$4M NCA LOOT…LOCAL AGENT FIGHTS BACK OVER $2M CASH

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Monday, May 29, 2017

Infraloks Development Limited (IDL), the local company cited in the $4 million National Communications Authority (NCA) alleged looting case, has complained about how the Authority sidelined it in the execution of the contract that brought in ‘spying and phone tapping’ gadgets from Israel for the National Security Secretariat (NSS).

IDL Sidelined

According to George Oppong, who represented IDL in the $8 million deal and was said to have benefitted from the alleged scandal, indicated that he was sidelined in the execution of certain aspects of the contract and was contemplating suing the NCA.

“IDL was not involved in the operational side of the transaction for what was said to be genuine national security reasons,” he said in a rejoinder.

“IDL believes in due process in the democratic dispensation and accordingly have our lawyers in readiness to, in due course, assert my rights and those of the company under the contract with the Republic through the appropriate lawful forum, should same become the inevitable resort.”

The contract was meant to buy ‘spying and phone tapping’ equipment for the National Security Secretariat, but $4  million out of the total contract sum of $8 million ended up in private accounts, with $1.5 million of the money allegedly going to the former NCA board of directors who were appointed by the Mahama-led National Democratic Congress (NDC) government.

NSO Group Deal

Information Minister Mustapha Hamid has already said that  John Mahama’s administration had contracted NSO Group Technology Limited of Israel to supply eavesdropping gadgets worth $6 million and the equipment were meant to help the government monitor the calls of suspected terrorists.

However, in the course of the transaction, according to the information minister, a local agent – Infraloks Development Limited – headed by George Oppong, charged $2 million as facilitation fee, bringing the total amount to $8 million   instead of $6 million.

Mr. Oppong in his explanation in the rejoinder, stated that there is a binding contract executed on December 17, 2015 between IDL and the NCA as well as between NSO Group Technologies Limited of Israel.

He confirmed that the contract sum total was $8 million and that $6 million was to be due to NSO with certificate of end-user from the Ministry of Defence of Israel, adding that “The duties and responsibilities of NSO and IDL were clearly embodied in the contracts with minimal role by the NCA representing the Republic of Ghana as the end-user.”

Aggura Connection

Mr Oppong said, “Initially, the payment to NSO by IDL was to be made minus a commission agreement to be paid by IDL to another Israeli company – Aggura - but amendments by way of addendum to the original contract with NSO required full payment to NSO and for NSO to deal directly with Aggura.”

He said that the NCA did make a first tranche payment of $4,000,000 in accordance with the terms of the contract with it (NCA) and they followed the agreed payment terms in the contract.

According to Mr. Oppong, although the NCA had taken delivery of the gadgets and promised to supply IDL with Customs documentation covering the delivery of the hardware equipment as agreed between the IDL and the Bank of Ghana, “NCA has since June 2016 when it cleared the equipment, not provided the Customs documentation covering the clearance to IDL, despite persistent demand.

“After the clearance, IDL facilitated a visit of a team of technicians from NSO to Ghana to install and commission the system, and that I was informed, two weeks later, by NCA that the installation and the commissioning of the system had been completed.”

Operational Side

“It is significant to note that IDL was not involved in the operational side of the transaction for what was said to be genuine national security reasons, informing the bank’s requirement for written confirmation by NCA to IDL on completion of each phase of the project,” he said.

Mr. Oppong maintained, “In spite of this, it would be discovered that NCA, curiously, had written only to the bank and NSO to confirm, among others, delivery of equipment and installation of same by NSO.”

The local representative underscored that the sponsor (NCA), “In the meantime, sought through its signatory to the contract and obtained sums in amounts allowed by forex transaction regulations and same reaching a cumulative gross amount of about $1,500,000.”

Strange Transfers

“I have informed the authorities that out of the total amount of $4,000,000, NCA transferred to IDL $1,000,000; was successfully transferred to NSO. NCA’s signatory to the contract has sought and obtained a cumulative gross of about $1,500,000 and that IDL still held $1,500,000 which NSO’s portion could not be transferred for the stated reasons.”

