Amid the recent money heist scandal involving the former Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, Cecilia Abena Dapaah, Dr Henry Kwabena Kokofu, the Chief Executive Officer of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), has come to her defence. He has urged the public to exercise caution in their judgment and commentary on the matter.
The accusations in question involve the alleged theft of substantial sums of money from Cecilia Abena Dapaah’s home, amounting to US$1 million, €300,000, and 350,000 Ghana cedis.
While acknowledging that keeping such significant amounts of money at home is not advisable, Dr Kokofu cautioned against forming premature conclusions and engaging in trial by public opinion.
He emphasized the importance of allowing proper investigative processes to take place before reaching any verdict.
During a panel discussion on Accra-based TV3, Dr Kokofu suggested that the possibility of raising $1 million through legitimate means should not be ruled out. He drew attention to the high value of land in exclusive areas like East Legon, where individual land sales could easily accumulate such funds.
“The point is until investigations prove otherwise, we are here in this country and you go to East Legon and other lands are being sold for $150,000 per plot…and even more, so $200,000 per plot, so if somebody has five plots and sells them, $1,000,000 is on hand easily…I am trying to say that, how you can realize money in the scheme of things, legally without necessarily engaging in corruption…”
The EPA CEO emphasized the need to allow proper investigative processes to take place before reaching any conclusions regarding the allegations against Cecilia Abena Dapaah. He cautioned against assuming guilt prematurely and advocated for a fair and thorough investigation.
The former minister, in her resignation letter addressed to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has denied the exaggerated reports surrounding the alleged theft and stepped down from her position to avoid any potential distractions for the government.
In the letter, she clarified that the reports of theft in her home, as portrayed in the media, were grossly exaggerated. She refuted the figures mentioned in the reports and affirmed that they did not accurately represent what she and her husband had reported to the Police.
“Since yesterday, Friday, July 21, 2023, social and traditional media have been full of stories about a court case involving a theft that took place last year in the home I live with my husband and daughter. The stories sought to suggest that I own various huge sums of foreign currencies and millions of Ghana cedis which have been stolen from my home. Whereas I can state emphatically that those figures do not represent correctly what my husband and I reported to the Police, I am very much aware of the import of such stories around someone in my position.
“I am resigning therefore because I do not want this matter to become a preoccupation of government and a hindrance to the work of government at such a crucial time,” parts of the letter read.
