International audit firm, KPMG, has completed auditing the pink sheets at the heart of the election petition challenging the declaration of President John Dramani Mahama as the winner of the 2012 Presidential election.

The company is expected to present 15 copies of the final report to the registrar of the Supreme Court before 9 a.m. today.

Each of the nine justices of the court will be given copies, and so will all the parties in the case.

The extra copy will go to the Judicial Secretary.

This was disclosed to the Daily Graphic by a Senior Partner of KPMG, Mr Joe Winful, in Accra yesterday.

The Statement of Poll and Declaration of Results forms, also known as pink sheets, have been at the heart of the election petition because the petitioners — the presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo; his running mate, Dr Mahamadu Bawumia, and the Chairman of the NPP, Mr Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey — have alleged that gross and widespread irregularities took place on the face of the pink sheets from 11,842 polling stations.

Although they insist they supplied 11,842 pink sheets to prove claims of over-voting, persons voting without undergoing biometric verification, some presiding officers not signing the pink sheets and some polling stations having the same serial numbers, the respondents allege that they were not supplied with 11,842 pink sheets.

The petitioners are currently relying on 11,115 pink sheets to make their case for the annulment of more than four million votes.

Realising the controversy surrounding the actual number of pink sheets supplied to the Supreme Court Registry would not die down, the court, on May 9, 2013, appointed KPMG to audit the pink sheets.

The Audit

KPMG completed auditing the first set of pink sheets submitted to the Supreme Court Registry, issued a draft report on it and requested parties in the petition to respond to the draft report, but the court, on June 5, 2013, directed that the pink sheets of the President of the panel, Mr Justice William Atuguba, be used as control in the audit.

As a result of that, the Supreme Court, on June 13, 2013, adjourned proceedings to today to enable the audit firm to complete its work to allow parties to rely on the report to make their case for and against the annulment of more than four million votes.

“We will defend our work”

Mr Winful declined to disclose the content of the report on the grounds that the firm was appointed by the Supreme Court and it was only fair that the court be allowed to see the content first.

“We have done our professional work diligently and are prepared to defend our work when called to testify in the case,” he emphasised.

“We worked thoroughly and tirelessly, including weekends and sometimes up to 2 a.m., in order to finish the work on time,” he intimated.

Emergency Meeting

Reacting to the widely circulated report that lawyers for the petitioners had called for a meeting with the KPMG, Mr Winful explained that the meeting actually took place on Friday, June 21, 2013.

He indicated that the meeting was to iron out a few issues before the issuance of the final report on the audit.

The Petition

The hearing of the substantive petition began on April 17, 2013.

So far, Dr Bawumia and the General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr Johnson Asiedu Nketia, have testified for the petitioners and President Mahama, as well as the NDC, respectively.

The Chairman of the EC, Dr Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, began giving his evidence-in-chief on Thursday, May 30, 2013 and is currently being cross-examined by Mr Philip Addison, the lead counsel for the petitioners.

The petitioners have alleged that the December 7 and 8, 2012 presidential election was fraught with malpractices of over-voting, non-signing of pink sheets by some presiding officers or their assistants, voting without biometric verification and duplicated serial numbers of pink sheets.

However, President Mahama, the EC and the NDC have denied that any such irregularities occurred during the election.

Source: Daily Graphic

President John Dramani Mahama has declared that it is God who ordained him as the President of Ghana.

The President said this is evident in the late start of his campaign and how within that short period God intervened and crowned him President of Ghana.

Speaking at the 20th anniversary of the Mount Horeb Prayer Camp at Mamfe in the Eastern Region, President Mahama said the wonders God continues do in his life is something his opponents find it hard to come to terms with.

“And what they didn’t understand is that it is God who bestows leadership. During the campaign I declared that it was not by my might that I was going to be president of Ghana but that he who is above…that is why they [opposition parties] still cannot understand why a person will use 40 days to win an election in a country. But He who is above does wonderful things and He does what pleases Him.”

President Mahama also stated that God has blessed the country to the extent that foreigners even recognize that and keep applauding the progress being made in the country.

The President therefore said it is time Ghanaians realized these miracles and counted their blessings.

“Our nation has been successful, I feel proud when I go outside and they say oh this is the president of the Republic of Ghana and everybody wants to come up to say: oh Mr. President your country is doing very well; Mr. President your nation is blessed; Mr. President your nation is leading in Africa.

“And I say why is it that everybody else outside the world sees that our nation is doing well, but we alone here in this country say that our country is the worse hell hole in the world?” he asked.

Head and Founder of the Prayer Camp Prophet Nii Okai, wants the Health Ministry to collaborate with churches in dealing with mental health challenges.

The Mount Horeb Prayer camp aside its spiritual duties, also caters for mentally challenged patients.

President Mahama was accompanied by a team of government ministers and other government officials.

Source: Myjoyonline.com

Deputy information minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa says the recent Supreme Court rulings concerning Waterville and Isofoton have vindicated him, contrary to attempts by “detractors” to sully him with the latter ruling, in particular.

Read the full statement below

I have become aware of the Judgment delivered by the Supreme Court today, Friday the 21st of June, 2013 on the Isofoton case and matters relating to my person that have arisen in the aftermath in media discussions.

I have also observed that despite that fact that I wasn’t mentioned anywhere in the judgment and that though I was not a party in this case neither do I have any personal interest whatsoever in this case, it has been the agenda of political detractors to make this case about me.

These political detractors failed ahead of the 2012 elections and they have failed again.

I feel vindicated by the two judgments that our Supreme Court have so far handed down in the Waterville and Isofoton cases as they have highlighted the recklessness with which contracts were entered into without Parliamentary approval as required by Article 181 (5) of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana and thereby rendering subsequent payments wrongful.