According to Mr. Oppong, although NCA informed NSO through IDL that it had paid $2,000,000, the NSO continued to demand payment from IDL for completion of the second phase of the project using and relying on a letter from NCA to NSO which maintained that “the installation and commissioning phase of the project was complete, and that NSO insists that payment obligations were undertaken by IDL, threatening a suit as the overdue amount is subject to a late payment fee at a daily rate of 0.04%.

“I am very disappointed to discover, courtesy the National Security Minister, in the most shocking fashion that contrary to representations by NCA, including via said letter of June 10, 2016 from NCA to NSO that the system was sitting in someone’s garage.”

He said details about the transaction had been made available to the BNI “in utmost good faith and without prejudice as I give my fullest cooperation in its investigations.”

NCA $4M SCANDAL …I DIDN’T CHOP $150,000 SAYS WILLIAM TEVIE

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Monday, May 29, 2017

The report on the $4 million allegedly siphoned from the coffers of the National Communications Authority (NCA) by the bigwigs of the government institution has taken a new twist.

Even though he has been mentioned as one of the bigwigs who benefited from the purportedly missing $4 million, William Tevie, the immediate-past Director General of the Authorit, has denied any involvement in the reported scandal.

He said he never admitted to the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) or any other investigative body that he collected any amount of money from the contract that was signed with an Israeli company to bring in ‘spying and phone tapping’ gadgets for the National Security Secretariat (NSS).

Last week, Information Minister Mustapha Hamid narrated how the NCA board members unlawfully shared $1.5 million out of $4 million, which was part of the entire $8 million contract signed between President John Dramani Mahama’s National Democratic Congress (NDC) government and NSO Group Technology Limited of Israel to supply eavesdropping gadgets to help the government monitor the calls of suspected terrorists.

The minister had said that in the course of the transaction, a local agent – Infraloks Development Limited (IDL) – headed by one George Oppong, charged $2 million as facilitation fee, bringing the total contract sum to $8 million, instead of the original $6 million.

Mr Mustapha Hamid then went ahead to mention the names of all the NCA gurus who allegedly took the cash and gave a breakdown of how much each suspect collected.

The Minister added that some of the recipients had promised to refund their share of the cash.

“Mr. Eugene Baffoe-Bonnie, former Board Chairman, took $200,000; George Oppong, the local agent, took $100,000; William Tevie, the former Director General, got $150,000; Alhaji Osman, a former Deputy National Security Coordinator, received $70,000, with one other person receiving $500,000,” he said.

However, Mr. Tevie issued a rejoinder over the weekend to DAILY GUIDE in particular, demanding a retraction and apology and insisting he never collected any money from the board.

DAILY GUIDE in all its reports had stated that Mr Tevie denied the allegation, insisting that he was not aware of the sharing of the state money even though the board chairman insisted in the presence of investigators that Tevie was given $150,000.

“I have never, at any time, whether privately, before the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) or any state investigating agency, admitted that I, William Tevie, former Director General of the National Communications Authority (NCA), accepted any money or monies, and which I have agreed to refund.

“I was invited by the BNI and questioned about an allegation that some former board members of the NCA and I were given an amount of money to share. I categorically denied the allegation,” adding, “If the alleged monies were given or received by anybody or group of persons, I am not aware and I was definitely not a party to it.’”

He maintained that “I hesitate to irresponsibly go into specifics because the transaction in question was handled by the National Security Council Secretariat because of its very sensitive nature.”

According to National Security sources, the payment made by the NCA was improper because it did not receive board approval since there was no minute to support it.

$4M NCA SCANDAL…SECURITY CAPO RUNS AWAY

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Friday, May 26, 2017

The man believed to be the brain behind the National Communications Authority (NCA) $8 million contract that brought in ‘spying and phone tapping’ gadgets for the National Security Secretariat (NSS) from Israel is said to be at large.

According to the Minister of Information, Mustapha Hamid, the Deputy National Security Coordinator during the John Mahama-led National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration, Alhaji Salifu Osman, has gone into hiding following claims that the NCA Board members shared $4 million out of the total contract sum among themselves unlawfully.

Alhaji Osman, who is being investigated for other ‘dubious’ transactions, may soon be declared wanted if he continues to stay in hiding, sources told DAILY GUIDE.

