed the board of the Ghana Maritime Authority to investigate the alleged misappropriations.
The Transport Minister in a statement said the board is expected to
make its findings available to him for an appropriate decision to be
made.
However, there are concerns about whether the board will do a fair job, considering their links to the Director General.
