A Deputy Communications Director of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), Kamal Deen Abdulai, has described a press conference by the Director General of the Ghana Maritime Authority, Kwame Owusu, as being a poor approach to reacting to allegations levelled against him. Mr. Owusu, who has been accused of blowing an amount of GH¢135,125 on an end-of-year party for staff last year and another GH¢10,652 on food at Luxe Suites Hotel, a facility he allegedly owns, organized a press conference to clear his name. The press conference followed some ‘leaked’ memos by Director of Administration at GMA, which revealed GH¢135,125 and the GH¢10,652 paid to Luxe Suites Hotel. It attracted public outcry. Transport Minister Kwaku Ofori Asiamah directed the governing board of the Authority to investigate the allegations, a directive which again has raised eyebrows among the public. In the press conference, Mr. Owusu admitted owning the hotel the monies were paid to and justified all the payments made. He was also accused of spending GH¢1 million to renovate his official residence, fixing 11 air conditioners, an allegation he justified as having passed a value-for-money test. The tone of the press conference, which many have described as harsh, touched on all the allegations he has been accused of. Speaking on the Saturday edition of TV3’s New Day, Kamal Deen said even though the Director General may have a point, his approach was not the best. “Even though the Director General of the GMA may have a case, it ought to have been properly planned and packaged,” he said referring to the press conference. According to him, some things said during the press conference could have been better said if a lot of planning had gone into it, stressing “sometimes even a phrase can change everything”. In the former Nasara Coordinator’s view, sometimes “silence is golden”. Kamal Deen added that he particularly did not like the justification given to the installation of 11 air conditioners in a four-bedroom house. “That does not sound well,” Kamal Deen stressed. The NPP communicator observed that Mr. Owusu’s conscience should have been pricked by the ethics which govern public officers especially in awarding contracts. Source: 3news.com|Ghana]]>
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