Anti-corruption activist Oliver Baker Vormawor has commended The Fourth Estate for exposing questionable deals in public institutions while criticising the state for failing to take the initiative in fighting corruption.
In a post on Facebook, Vormawor said independent journalists have proven that allegations of wrongdoing are not fabricated. “If The Fourth Estate, a bunch of journalists had not taken the trouble to investigate NSS and SML, they would have said our claims of corruption were made up. And that we hate those God has blessed.”
He argued that the absence of state-led investigations enables corruption. “Imagine all those the Fourth Estate haven’t investigated. The State makes thieves millions because it refuses to investigate,” he stated.
Vormawor added that public institutions are complicit in wrongdoing. “The State itself is guilty of abetment, conspiracy to rob and kill us,” he wrote.
He called for a national shift in governance approach. “We need a vision for Ghana. We won’t achieve it doing the same things over and over again. ORAL is the answer! If not the 4th Republic will fail. In fact, it must. Shalom.”
In related developments, President John Dramani Mahama has cancelled all contracts between the Government of Ghana and Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited (SML). The update was shared by investigative journalist Manasseh Azure Awuni.
According to Manasseh, the decision follows the work of the Office of the Special Prosecutor. The cancellation covers downstream and upstream petroleum operations as well as the mining sector.
He noted that the SML agreement was valued at over $500 million for the first five years and was renewable for an additional five years. He said the contract would have guaranteed fixed revenue for SML across the three sectors.
Manasseh said the investigation was conducted together with journalists Adwoa Adobea-Owusu and Evans Aziamor-Mensah. He described the deal as one “masterminded by the fugitive Ken Ofori-Atta.”