The last time the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) was said to have reached the security capo on phone was when he told the Bureau about the whereabouts of the gadgets.

Sources say Alhaji Osman, who until his appointment by then President Mahama was a director at the Ministry of the Interior, had told the BNI that the gadgets were languishing in somebody’s garage in Accra.

Mr Mustapha Hamid has said that the security capo’s village at Salaga in the Northern Region has been combed but he could not be traced, adding that investigations are showing that he was the ‘architect’ behind the whole deal.

The contract was meant to buy ‘spying and phone tapping’ equipment for the National Security Secretariat, but $4  million out of the total amount of $8 million ended up in private accounts, with $1.5 million of the money going to the NCA board of directors.

Already, the former Board Chairman of the NCA, Eugene Baffoe-Bonnie, who is a younger brother of Seinti Baffoe-Bonnie - then senior staffer to former President John Dramani Mahama - has reportedly started returning his share of the money he and his colleagues unlawfully pocketed in that dodgy transaction.

The Information Minister had said that Mr Baffoe-Bonnie was paying $40,000 out of his share of $200,000.

Baffoe-Bonnie did not pick his calls when DAILY GUIDE attempted to reached him for his side of the story.

Last week, after reportedly admitting that they took $4 million unlawfully from the state kitty, some former members of the board of the NCA said they were prepared to refund the cash when they appeared before the BNI.

The $4 million was meant to pay an Israeli company which had a contract with the NDC government.

According to the Information Minister, John Mahama’s NDC government had contracted NSO Group Technology Limited of Israel to supply eavesdropping gadgets worth $6 million and the equipment were meant to help the government monitor the calls of suspected terrorists.

In the course of the transaction, Mustapha Hamid said a local agent – Infraloks Development Limited – headed by one George Oppong, charged $2 million as facilitation fee, bringing the total amount to $8 million.

The NCA, with instruction from the National Security, made $4 million part-payment into the private account of the local agent of the Israeli company at Ecobank and subsequently transferred $1 million to the company in Israel.

The $3 million left in the account was then split into two, with less than half going into the pockets of board members and the chairman allegedly taking the lion’s share of $200,000.

Records are showing that apart from Mr. Baffoe-Bonnie, the NCA Director-General, William Mathew Tevie, allegedly took home $150,000; the local agent, George Oppong, reportedly had $100,000; Alhaji Salifu Osman, the Deputy National Security Coordinator, was allegedly given $70,000 and Dr. Nana Owusu-Ensaw, another board member, purportedly took home $500,000 to be shared with other unnamed persons.

The local representative of the Israeli company, a certain Penny, was also said to have been paid $100,000.

The information minister said that if political power did not shift, he was sure nobody would have known about what he described as a classic case of ‘create, loot and share.’

According to the minister, National Security, which did not have the funds for the equipment, allowed the NCA with supervisory mandate over such gadgets, to fund the project.

While the Israeli suppliers were groaning for their money for the equipment supplied from the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government, the former board members were gloating with free state cash.

He said apart from Alhaji Osman, the others had admitted to the crime and had been given bail after the BNI had interrogated them.

The minister said George Oppong had refunded $1 million while others had also promised to refund everything.

 “BNI hasn’t even decided at this stage because they believe that the money must be returned. … If they succeed in retrieving the money then they will decide their next action,” Mr Hamid said.

According to him, the transaction was a clear case of top officials colluding to plunder the state coffers.

“The reason why this is a classic case of 'create, loot and share' is that…it was basically Alhaji Osman, acting as Deputy National Security Coordinator, who spearheaded this deal. …People cannot just go and open a state vault and take whatever that is in there,” the minister cautioned.

He said the government is waiting for the outcome of the BNI probe into the matter to take a decision on the fate of the culprits.

“Investigations are a long process, and as the lawyers will tell you, an act of criminality ought to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt and so my understanding from the BNI is that they haven’t completed the investigations. They’ve gone beyond the statements and the admission and the paying back of the money that they have started,” he explained.

 “There are other things that ought to be established, but for now the concentration is on retrieving the money; that cannot be the end of the case, but investigations will determine at what point they believe that they gathered all the facts that will enable them make a convincing case before a judge or any judicial panel they may be made to face,” he said.

