Following
on from the damning revelations from the two Norwegian investigative
journalists on President John Mahama's NDC government’s alleged
fraudulent deal on 10 power turbines from Ameri Group of Dubai, and its
rather weak, contradictory and porous response this morning, it is now
evident that an urgent, immediate open public inquiry by Parliament,
through a bipartisan committee, into details of the deal is urgently
required.
In February this year, the NDC Government entered into a
Built, Operate, Own and Transfer agreement with Ameri Energy of Dubai
for the supply of 10 turbines with 230-250MW capacity of power.
The
total cost of the deal to Ghanaian taxpayers for the five-year period
will be US$593 million, comprising of the $510 million direct cost plus a
“variable charge” of $83 million ($16.6 million x 5 years). This is
16.3 per cent of the total cost of the project.
Normally, a
variable charge never exceeds 2 per cent of the total cost of any
contract of this nature. So what explains this astronomical mark up?
These
10 GE turbines, according to industry experts, go for a total basic
cost of some $220 million. This, naturally, has raised questions over
the justification for the additional whopping $360 million.
The
investigations, done by the two foreign journalists, first of all,
confirm several suspicions raised by local observers, surrounding this
deal, as well as raise questions that have not, and will not be answered
by the President’s agents merely issuing statements and press releases.
It calls for an open, bipartisan full-scale enquiry into it.
For clarity, let us summarise some of the issues:
1.
Two of the companies connected to this transaction are also closely
connected to President John Mahama. These are Engineers & Planners,
owned by the President's brother, and entrepreneur, Ibrahim Mahama.
In
fact, President John Mahama was at one time a director of Engineers
& Planners. The other firm, Amandi Construction, which has also
generously benefitted from government contracts and its executives are
very close to the President, is a sister company to STL, the
controversial firm that is a contractor to both the Electoral Commission
and the National Health Insurance Authority regarding the biometric
register of both institutions.
The involvement of these two
firms in a deal that is reportedly inflated to the tune of some US$360
million is a serious cause for concern, adding to the worrying matter of
how the cost of corruption is sinking our nation under this NDC
Government.
2. The NDC Government has come out to deny the key
financial details of the transaction, but evidence from the contract
before Parliament, especially the key annexures (Annexes 'G' & 'C'),
clearly contradicts the NDC Government's position.
In fact the
contract suggests that together with the specific, quoted costs, other
contingent costs will lead to a total outlay far in excess of US$1
Billion. This is a worrying matter, given the precarious position of
Ghana’s finances, including a near GHS100 billion public debt.
3.
The structure of the deal is itself troubling. President John Mahama's
government also has a working relationship with GE, the global American
conglomerate from whom the plants were acquired. GE is also working in
the energy sector to supply electric power.
Why did the Ghana
government choose to enter into an arrangement that would cost us, in
specified terms, some 130% more (and potentially, if contingent
liabilities fall due, cost five times more what it would have been if we
purchased the plants outright)? Why go through an inexperienced middle
company?
4. Why did the deal go through Ameri Group, which
appears to have been created shortly before this deal? Who are the real
people, Ghanaian contacts, behind this Ameri deal? This question is
legitimate because Ameri came from nowhere to be handed this lucrative
deal on a ‘golden’ platter.
5. Amund Bakke, the Editor of the
Norwegian paper which broke the story, VG, contradicted the statement
from the Minister of Energy this morning that the alleged Norwegian
fugitive, Umar Farooq Zahoor, was not connected to Ameri and was merely a
witness, who signed the agreement.
Mr Bakke insists Mr Umar
Zahoor was the CEO of Ameri at the time the deal was signed earlier this
year and that the Minister is on tape, admitting to same when he was
interviewed by the two Norwegian journalists last October. When was Mr
Umar Farooq Zahoor removed from Ameri as CEO of Ameri Energy?
6.
We also want the NDC Government to come clean on the involvement of US
company, APR Energy on this project. Our information is that, APR
Energy, which former US Secretary of State, Magdelene Albright and
financier, George Soros, reportedly have controlling shares in, won the
bid for the 10 GE turbines in Ghana. It appears, for some reason yet to
be explained, that deal was frustrated and handed to Ameri Energy
without any competitive tender.
7. In the President’s own State
of the Nation Address this year, given on 26th February, 2015, he stated
that, “Guarantees are currently being agreed for the following:
Karpower ship (Turkey) 450MW, APR (UAE) 250MW, GE 300MW.” Whiles making
this statement to the Ghanaian people before Parliament, the President
was fully aware that the contract with Ameri Energy had been signed on
10th February, 2015, 16 days earlier. So why did he give the impression
that some Dubai-based APR was the company contracted to provide the 10
turbines? Was Ameri Power or Ameri Energy created to deceive the
procurement process that it was still APR (US) that Government was
dealing with?
8. Why did Government take out the Florida-based
APR Energy, with years of experience in the business, offering a far
cheaper option, to bring in Ameri Energy, which had no experience in the
field? Was it all to make hundreds of millions dollars of
unconscionable windfall on the back of the needless Dumsor misery
visited on suffering Ghanaians in the past four years?
9. This is
because we have been made aware that Ameri has effectively sold the
entire operational aspects of the contract to Metka, to be the operator
of the five-year BOOT project between Ameri Energy and the Government of
Ghana. Indeed, the terms of agreement paved way for exactly that to
happen.
The contract is worth $350 million to Metka, which will
undertake the entire project, including the procurement of the 10
turbines and the management of the plant. Government should explain to
us, does this mean that for being the needless agent, Ameri Energy
simply walked away with at least $160 million or possibly $240 million,
if you add the peculiar $16.6 million per annum “Variable Charge”
slapped on top of the contract for five years.
10. Our final
question for now, there is actually a company based in China and
Pakistan called Ameri Energy Group (www.amerienergygroup.com) which has
been in operations since 2005. It has no links with Ameri Energy, which
is also linked to Ameri Group, both in Dubai. Could this be a case of
passing off created by a person allegedly wanted for multi-million Euro
fraud in Europe?
We have reason to believe that the public
information available on this Ameri deal is significantly more in what
it covers than it reveals, especially the key players behind the deal,
the extremely high costs of acquisition, how much the government has
paid in cash, guarantees and escrowed amounts and other issues.
This
murky, and allegedly fraudulent deal has come at a time when Ghanaians
have suffered four years of power outages that have collapsed businesses
and added to the growing unemployment and desperation of Ghanaians.
It has come at a time, today, Monday, 14th December, when Ghanaians are
being demanded to pay a 60% price increase in the cost of electricity
to their homes and businesses.
This “Ameri Christmas” gift is
probably the straw which will break the back of the camel, regarding the
incompetence and corruption of this NDC Government. We, the New
Patriotic Party, are extremely concerned about the reckless and wicked
manner that the affairs of our country are being conducted under
President John Mahama and his NDC Government.
On these and other
burning questions requiring answers, we of the New Patriotic Party are
convinced and feel obliged to demand, on behalf of the people of Ghana,
an immediate and public inquiry into the Ameri Group deal. Nothing below
this will satisfy Ghanaians as to the propriety of this deal.
…Signed…
Freddy Blay
(Ag. National Chairman) |
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