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The experienced journalist Abdul Malik Kweku Baako has turned the case of DK Poison against the government of Ghana.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has ordered that the $ 45,000 that Ghana owes popular Ghanaian professional boxer David Kotei, affectionately called DK Poison, be paid for “compassionate reasons.”
A letter signed by the president’s secretary, Nana Asante Bediatuo, read: “I am writing to convey the approval of the President of the Republic in the amount of forty-five thousand US dollars (US $ 45,000.00) to be paid to Mr. David Kotei (alias DK Poison) for compassionate reasons.”
Background
DK Poison, 69, has complained bitterly over the years about how he loaned the Ghanaian government a huge amount of money, but has not been repaid.
He narrated giving $ 45,000 from his $ 75,000 purse from his second title defense against Japan’s Shig Fukuyama to the government of Ignatius Kutu Acheampong in 1976.
The money was earmarked for the purchase of some basic goods for the state, but 44 years later, the renowned retired boxer has made numerous attempts to get his money back and all attempts have proved futile.
There have been incessant calls on successive governments to return the money, but none of the governments paid much attention to DK Poison’s pleas until now that President Nana Akufo-Addo has asked for the refund to be made.
In October last year, he met with President Akufo-Addo and during his interaction with the president he reiterated his case, which received a favorable response.
President Akufo-Addo promised to resolve the claim, requiring his letter to finally pay the money to the former World Boxing Council (WBC) featherweight champion.
Kweku Baako gets angry
Kweku Baako, speaking with host Kwami Sefa Kayi on “Kokrokoo” on Wednesday, October 7, 2020, praised the president for reimbursing the money to DK Poison for “compassionate reasons.”
However, it seems ridiculous and absurd for the state of Ghana to borrow from a boxer.
He questioned how sunk Ghana’s economy was under the Acheampong regime for asking DK Poison to loan them the aforementioned amount.
“Ridiculous; absurdity of the highest level! Why did it happen? I’m not saying for a moment that it didn’t happen; don’t get me wrong. If it happened, then you can see how low the state of Ghana got.,” he said.
For him, it is a stain on the country that the news comes out that the boxer once loaned the Ghanaian government $ 45,000 and had a strong opinion that the matter should be questioned.
Kweku Baako suspected that some people in the Acheampong government could have manipulated the money, so he revealed that a Commission of Inquiry was created to investigate the loans that were made to President Acheampong but ” Nowhere is this $ 45,000 mentioned; Nowhere was this mentioned. ”
“So, was it a private job that someone was doing using the name of the Republic? How low? We sank so low. I know there were problems, but what was the State going to do with $ 45,000? … The State Ghanaian contracted 45,000 loans from a boxer to do what and how? What happened to Nkrumah’s Ghana? I ask.
“Wouldn’t it be so ridiculous for the State of Ghana, even under the bankrupt military dictatorship of Acheampong, to go so low and borrow from a Ghanaian who is just a boxer, not a businessman, not a billionaire? Come on! What! … As a nation, are we very proud? Are we very proud of ourselves? My God, what a mess! Yelled Mr. Baako.
Controversies
Meanwhile, there are ongoing discussions about whether the $ 45,000 of DK Poison should be paid with interest or not, considering that the money has been spread over four decades.
Insight newspaper managing editor Kwesi Pratt is an advocate for interest payments.
” $ 45,000 from the 1970s; How can the same amount be given … on compassionate ground? You owe someone and you’re going to settle and claim it’s out of compassion. “How can it be out of compassion when the money was actually borrowed from him?” he questioned while contributing to a panel discussion on Peace FM’s morning show “Kokrokoo” on Tuesday, October 6.
Furthermore, he argued that ” there is a trace of evidence that the money was loaned to the state … although it is better than nothing, the value (of the money) is no longer the same … There is historical evidence that the money was given to the state. .. There are people who testify that they actually gave money to the government then. There is no doubt about the fact that the government took money from him. It’s not word of mouth. ”
Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi / Peacefmonline.com / Ghana
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