Accra, (Greater Accra) 19, Sept. Nana Kofi Coomson, publisher of the Ghanaian Chronicle, said today his newspaper’s source in the Salia- Capital Telecom rumpus is authentic and that he is prepared to face Mr. Edward Salia, Minister of Roads and Transport, and the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) in court. Mr. Coomson told journalists at a news conference in Accra that although his paper is fallible, its reports about the minister ”are correct and unimpeachable. ”Of course, the Chronicle is fallible as a newspaper. We do make mistakes. On occasion we have carried the odd inaccurate story here and there, but we have never and will never knowingly publish untruth. ”I repeat that we do make mistakes but we will be the first to react and apologise when evidence comes up which proves us wrong. This is not one of them, I can assure you”. Mr. Salia early this week held a press conference at which he categorically denied any wrong-doing. Mr. Coomson showed journalists a 28-paged document signed by Mr. Dominic de-Graft Aidoo, former SFO Acting Executive Director, on November 8, 1996 on the matter. Mr. Coomson circulated a release in which Mr. Aidoo alludes to the fact that he actually issued out copies of the report to certain responsible government agencies. The release also referred to his subsequent removal as Acting Executive Director of SFO. The Ghanaian Chronicle early this month published a serialised report which portrayed Mr. Edward Salia, Minister of Roads and Transport, as the key player in an alleged “massaging of estimates in a 45 million-pound sterling deal” between Capital Telecom and the then P and T Corporation. The minister last Monday described the allegation as unfounded and a fabrication calculated to dent his public image. He said the publication is the result of collusion between the SFO and the former Chief Executive of P and T. Mr. Salia challenged Chronicle’s alleged source – the alleged SFO report – as not authentic because ”there is no evidence that the SFO has indeed issued any authentic report on the matter.” The Serious Fraud Office was reported in an Accra daily as saying it had not issued ”any authentic report” on the rumpus arising out of the privatisation of Ghana Telecom and its dealings with Capital Telecom. Mr. Coomson said the SFO has concluded several reports, including the Securities Discount Company affair, which he said, was issued as far back as June last year, as well as those on State Enterprises and A-Life. ”I am not going to confirm to you whether the Chronicle has seen copies or not. The question is, why produce these reports if you are just going to hoard them apparently because, almost without exception, the reports point accusing fingers at top government men. ”I would serialise my response to them in the Chronicle and I do hope that both Mr. Salia and the SFO will go to court to prove me wrong,” Mr. Coomson said.