NO MISSING CHOPPERS

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Friday, May 26, 2017

The Ghana Gas Company has confirmed that four helicopters of the company are not missing as has been reported by the media.

A statement released by the company’s Communications Directorate has indicated that the choppers are in the custody of the Ghana Air Force for safekeeping, saying that reports indicating that the choppers are missing are erroneous and must be disregarded.

“The management of Ghana Gas wishes to respond to an allegation circulating in the media regarding the whereabouts of the helicopters procured to provide surveillance services to the oil and gas installations in the Western Region. The company wishes to make it known to all stakeholders and the public that on Wednesday, 23rd September, 2015, then President, His Excellency John Dramani Mahama, commissioned the four Z-9 EH helicopters at the Air Force Station at Burma Camp,” according to the statement.

“The helicopters were to ensure adequate security surveillance of the nation’s oil and gas enclave in the Western Region. Four helicopters in total, not seven as reported by some media outlets, were acquired. The said helicopters were procured from China National Aero Technology Import and Export Corporation (CATIC). The contract to that effect was signed on 21st December, 2012 (sic). The helicopters are currently stationed at the Air Force Headquarters at Burma Camp,” the company stated.

“Ghana Gas does not have the expertise and hangars to operate and maintain the helicopters. The Ghana Air Force, however, possesses such facilities. Ghana Gas, therefore, mandated the Ghana Air Force to operate and maintain them on its behalf. The helicopters are in good working condition and not ‘broken down’ as erroneously reported. It is worth noting that there is a helipad at the Atuabo Main Camp,” it added.

Ghana Gas has been in the news these few days following claims by the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) that three helicopters belonging to Ghana Gas could not be found.

A leading member of PIAC, Steve Manteaw, had said that the government paid $150 million for the purchase of three helicopters but they could not be traced.

“I have asked about the helicopters but there are no answers forthcoming,” Manteaw told Adom FM on Tuesday.

Before the gas company made an official public statement about the status of the helicopters, Dr Anthony Akoto Osei, Minister for Monitoring and Evaluation, reportedly confirmed that Ghana Gas Company indeed purchased the helicopters.

However, the erstwhile National Democratic Congress (NDC), under which tenure the helicopters were procured, hit back, describing the publications as false.

Former Power Minister Dr Kwabena Donkor and his deputy claimed that there were no missing helicopters.

They said the helicopters are currently parked in the hangars of the Ghana Air Force at the Air Force Base in Accra, as confirmed by the gas company.

Dr. Kwabena Donkor had said it is a sign of “substandard leadership” for Dr Akoto Osei to go public on the whereabouts of the helicopters when he (Dr. Akoto Osei) could have found out from officials of the former government.

Later Mr Donkor’s deputy, John Abdulai Jinapor, said on Starr FM in Accra that “we procured four helicopters and they were commissioned by John Mahama in public. Ghana Gas does not have the pilots and expertise to fly the helicopters…The helicopters are not supposed to be parked at Atuabo… The Ghana Armed Forces was asked to manage the helicopters.

 “The helicopters are not missing…Before I left office, the helicopters were in good shape and were working…The management saying they do not know about the procurement of the helicopters is surprising.”

NCA $4M LOOT…BOARD CHAIR RETURNS $40,000

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Thursday, May 25, 2017

Former Board Chairman of the National Communications Authority (NCA), Eugene Baffoe-Bonnie, has reportedly started returning his share of the money he and his colleagues unlawfully pocketed in that state agency.

According to Mustapha Hamid, Information Minister, Mr Baffoe-Bonnie, former Board Chairman appointed under the Mahama-led National Democratic Congress (NDC) government, had paid $40,000 out of his share of $200,000 from a total amount of $4 million meant for buying phone tapping gadgets.

After reportedly admitting that they took $4 million unlawfully from the state kitty, some former members of the board of the NCA said they were prepared to refund the cash when they appeared before the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI), which is probing the graft.

The $4 million was meant to pay an Israeli company which had a contract with the government.

The contract, worth $8 million, was meant to buy ‘spying and phone tapping’ equipment for the National Security Secretariat, but $4  million out of the total amount ended up in private accounts, with $1.5 million of the money going to the NCA board of directors.

