WOYOME IN GH¢35M FRESH CONTRACT

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Saturday, November 26, 2016

OccupyGhana, a pressure group, has accused the Mahama-led NDC Administration of awarding $8 million contract to a company supposedly owned by  the embattled National Democratic Congress (NDC) financier, Alfred Agbesi Woyome.

The news is coming at a time the government is struggling to recoup GH¢51.2 million unlawfully paid to the NDC financier in 2010 by the government on the instructions of former  Attorney General, Betty Mould Iddrisu and her deputy Ebo Barton-Odro.

Pressure group OccupyGhana released documents yesterday detailing how Anator Holding Company Limited, which is believed to be owned by Mr. Woyome, had been given a contract by former Minister of Transport, Dzifa Aku Attivor to “develop deep seaports, including industrial parks and green townships in Ghana. It said the deal was signed last December.

Ms. Attivor, who recently told the people of the Volta Region to vote against the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) and its flagbearer Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, fears that they (NDC officials from the region) may go to jail when the NPP wins the elections.

Secret Deal 

“OccupyGhana is shocked, outraged and appalled to discover this: that while the nation is still reeling from the effect of the Alfred Woyome judgment debt scandal, and the stalled and hesitant attempts by the Attorney-General to execute the judgement of the Supreme Court, the Government of Ghana has, on the blind side of Ghanaians, entered into a ‘confidential’ and potentially lucrative agreement with Woyome, acting through one of his companies, Anator Holding Company Limited,” the group said in statement.

According to OccupyGhana, “This same Anator Holding Company, in the current proceedings in court, is one of the companies that has filed an interpleader, claiming to be the owner of two of Woyome’s properties that the Government has finally managed to attach in execution of the judgment. That matter is still pending and unresolved.”

The group said, “We have seen a Framework Agreement dated as recently as 21st December 2015, for Anator Holding to “develop deep seaports (including) industrial parks and green townships” in Ghana,” adding “The Agreement is signed by Woyome as Executive Chairman of Anator Holding Company Limited, and the then Minister for Transport, Dzifa Aku Attivor.”

Scanty Draft

They said that the agreement was entered into on the basis of “a non-binding scantily drafted Memorandum of Understanding entered into between the same Woyome company and the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority on the same subject on 28th August 2015.”

“The Framework Agreement with Ghana is expressed to have been entered into so that Woyome’s company can raise an initial financing of $8.5m (GH¢35million) just for feasibility studies. In other words, Woyome is relying on the country’s goodwill to raise financing for a sweetheart deal that he has entered into with the GPHA, and is possibly shopping around banks all over the world for money, on the back of this agreement.”

Bogus Agreement

OccupyGhana, which described the agreement as ‘bogus,’ said it was signed “with the express approval of Cabinet, as conveyed by a letter signed by the Chief of Staff, from the Office of the President, dated 16th December 2015. It is instructive to point out that the Agreement was signed on the same day that the Cabinet approval was received by the Ministry of Transport.”

“We have seen how Woyome operates. He hit us for GH¢51.2 million that he did not deserve, on the basis of a non-existent contract. Our Government and its lawyers, either unconcerned or guilty of complicity, sat back when Woyome went to court and obtained a default judgment against us. Even though Martin Amidu has obtained judgement for the people of Ghana, we are struggling to recover that money from him, and this same Anator Holding is battling to stop us from selling at least two of Woyome’s properties to pay the debt.”

The group said “the irony of the date that agreement was signed cannot be lost on us. 21st December 2015 was the date that the former Minister of Transport, Dzifa Attivor, appeared in Parliament to lament that her Ministry was broke and that its budget was woefully inadequate to meet developmental needs of the sector.’ Incidentally, that was also the date that the impugned Smarttys deal, involving the same Dzifa Attivor, broke in Parliament.”

OccupyGhana called for “full disclosure and full explanation” of the circumstances surrounding this contract.

Questions To Mahama

“Did the President know that Dzifa Attivor was entering into this contract on our behalf, and if so, did he do anything to stop it? Did the President know about the Cabinet approval? We demand from the Government and GPHA evidence that all proper statutory and procurement approvals were duly obtained in entering into these agreements and memoranda with Woyome.”

It said the NDC government should cancel the agreement without delay, saying, “Woyome has our money. He obtained that money under dubious circumstances. Thanks to Mr. Martin Amidu, we have judgement against him. He has failed to pay. We should not be doing business either with him or with any corporate entity that he owns, controls or is associated with, under any circumstances.”

Woyome Reacts

The embattled Woyome, in the face of hardcore evidence being produced by OccupyGhana, reacted almost immediately when he said on Pastor’s Programme on Asempa FM, Accra yesterday that the group was peddling falsehoods about him and that he will deal with them at the right time.

“It is not true that I have signed a new contract with the government. It is absolutely not true. They have taken contents of documents which have been there over 10 years.”

He said “that document was a Public Private Partnership arrangement (PPP) between me and government since 2008. Government has not paid me any money. It is something to divert attention. It’s a lie. Government has not given me a pesewa and I don’t even like government money. Those behind OccupyGhana have personal problems with me since 2003 and very soon I will expose all of them.”