Ghana’s Power Crisis: Dafeamekpor Demands Accountability and Urgent So

Ghana's Majority Chief Whip, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, has called for renewed investigations into the AKSA power deal and appropriate sanctions where breaches are established. His intervention comes as a US criminal case involving former Goldman Sachs banker Asante Kwaku Berko has revived questions in Ghana about alleged payments to public officials in connection with a power project with the Turkish energy company Aksa Enerji.

Fresh Inquiry Needed

Dafeamekpor believes Ghana should not simply rely on proceedings in the United States to determine what happened in a transaction involving Ghanaian institutions and officials. He pointed out that the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) had indicated that it provided substantial investigative assistance to US authorities, suggesting that Ghanaian institutions already have knowledge and information relevant to the case.

Dafeamekpor's argument is significant because the allegations concern a transaction that passed through Ghana's own governmental and parliamentary processes. The US case may determine the criminal liability of the accused before an American court, but Dafeamekpor believes Ghana must independently determine whether its own laws were breached and whether any Ghanaian actors should face consequences.

Criticizing Ghana's Approach to Accountability

Dafeamekpor also questioned the NPP's stated lack of confidence in the Attorney-General as the institution to lead any fresh Ghanaian investigation. He described that position as "very interesting", pointing out that the controversy has existed for more than 10 years. The Majority Chief Whip suggested that the Attorney-General's Office may previously have taken the view that it was prudent to wait for a final determination in the US before proceeding further in Ghana.

But with the US proceedings now providing renewed information and scrutiny, Dafeamekpor believes the time has come for Ghana to act. He warned that unless public officials and former office-holders are made genuinely accountable for wrongdoing, future generations will have little reason to take the country's institutions seriously.

Demand for Meaningful Sanctions

Dafeamekpor argued that the country frequently discusses allegations of corruption and misconduct at length but fails to impose sufficiently meaningful sanctions when wrongdoing is established. He said that leaving public office should not automatically protect an individual from accountability for decisions made while in office. The Majority Chief Whip emphasized that even if someone left office 10 years ago and some breaches and impropriety have been found as part of their work, they can still be held accountable.

He suggested that unless public officials and former office-holders are made genuinely accountable for wrongdoing, future generations will have little reason to take the country's institutions seriously. Dafeamekpor believes that institutional structures must ultimately be judged by whether they produce results, and it is against that background that he insisted that Ghana's response must not be allowed to lose momentum.

Pursuing the Investigation with Purpose

Dafeamekpor outlined what he sees as the logical end point of the process. The investigation, he said, should establish the facts, produce a report, and if anyone is found guilty, the law must take its course. He emphasized that the matter must not slack; they must pursue it with purpose and speed and dispatch.

The Majority Chief Whip's argument places the AKSA controversy within a much larger debate about Ghana's anti-corruption architecture. For him, institutional structures must ultimately be judged by whether they produce results. His call for renewed investigations and accountability has reignited the conversation about Ghana's broader approach to public accountability.

Source: JOY