According to the Information Minister, Mr John Mahama’s NDC government had contracted NSO Group Technology Limited of Israel to supply eavesdropping gadgets worth $6 million and the equipment were meant to help the government monitor the calls of suspected terrorists.

In the course of the transaction, Mustapha Hamid said a local agent – Infraloks Development Limited – headed by one George Oppong, charged $2 million as facilitation fee, bringing the total amount to $8 million.

He said investigations indicated that Alhaji Salifu Osman, a Deputy National Security Coordinator, who represented the NSS on the NCA board, was the main architect of the whole deal.

The chairman of the NCA Board, who is a younger brother of Seinti Baffoe-Bonnie - then senior staffer to former President John Mahama - allegedly took $1.5 million and shared it among members, pocketing $200,000 himself.

The NCA, with instruction from the National Security, made $4 million part-payment into the private account of the local agent of the Israeli company at Ecobank and subsequently transferred $1 million to the company in Israel.

The $3 million left in the account was then split into two, with less than half going into the pockets of board members and the chairman allegedly taking the lion’s share of $200,000.

Records are showing that apart from Mr. Baffoe-Bonnie, the NCA Director-General, William Mathew Tevie, allegedly pocketed $150,000; the local agent, George Oppong, reportedly had $100,000; Alhaji Salifu Osman, the Deputy National Security Coordinator was allegedly given $70,000 and Dr. Nana Owusu-Ensaw, another board member, purportedly took home $500,000 to be shared with other unnamed persons.

The local representative of the Israeli company, a certain Penny, was also said to have been paid $100,000.

The information minister said that if political power did not shift, he was sure nobody would have known about what he described as a classic case of ‘create, loot and share.’

According to the minister, National Security, which did not have the funds for the equipment, allowed the NCA with supervisory mandate over such gadgets to fund the project.

While the Israeli suppliers were groaning for their money for the equipment supplied from the new NPP government, the former board members were gloating with free state cash.

According to Mustapha Hamid, demands by the Israeli firm to be paid the $5 million balance after the Mahama administration had lost power in the December 2016 elections prompted the Akufo-Addo government to probe the transaction, which unconfirmed reports say was not part of the handing over notes from the NDC government.

The equipment is reportedly languishing in someone’s garage.

He said apart from Alhaji Osman, the others have admitted to the crime and have been given bail after the BNI had interrogated them but said Alhaji Osman remains at large.

The minister said George Oppong had refunded $1 million while others had also promised to refund everything.

 “BNI hasn’t even decided at this stage because they believe that the money must be returned. … If they succeed in retrieving the money then they will decide their next action,” Mr Hamid said.

According to him, the transaction was a clear case of top officials colluding to plunder the state coffers.

“The reason why this is a classic case of 'create, loot and share' is that…it was basically Alhaji Osman, acting as Deputy National Security Coordinator, who spearheaded this deal. …People cannot just go and open a state vault and take whatever that is in there,” the minister cautioned.

BLOWS OVER ‘MISSING’ CHOPPERS

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Thursday, May 25, 2017

Two former National Democratic Congress (NDC) government appointees have denied vehemently that some helicopters (choppers) belonging to the Ghana Gas Company are missing.

Ghana Gas has been in the news these few days following revelations by the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) that three helicopters (choppers) could not be found.

According to a leading member of PIAC, Steve Manteaw, the government has already paid $150 million for the purchase of three helicopters but they could not be traced.

"I have asked about the helicopters but there are no answers forthcoming,” Dr. Manteaw told Adom FM on Tuesday.

The gas company has not made any public statement about the status of the helicopters, but Dr Anthony Akoto Osei, Minister for Monitoring and Evaluation, has reportedly confirmed that Ghana Gas Company indeed purchased the helicopters.

Former Power Minister Dr Kwabena Donkor and his deputy, under whose tenure the helicopters were said to have been procured, have both hit back saying there are no missing helicopters.

They claimed the helicopters are currently parked in the hangars of the Ghana Air Force at the Air Force base in Accra.

Dr. Kwabena Donkor said the helicopters are "securely parked in the hangars of the Ghana Air Force at the Air Force base in Accra."

