Kweku Ricketts-Hagan, a former Deputy Minister of Finance and current member of parliament (MP) for Cape Coast South, has referred to Cecilia Abena Dapaah’s decision to hold sizable sums of foreign currency in her residence as illegal.
The former Minister’s actions, according to Mr. Ricketts-Hagan, are both illegal and unpatriotic, given that Ghana was going through a difficult time and required dollars to escape a debt cycle when she had that much money at home.
The MP for Cape Coast South cynically suggested that the government ask some of its appointees to bring out the cash they are purportedly keeping to support the faltering Cedi.
“It is against the law to be keeping that much dollars in anybody’s house. And you will have to have a good explanation why you have $1 million in your house, especially when the person we are talking about is a government official.
“$1 million sitting in your house means you are keeping $1 million out of the economy and creating an artificial shortage. And with Cecilia Dapaah’s incident, maybe government appointees can save the economy better than the International Monetary Fund (IMF) when they bring out their dollars. It is a worrying situation. And you are actually keeping dollars and creating an artificial shortage because we don’t know how many people we have out there keeping $1 million.”
Ricketts-Hagan
On Friday, July 21, it was revealed that two of the Minister’s housekeepers were being prosecuted by the Accra Circuit Court for allegedly taking money in the amount of $1 million, $300,000, and millions of Ghanaian cedis in October 2022 from the former Minister’s home in Abelenkpe, Accra.
Between July and October 2022, the two, Sarah Agyei, 30, and Patience Botwe, 18, are accused of stealing the couple’s money and personal belongings. Both of them are accused of stealing US$1 million, €300,000, and millions of Ghana cedis, as well as conspiring to conduct a crime on one count. Inquiries on Cecilia Dapaah also, are now being conducted by the Special Prosecutor’s Office.
Cecilia Dapaah Defended
On his part, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Akim Oda, Alexander Akwasi Acquah, responded by defending the former Sanitation Minister in the face of claims of the monies being stolen.
The legislator stated it is unfair for Ghanaians to criticize her without solid proof of any misconduct on her part.
The Oda MP claimed that the house girls who have been charged with theft should receive the blame, rather than Cecilia Dapaah. He raised concern over politicians who he believes ought to be restrained from taking advantage of the circumstance for their personal political gain.
Moreover, he stressed that the censure should be aimed against those who committed the theft, even though he admitted that people should not necessarily praise her for leaving her post. He emphasized that although Cecilia Dapaah’s resignation letter implies she believes she is innocent, the public’s response has been overly severe, making her situation seem like she is about to be put to death.
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