This is Very Serious and still no answers!! 1.In a routine monitoring of Ghana’s overseas diplomatic activities, IMANI picked up that the country has returned to the practice of engaging American lobby firms to represent its interests in the United States paying several millions of dollars per year. 2.This was curious because the ruling party, when in Opposition, stridently criticised the practice, questioned the value, and lamented the amount of money spent on such exercises. They argued that the maintenance of a full diplomatic mission in the United States (in both New York and Washington DC, in fact) was sufficient to represent the full range of our interests in the United States, not least also because of the large diaspora of Ghanaian professionals, many of whom have deep connections across the political and economic landscape in that country. 3.Given that this matter of paid lobbyists has come up before one would have expected greater transparency on the part of the Administration in handling this matter. Yet, the Government did not so much as publish a single announcement. There was no international competitive bidding. Even if not by advertisement in the international press, a qualified bidding process could have been done by inviting several eligible lobby firms to submit expressions of interest. 4. Instead, we had to learn that Ghana has engaged Jefferson Waterman International (JWI) through compulsory disclosure requirements imposed on American lobby firms by US law. 5. We reached out to some of Ghana’s senior career Foreign Service professionals. We are certain that the contract was not reviewed by senior civil servants at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and that the input of our North America specialists were neither sought nor included. Is it true that every aspect of the engagement was designed by JWI and sent to the Flagstaff House for rubber-stamping by the deal’s cheerleaders? 6 Did the Government take careful note of the experience of Gambia, which after spending millions of dollars on a deal with JWI found out that few concrete results were being delivered, and consequently had to abrogate the contract? 7. What tangible output has been realised so far from our engagement with JWI? 8. We are reliably informed that the Attorney General was not asked for advice on whether this being an ‘international contract’ due Parliamentary process might apply 9. We believe that the Ghanaian public need a confirmation or denial of this engagement. 10. Two of the 4 disclosure Agreements with Govt of Ghana come with the Contracts attached. In 2011, the NDC under Atta Mills contracted JWI to provide lobbying services to the tune of $1,500,000 ( $1.5 Million Dollars) for a period of one year. JWI Lobbying firm contracted by Ghana and 20th May 2014 as the day when they were contracted. If you click View and follow the link, youll find 4 registrations for the Govt of Ghana under JWI , The first one is 06/01/2001, Second one is :12/28/2010 , third : 01/14/2011 and fourth and final :05/20/2014 . See the Atta Mills contract @ fara.gov/docs/4990-Exhibit-AB-20110114-17.pdf- #Whypaymillionstolobbyistsforwhatexactly?
Posted on: Sat, 24 Jan 2015 05:06:43 +0000
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