He appeared to throw invectives when dealing with the issue.

The former minister said it is a sign of ‘substandard leadership’ for Dr Akoto Osei to go public on the whereabouts of the helicopters when he (Dr. Akoto Osei) could have found out from officials of the former government.

"It is a clear demonstration of the substandard nature of this New Patriotic Party government that they declare missing 4 helicopters," he fumed.

Dr Kwabena Donkor confirmed the helicopters were bought with a Chinese loan and would be used by Ghana Gas Company to help secure the company's installations and also respond to emergencies.

He said they were to "provide surveillance services and also to conduct medical evacuation and search and rescue operations in the event of any accident in the oil and gas sector" before justifying the purchase of the helicopters for Ghana Gas Company explaining that the military is ill-equipped to support the state company.”

Later his deputy, John Abdulai Jinapor, said on Starr FM in Accra, “We procured four helicopters and they were commissioned by John Mahama in public. Ghana Gas does not have the pilots and expertise to fly the helicopters…The helicopters are not supposed to be parked at Atuabo… The Ghana Armed Forces was asked to manage the helicopters.

 “The helicopters are not missing… Before I left office, the helicopters were in good shape and were working… The management saying they do not know about the procurement of the helicopters is surprising.”

NDC MP SUED OVER DUAL CITIZENSHIP

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Wednesday, May 24, 2017

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament (MP) for Zabzugu in the Northern Region is in trouble over his alleged dual citizenship.

In what looks similar to the Adamu Dramani Sakande case, the NDC MP, Alhassan Umar, has been sued by two of his constituents for allegedly having dual citizenship from the United States and Ghana.

Adamu Dramani Sakande, after winning the Bawku Central seat on the ticket of the then opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) in 2008, was challenged by a cattle farmer called Sumaila Bielbiel on the grounds that the MP held dual citizenship and after a long trial he was sentenced to two years in jail in 2012.

The plaintiffs in the instant case - Nikimola Jacob Makinye and Moponyaw Godwin - want the court to remove Alhaji Alhassan Umar from parliament and declare the seat vacant.

They are seeking a declaration that “the defendant, who owes allegiance to a country other than Ghana, is disqualified from holding the office of Member of Parliament of Zabzugu in the Republic of Ghana.”

The plaintiffs further want an order directed at Alhassan Umar, compelling him to vacate the Zabazugu Constituency seat and an injunction to restrain him from holding himself as MP.

In their statement of claim, the plaintiffs avert that they are farmers who are aware that the NDC MP, who they claim was born on June 29, 1966, was originally Ghanaian but naturalized and became a citizen of the United States on May 31, 2000.

The plaintiffs went ahead to list all the residential addresses used by the NDC MP when he was in the United States, especially in New Jersey and Virginia, and claimed that he even filed for bankruptcy in the United States on November 3, 1999.

“On 3^rd November, 2000 the defendant was convicted in the United States of a traffic offence of over-speeding,” the plaintiffs averred, adding that the MP relocated to Ghana about eight years ago and worked at the Ministry of Communications as a management consultant.

“In his application for a service passport to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration on 12^th August, 2010, the defendant gave the town of his birthplace as Zabzugu and also confirmed that he had dual Ghana and United States citizenship,” the statement indicated.

According to the plaintiffs, Alhassan Umar’s dual citizenship card is No. 003672 issued on 15^th September, 2009 in Accra and added that “he also bears a United States passport.”

“In September 2016 the defendant filed his papers to represent the NDC in the Zabzugu Constituency in the 2016 parliamentary elections,” the statement pointed out, adding, “Plaintiffs say that the defendant failed to disclose on his nomination forms of the Electoral Commission of Ghana that he filed for bankruptcy on 3^rd November, 1999 in the United States and also failed to indicate that he had citizenship of another country other than Ghana, ie United States.”

The plaintiffs claim that the information about the defendant’s citizenship came to them recently and that as at the time the NDC MP stood for the election, he was not qualified to do so because he owed allegiance to another country.

They insisted that Alhassan Umar committed perjury since he knew very well that he was not qualified to contest for the office of MP but went ahead to do so.

