VZCZCXRO0850
PP RUEHMA RUEHPA
DE RUEHAR #1068/01 2811314
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 081314Z OCT 09 ZDK PER SERVICE ZDK
FM AMEMBASSY ACCRA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8352
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 0344

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ACCRA 001068 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: PGOV KCRM PREL GH
SUBJECT: Mills under pressure to act following corruption 
allegations against NDC officials 
 
ACCRA 00001068  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1. (U) Summary: President Mills' commitment to aggressively fight 
corruption is under scrutiny following a September 25 guilty plea by 
British company Mabey and Johnson (M&J), in which the company 
admitted paying 470,000 pounds in bribes to eight current and former 
Ghanaian officials during the 1990s in return for government 
contracts.  Reports implicate the current Health Minister and a 
Minister of State, senior members of the government of former 
President Jerry Rawlings, and one New Patriotic Party (NPP) member 
who served as a minister under former President Kufuor.  President 
Mills has called for a swift investigation of the allegations, and 
sent Minister of Justice/Attorney General Betty Mould Idrissu to 
London to meet with British prosecutors and the UK's Serious Fraud 
Office.  The first casualty in this case appears to be Alhaji Baba 
Kamara, who was withdrawn October 7 as Mills' choice as High 
Commissioner to Nigeria. End Summary. 
 
¶2. (U) On September 25 the UK's Serious Fraud Office (SFO) convicted 
M&J on corruption charges relating to contracts in Ghana from 
1994-99. According to press reports, M&J pled guilty to paying 
470,792.60 pounds to eight Ghanaian officials to secure government 
contracts.  The following officials were named as having received 
payments: 
 
-- George Sipa Yankey, current Health Minister; 
-- Kwame Peprah, former Finance Minister and current Social Security 
and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) Board chairman; 
-- Dr. Ato Quarshie, former Roads & Highways Minister; 
-- Boniface Abubakar Saddique, former NPP Minister for Water 
Resources, Works & Housing (Note: After serving in the Rawlings 
government in the Finance Ministry, Saddique joined the rival NPP 
and served as Minister for Water in the Kufuor government. End 
Note); 
-- Amadu Seidu, current Minister of State at the Presidency and 
former Deputy Minister for Roads & Highways. 
-- Daniel Ofori-Atta, former M&J agent in Ghana, and Chairman of the 
EGLE party; 
-- Edward Lord Attivor, former official of the Ministry of Roads & 
Highways; and 
-- Baba Kamara, High Commissioner-designate to Nigeria 
 
¶3. (U) President Mills has directed the Attorney General to 
investigate the allegations. Former President Rawlings, during whose 
administration the contracts were awarded, has praised President 
Mills' "swift response" and cautioned against "hesitancy and 
inaction" in dealing with it. 
 
¶4. (U) Attorney General Betty Mould Idrissu announced that the 
Ghanaian government has launched an investigation into whether 
Ghanaian politicians accepted bribes.  She stated that the 
allegations are "practices that many of us find unacceptable," and 
confirmed that her office is acquiring additional details on the 
matter from British authorities. 
 
¶5. (SBU) On October 6, President Mills' media advisor Mije Barnor 
told POL FSN that the President is "determined" to deal with this 
case.  Barno noted that there is no sign that either of the current 
ministers intends to resign, and said that Mills is awaiting the 
AG's recommendation on how to proceed.  He said he expects that the 
case will be referred to government prosecutors for further action, 
and added that there may be additional names involved in the scandal 
(notably NPP officials) who took over responsibility for contracts 
after the NDC left office. 
 
¶6. (SBU) On October 7, Barnor told us that President Mills had 
decided to withdraw Baba Kamara's name as High Commissioner 
designate to Nigeria.  Kamara was a close advisor to President 
Rawlings in the 1990s, serving as NDC Treasurer, and, according to 
the M&J Indictment, was "political overseer" of the Ministry of 
Roads and Highways.  Kamara is alleged to have acted as M&J's agent 
in Ghana to corruptly steer business to the company. 
 
¶7. (U) [Note: In another high-profile corruption case, Ghanaian 
prosecutors indicted former ambassador to Japan Barfour 
Adjei-Barwuah.  Adjei-Barwuah, who served under the Kufuor 
administration, is accused of transferring funds donated by a 
Japanese corporation to support education in Ghana, to a private 
foundation he controlled.  The malfeasance was uncovered by the 
Ghana Audit Service in an audit that covered the period April 1, 
2007 to June 30, 2009. End Note]. 
 
¶8. (SBU) Comment: During the campaign, Mills and the NDC repeatedly 
highlighted corruption allegations against the NPP, and the NPP has 
complained that the government has pursued corruption investigations 
in a partisan manner to punish the former government.  For these 
reasons, the Mills Administration is under pressure to act on these 
allegations against its own officials to avoid accusations of 
hypocrisy.  Furthermore, the close margin between the two parties in 
the last election underlines the NDC's need to demonstrate 
seriousness in addressing corruption, as perceptions of corruption 
are widely seen as having weakened public support for former 
 
ACCRA 00001068  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
President Kufuor's government.  Mills has signaled his seriousness 
by sending the AG to London to personally deal with the case. 
However, this case will test the capabilities of Ghana's 
anti-corruption bodies, which have historically been under-resourced 
and suffered from weak political support.  End Comment. 
 
FURUTA-TOY