Physician and political Analyst Dr Arthur Kennedy has alleged that the much disputed Agyapadie document is a blueprint for state capture by the incumbent government.
Speaking on Joy FM’s Newsfile, the analyst was alarmed by the dire consequences of ongoing impunity and corruption within the public sector.
Dr Kennedy argued that state capture in Ghana extends far beyond the mere sale of physical assets. He pointed out that the nation has hemorrhaged significant funds through various corrupt practices, including fraudulent contract awards and excessive judgment debts.
These, he suggested, have drained more resources from the public coffers than the sale of public assets.
“We’ve lost a lot of money through the fraudulent award of contracts even though we set up a Public Procurement Authority,” he said on Saturday.
He expressed deep concern over the prevailing culture of impunity, cautioning that it could steer the country towards instability.
“I worry that this culture of impunity that is going on can one day lead us to where we don’t want to go,” he told host Samson Lardy Anyenini on Saturday.
Highlighting specific instances of alleged state capture, Dr Kennedy cited the awarding of a Covid-19 testing contract at the Kotoka International Airport to a company that had not yet been registered in Ghana at the time.
“That is all part of the state capture and the whole Agyapadie document is a blueprint for state capture,” he stressed.
He warned that the mounting public frustration could lead to unforeseen consequences.
“The problem we have in our country is that there are a lot of people in our public space and governments whose sole purpose, regardless of the policy initiative, is to figure out how to milk the public space and transfer public resources into private hands for it to become private wealth. That is why there is so much incompetence.”
Since the Agyapadie document started circulation in the media, the governing New Patriotic Party has vehemently dismissed it as fake.
However, a section of Ghanaians believe that a lot of events currently happening in the country have long been mentioned in the Agyapadie document, making it difficult to believe that the document is fake.