GHANA GAS HELICOPTERS MISSING

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Wednesday, May 24, 2017

A leading member of the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC), Dr Steve Manteaw, has claimed three Ghana Gas Company (GGC) helicopters are missing.

According to him, the government has already paid $150 million for three helicopters but they cannot be traced.

The gas company has not made any public statement about the status of the helicopters, but Dr Anthony Akoto Osei, Minister for Monitoring and Evaluation, has reportedly confirmed that Ghana Gas Company indeed purchased the helicopters.

"I have asked about the helicopters but there are no answers forthcoming,” Dr. Manteaw told Adom FM yesterday.

According to him, the actual cost of the Ghana Gas project, which started full operations in 2012, was still unknown, although the government had earmarked an initial $850 million for it.

He said the management of Ghana Gas at Atuabo in the Western Region even expressed surprise about the purchase of the helicopters since there was no helipad for the helicopters they were going to buy.

At the commencement of the project, Dr. Manteaw said he went to the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) to search for tax files of the project executors - Sinopec - but there was nothing to show either in Accra or Takoradi, the Western Regional capital.

According to him, the company was given tax concession by Ghana Gas, noting that that action is against the law since Parliament is the only body that can waive tax for foreign companies.

He said strangely, it was in 2016 that the Ministry of Finance brought the tax file demanding that Sinopec should be exempted from tax, saying as a result, PIAC was able to get the authorities to retrieve GH¢15 million as taxes from Sinopec Gas Company.

Dr. Manteaw said the government used additional loan facility secured from China to purchase the three aircraft after the original four had become ineffective and said once they could not be traced, those in-charge of the procurement should be questioned.

Dr Anthony Akoto Osei had also insisted that the total cost of the helicopters was a rip-off.

He said four out of seven helicopters were initially purchased for the project but they broke down.

He claimed that all the initial seven helicopters were bought for $100 million, noting that they were over-priced since each cost $8 million, but the erstwhile National Democratic Congress (NDC) government brought them in for $25 million each.

“The four could have just cost the nation $32 million and not $100 million…go to the Americas and we would get them for less instead of purchasing them at that expensive cost from China,” he retorted in an angry tone.

Explaining how the helicopters were procured, Dr Anthony Akoto Osei said Ghana acquired a loan from the Chinese Development Bank.

The four helicopters broke down under two years after they had been commissioned by former President John Mahama in September 2015.

The minister said the loan application was not presented to Parliament despite opposition from the then minority NPP in Parliament.

He pointed out that the new government can now hold its predecessor to greater accountability.

He vowed to get the former Energy Minister, Dr Kwabena Donkor, to appear before Parliament and answer questions about the project.

“Fortunately, the main characters in the Ghana Gas Project are still around and we can call them to come and clarify issues for us…I will demand in Parliament that they come and clarify issues on the award of contracts and others,” he added.

AMERI $510M DEAL TO GO

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Wednesday, May 17, 2017 

It is emerging that the deal involving Africa & Middle East Resources Investment Group - otherwise known as AMERI Group or AMERI Energy - which had become the talk of town, will be abrogated by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government anytime soon.

A highly-placed government source said the President Akufo-Addo-led government has decided to cancel the contract signed between the John Mahama-led National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration and AMERI for the supply of 256 mw of power because the deal is a rip-off with Ghana losing about $150 million.

Grounds Of Fraud

A 17-member committee chaired by Lawyer Phillip Addison had recommended to the government that it should call back owners of the Dubai–based company for re-negotiation and advised that should the company refuse to honour the invitation, the government should renounce the agreement on grounds of fraud.

It seems the government is following the advice of the Addison Committee, which had been set up by the Ministry of Energy to restructure the $510 million Build, Own, Operate and Transfer (BOOT) Agreement between Ghana and AMERI Energy.

DAILY GUIDE has learnt that there are too many fraudulent aspects in the whole deal, which is not in the interest of the country, although the minority NDC, which had signed the contract with AMERI during their time in office in early 2015, has continuously mounted a spirited defence of the Dubai-based company.

APR Factor

According to the source, Mr John Mahama’s government, in preparing to sign the controversial deal, had always created the impression that an entity called APR - a US company with years of experience in the provision and installation of General Electric TM 2500 aero-derivative gas turbines - was the company contracted to bring in the 10 turbines. However, the deal changed at the eleventh hour with the introduction of AMERI.

