Dollar gift: Sammy Gyamfi was wrong, but backlash is unnecessary – Kwame Jantuah
Jantuah believes the criticism is exaggerated because the gift involved US dollars instead of Ghana cedis, reflecting a cultural bias that demonises financial transactions in foreign currency
Ghanaian lawyer and Convention People’s Party (CPP) member Kwame Jantuah has weighed in on the Sammy Gyamfi dollar gift controversy, calling the politician’s actions wrong but arguing that the intense public backlash is unwarranted.
Speaking on Asaase Radio’s The Forum, Jantuah acknowledged that Sammy Gyamfi, a prominent political figure, should have acted more prudently but argued that the reaction to his actions had been blown out of proportion.
The controversy centres on a dollar gift allegedly given by Gyamfi to Evangelist Patricia Oduro Koranteng, popularly known as Agradaa. Jantuah believes the criticism is exaggerated because the gift involved US dollars instead of Ghana cedis, reflecting a cultural bias that demonises financial transactions in foreign currency.
“Sammy Gyamfi should have known better. He shouldn’t have done what he did. But is he the one who triggered what he did? He was pursued, and the pursuance had to do with money. He should have ignored it,” Jantuah told host of the programme Wilberforce Asare.
“If the money wasn’t dollars and it was cedis, would we have this hue and cry?” Jantuah questioned. “It is a kind of culture we practice which isn’t right.”
Jantuah further questioned whether critics genuinely believed Sammy Gyamfi could not afford the amount he received without being in government.
“Even if he gave $1,000, are you telling me Sammy Gyamfi can’t afford this if he wasn’t in government? He is somebody who can afford even when he is not in government, but since he is in government, he should have been careful,” he argued.
Jantuah also defended President John Mahama’s decision not to suspend Sammy Gyamfi, suggesting that the President had carefully considered the facts before making his choice.
“I am sure the President looked at the facts of the case and felt this is nothing to write home about and that I am not going to suspend him. I am sure Sammy Gyamfi himself has learnt from this, and the others have learned as well,” Jantuah noted.
According to Jantuah, the real issue should be whether Sammy Gyamfi can account for the source of the money and whether he has fulfilled his tax obligations, rather than the public outrage surrounding the gift.
“What probably we should look at is whether Sammy Gyamfi had paid tax over a certain duration, whether he can substantiate where the money came from. And if he can do that, what is the problem?” he asked.
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