So, what has been going on this week?

Last weekend, the CPP made history when they elected Ghana’s first physically challenged presidential candidate in the person of Ivor Kobina Greenstreet.

On Monday morning, he graciously played host to the SMS team and I at his East Legon residence, here in Accra. He won the candidacy in a landslide victory over Samia Nkrumah, Joseph Agyapong and Bright Akwetey. Samia and her team claimed Greenstreet did not win on merit –in fact, her campaign manager, Prof. Badu Akosa was heard telling anyone who would listen, that Ivor Greenstreet had bribed delegates. Ivor’s response was simple: yes, he bought this election, but not with cash. He bought it by going to the grassroots.

We also talked about his plans for the future. The party, as their chairman told us, was open to the idea of a coalition/alliance/merger with other Nkrumahist parties under the right circumstances, but in the absence of such an arrangement, was ready to plough ahead on their own.

Mr. Greenstreet himself talked about the need for flexibility in politics, and interestingly, stated he wouldn’t be totally averse to the idea of someone else being the flagbearer of a Nkrumahist alliance/coalition. By the end of our conversation, we had an image of a man who was gearing up to go it alone in November, but who wasn’t averse to doing it with friends if necessary.

On Tuesday, an old matter reared its head again, and by “old matter”, I mean GYEEDA. The rot that justwon’t go away. On Saturday, while Ivor Greenstreet was making history at the trade fair centre, Presidential staffer, Sam George, was making inaccurate statements on the set of Joy FM and MultiTV’s current affairs show, Newsfile.

 In a conversation about the President’s efforts in fighting corruption, the Flagstaff House communicator announced that RLG and Asongtaba had repaid every indebtedness to government in relation to the GYEEDA scandal.

Now, this came as news to some of us, because the last we had heard on this was when the President had said during his recent press conference that the Attorney General had successfully retrieved about 55 million cedis of the interest-free loans paid out under the GYEEDA scheme.

Manasseh Azure Awuni, who uncovered the GYEEDA rot, and has been following all related stories with keen interest, sent a message to Samson, the Host of Newsfile, seeking clarification on this latest announcement. When Sam George talks about “all monies” and “every indebtedness”, was he referring to the interest-free loans only? Or was he stating that every cent of money to be paid back by those companies had been retrieved – including money they collected to conduct training that never happened? Sam George again reiterated that “all monies” had been paid to the Attorney General - except for one cheque from Craftpro, which was awaiting clearance.

So on Monday, Manasseh went to the Attorney General’s office to verify these claims. As he’d suspected, it was only the interest-free loans that had been paid back, and not “every indebtedness, as Sam George had inaccurately claimed. So I called Sam George on Tuesday morning for clarification. Imagine my surprise when the man claimed that he had been talking solely about the interest-free loans all along. I played back his own voice to him, I quoted from his own Facebook posts where he kept repeating “all monies”, and “every indebtedness”. The guy then shifted the conversation to claims that Manasseh had insulted him. I pointed out his own use of the word “tomfoolery” in describing Manasseh and I. Brodda-man said tomfoolery is not an insult. I’ll leave you all to look up your own definitions of the word.

On Wednesday, we brought you the heart-breaking story of a mother of 4 who went to her local polyclinic to deliver her 5th baby, but never came back home. Her angry husband blamed the polyclinic staff for killing his wife, but our investigations revealed much more. What we uncovered was a massive deficiency in staff, equipment and medication across all existing medical facilities in Ghana – including the big ones like Korle Bu, 37 and so forth. It made us wonder about the logic of spending six billion cedis on new hospitals when you don’t have staff or equipment for the existing ones. Meanwhile, our successive governments have always somehow found money for all manner of unnecessary things, from lavish Independence celebrations, to branding buses, to these confounded V8s that they have been buying for themselves every year. More on our national priorities and the health sector later today.

Also in the news this week, Fulani Herdsmen have shot and killed a farmer’s son who tried to stop them from grazing their cattle on his mother’s farm in Agogo, Asante Region. This has sparked outrage from citizens and political leaders in the area, leading to an operation by the police to rid the area of the nomadic herdsmen. The debate continues as Ghana decides whether to rid themselves of these visitors, or show compassion and let them stay. You can tell us what your choice would be on any of our social media platforms.

Today’s show promises to be epic. A grand finale to a grand week. Lots of friends and guests passing through. So hold on to your hats – it’s gonna be a wild ride.

My name is Kojo Yankson, and it’s been a week of Triumph, Tragedy, Travellers and Tomfoolery.

GOOD MORNING, GHANAFO!