Posted on:
www.dailyguideghana.com
By William Yaw
Owusu
Thursday, December
01, 2016
Pressure
group OccupyGhana has cautioned the Social Security and National Insurance
Trust (SSNIT) against funding the latest controversial project being undertaken
by embattled financier of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), Alfred
Agbesi Woyome.
The
group shocked Ghanaians last week when they revealed that Woyome’s company had
been awarded another $8 million (GH¢35m) contract by the government.
The
news is coming at a time when the government is struggling to recoup the
GH¢51.2 million dubiously paid to the NDC man in 2010 by the government on the
instructions of then Attorney General, Betty Mould Iddrisu and her deputy, Ebo
Barton-Odro.
The
group released documents detailing how Anator Holding Company Limited which
Woyome claims belong to him, was given the contract by then Minister of
Transport, Dzifa Aku Attivor, to “develop deep seaports (including) industrial
parks and green townships” in Ghana and the deal was signed just last year December.
Mr. Woyome tried to rubbish the pressure group’s claims but
OccupyGhana has come out
strongly - even with more evidence - suggesting that SSNIT is being pressured
by the government to support the project with funds.
SSNIT’s Stake
In a statement yesterday,
OccupyGhana said the Mahama-led NDC government has issued a
directive to SSNIT to use pension funds to acquire a 24% stake in what it
called “this phantom Woyome project.”
The group averred, “OccupyGhana has
noted that its last press release on the above matter has been met with silence
from government officials, and two farcical denials of there even being an
agreement: one by Woyome and another by Mr. Selby, the Chief Director of the
Ministry of Transport. We have rebutted this by posting the agreement on our
website.”
Phantom Concept
According to the pressure group, Woyome designed a concept seeking
to provide solar power and 20,000 houses for an Urban Renewal Project and
claimed it was going to be replicated and adapted to agriculture, mining or
manufacturing communities with job creation prospects.
“Woyome managed to get the Finance Minister at the time, Dr.
Kwabena Duffuor, to write a letter dated 15th December, 2009 to in principle
accept participation stake-holding of 24% in the joint venture,” the group disclosed.
It said, “That letter was however, clear that the Government was
going to subject the proposal to further discussion with relevant stakeholders,
leading to formal negotiations towards a definitive agreement. The letter was
also clear that a final position on all aspects of the project would only be
arrived at after discussions with all stakeholders, subject also to Cabinet and
Parliamentary approvals.”
“By the time Woyome
re-surfaced in 2014, what was a Green Township project had transformed and
ballooned into a huge Special Economic Zone (SEZ) project designed to do
practically everything under the sun: electricity, deep sea ports, roads,
railways, hospitals, factories, agriculture, mining, archaeological findings,”
OccupyGhana underscored.
Woyome’s Consultant
“On 19th August, 2016, Woyome’s consultant, Albert Essamuah
Associates Limited, now claiming to have been appointed as the Government’s
consultants (and we are yet to see evidence of any such appointment), wrote to
the Chief of Staff demanding the latter to issue an urgent directive from your
august office, to SSNIT through its Board Chairman, to take up the 24%
stakeholding of the Government of Ghana in the Project SEZ on behalf of the
people of Ghana. This letter also revealed that ‘when the construction of the
Port commences the value will escalate to over US$25 billion,’” stated the
pressure group.
OccupyGhana said although the said letter was ‘disingenuously’ silent
about the value of the alleged 24% stake that SSNIT was to be directed to
acquire, “What is apparent is that either SSNIT or the Government was expected
by Woyome to fork out a colossal 24% of US$25bn for that acquisition, which
translates into a whopping $6 billion!
“So, what Dr. Duffuor had clearly stated as an ‘in principle
acceptance’ with several approval conditions was, after the illegal Framework
Agreement was signed between Woyome and Dzifa Attivor, being represented to the
Chief of Staff as a firm commitment to acquire a 24% stake in the phantom
project,” the group said.
Legal Opinion
“We are satisfied to note that the Chief of Staff asked for a legal
opinion from the Attorney General, not on whether or not Ghana had committed to
acquire that 24% stake (which would be false), but on whether the government
could issue the directive to SSNIT as demanded by Woyome,” it observed.
They said an opinion dated 30th September 2016 and signed by Dr.
Dominic Ayine, Deputy Attorney General stated that the Chief of Staff “can
issue directives with respect to SSNIT to take up the 24% stake in the project,”
but “subject to compliance with the investment guidelines established by the
National Pensions Act (2008).”
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