When we launched what became known as the sunlight campaign on judgment debts a year ago, we made the point that Ghanaians deserve to know the whole truth and that in the final analysis they will agree with us that public officials could have done better to protect scarce national resources.

It is rather ironic and indeed shameful that politicians who have been indicted in both judgments for failing to seek parliamentary approval in such international financial transactions hence actively contributing to the losses Ghana has incurred are rather seeking cheap political profit from these judgments.

One would have thought that this was a time for sober reflection amongst former and present public officials including the educated class in Ghana but it will appear that there is still a misdirected army out there determined to obfuscate and spin the obvious to achieve selfish ends.

Political opponents who seek to vilify me because I had honestly confirmed earlier that I called the former Attorney General on a specific petition brought to the Ministry of Information by Isofotun SA ought to realise that no matter how hard they try, they cannot succeed in changing the mandate of the Ministry of Information as it has always been and their mud will not stick on me no matter how many times they throw it.

As I have always maintained, I placed that call within the mandate of the Ministry of Information which is to provide information to the public and to provide feedback to Government and that such two-way communication is a very common feature within any Government communication all over the world.

People have asked if there was any additional motivation for this particular call. My answer is in the affirmative.

My additional motivation was the hope that the feedback I was providing based on the petition brought to the Ministry of Information might lead to the prosecution of political leaders whose actions and inactions had brought about the situation where all manner of claims were being made by companies and individuals against the government.

It was my considered view that those who created the conditions for these claims to be made on government by all manner of companies and individuals ought to be held accountable.

Current developments from these two Supreme Court judgments have proven that I had justification for my motivation then.

This is why I still hold the humble view that we must go beyond retrievals of wrongfully paid judgment debts which per the records available accounts for a fewer percentage of overall judgment debts paid and ensure that public officials whose conduct have brought all of us to this disgraceful juncture are held accountable.

We must not be afraid to utilize the laws on causing financial loss to the State. I have always believed that that is the only way we can stop the saga of no parliamentary approval, illegal abrogation, wrongful payments and general capriciousness.

I still hold the view that this judgment debt phenomenon is too important an issue to be left in the realm of political spin and that is why when on the 16th of July 2012 during the Sunlight Campaign press briefing at which we made public a letter NPP Flag bearer Nana Akufo-Addo had written to Government requesting that Government pays the Great Cape Company and that it will be “unconscionable” if Government did not pay, we refrained from attacking Nana Addo and calling him names such as “judgment debt engineer” as we were being tagged.

Indeed our posture was that we will not engage in naked hypocrisy and empty name calling. Indeed at that press conference, I stated that “This Judgment Debt issue presents a challenge to the nation.

It stretches from arbitrary exercise of power, illegal abrogation of contractual obligations, vindictive and petty politics, wrongful payments, weak institutional capacity and its attendant dire consequences for the Ghanaian taxpayer.”

It is amazing that principle and logic seems to have eluded those who seek to hang me because I brought a petition to the attention of the Attorney General and yet find nothing wrong with Nana Addo’s 3rd October 2011 letter to Government in which he categorically demands that the Great Cape Company of Switzerland be paid $1,117,818.45 (one million, one hundred and seventeen thousand eight hundred and eighteen dollars and forty five cents).”

I know deep down my heart that I have and continue to serve my country and the good people of North Tongu honourably. I have and do remain faithful to my oath of office as a Deputy Minister and a Member of Parliament and for which I shall keep my head up.

I have confidence in the judgment of discerning Ghanaians and most importantly I am exceedingly humbled by the fact that I have a clear conscience before my maker.

Good will triumph over evil and Ghana shall prevail.

21st June, 2013.

Source: Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa Deputy Minister of Education (Tertiary)

The Supreme Court has handed another victory in favour of former Attorney General Martin Amidu, this time against Spanish Company Isofoton.

The company has been ordered by the court to refund monies illegally paid to it in the name of judgement debt.

Per the ruling Isofoton is expected to cough up $325,472 and the interest accrued on the amount since 2011- the year in which the monies were paid.

Isofoton were seeking in excess of 1.3 million judgement debt over claims their contract was illegally terminated by government.

They were alleged to have been contracted to execute a rural solar electrification project in 2006, but the then government upon further scrutiny re-awarded the contract to another Spanish Company Elecnor.

With the arrival of a new government, Isofoton accused the erstwhile NPP government of illegally abrogating a valid contract and demanded judgement debts to be paid to them.

In what former Deputy Information Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa described as “sunlight campaigns” on judgement debts, the government under the late President Mills paid part of the claims by Isofoton following a default judgement at the High Court.

The government accused the then government with specific reference to former Chief of Staff Kwadwo Mpiani of single-handedly abrogating a valid contract signed with Isofoton, an allegation Mpiani vehemently denied.

But Martin Amidu who was sacked as Attorney General for “misconduct” was convinced Isofoton had no legitimate basis to make any claims against the state.

Not cowed by his dismissal, Amidu who described himself as “citizen vigilante” proceeded to the Supreme Court as a concerned citizen and sought nine declarations from the Supreme Court, including the illegal payment as judgement debt to Isofoton SA.

He argued the Spanish company had no valid contract, approved by Parliament to be making such claims against the state.

In a ruling delivered Friday, the Court agreed with the arguments by the plaintiff and ordered the defendant to refund the monies paid to it.

Joy News’ Anny Osabutey reported the judges were unanimous in their decision.

The ruling comes exactly a week after Martin Amidu won a similar case against Waterville holdings in yet another judgement debt scandal.

Source: Myjoyonline.com