He said from the correspondence between the parties, it was clear that AMERI Energy was likely to have been created to circumvent the country’s procurement process that it was still APR (US) that government was dealing with.

The source said at the preparatory stage, APR Energy was offering a far cheaper option but the NDC government ended up handing the contract to AMERI Energy, which did not appear to have any experience in the field and also came at an outrageous cost of $510 million.

Former power minister who supervised the alleged dodgy deal, Dr Kwabena Donkor, rose to the defence of the deal. He said, “Who should bear the allegation of fraud? The agreement went through cabinet, the committee on mines and energy recommended by consensus to plenary and was passed by parliament. Was parliament party to this fraud? Is the plant not running and operational? Does it not have the cheapest tariff of all the thermal plants in the country? First of all, there was no fraud. The committee cannot use the relationship between the development and the contractors as the basis of fraud.”

AMERI Sublets Contract

Even when AMERI was given the contract, it sublet it to another company called PPR of Turkey and charged over $150 million commission.

In the course of the investigations, the Addison Committee said it took notice of the fact that the whole of the project was executed and financed by PPR, which was registered in Turkey at a charge that was considerably lower than what was agreed between the Government of Ghana and AMERI Energy.

Inflated Charge

A source close to the committee said the Variable Charge in the contract was around $8 million but by the time the contract was executed it had ballooned to about $16.6 million per annum.

DAILY GUIDE investigations indicate that state institutions that represented the country in the deal had said the ‘unstable’ variable charge was a mistake while AMERI officials also allegedly admitted the same mistake.

Dubai Trip

It has been said that the 17-member committee had their all-expenses trip to Dubai paid by AMERI when they commenced the investigation, but a source said the whole idea was at the instance of the Dubai-based company.

“The committee requested AMERI officials to be present in Ghana for the matter to be delved into but they said one of their Sheikhs was doing military service and was not going to be available,” the source said adding, “The committee proposed a neutral venue in London and they still insisted it was impossible and finally proposed that the members travel to Dubai for them to bear the cost.”

The Deal

The NDC government has signed the BOOT Agreement on February 10, 2015 as an emergency power arrangement to help reduce the power supply deficit at the time, and the project was expected to be delivered within 90 days after the fulfillment of conditions precedent, but it was never done within the stipulated period.

Then President Mahama’s brother’s company - Engineers and Planners - was given part of the contract at a highly ridiculous cost.

                    

 “Even though the plant is operational, several omissions and concessions were made in the BOOT Agreement which require re-negotiation, amendments and restructuring of the Agreement. The Agreement simply is grossly unfair and is not as it presently stands, in the best interest of Ghana,” the Addison Committee had said. 

                                      

“The Committee has enumerated technical, financial and legal observations and recommendations in the report that are aimed at rectifying the anomalies in the BOOT Agreement for effective and efficient implementation of the project,” it added.

It said that the recommendations were also to serve “as a guide for future negotiations of power projects,” and advised that the government “should take all necessary measures to avoid power supply deficits which result in the execution of emergency power agreements.”

Heated Debate

The AMERI deal, which involved the installation of 10 General Electric TM 2500 aero-derivative gas turbines at the cost of over $510 million at the Aboadze Power enclave, near Takoradi in the Western Region, later turned out to be exorbitant for the taxpayer, thereby sparking heated political debate.

The lid was blown in December 2015 by award-winning Norwegian newspaper Verdens Gang (VG) which published that the power generating gas turbines were estimated to cost $220 million on the international market, but the NDC government contracted them for $510 million for Ghana, excluding service charges.

The newspaper's investigative journalist tracked a Pakistani-born Norwegian, Umar Farooq Zahoor - a fugitive who is said to have played a leading role as a director in the deal between Ameri Group and the government.

According to the Norwegians, Umar Farooq was said to be the middleman between the Ghana government and the Dubai-based single-purpose company.

Outrageous Swindle

Bright Simons, a brilliant social innovator and researcher, later said that the deal “might be the most outrageous swindle this country has seen in the last decade.”

According to the founder and president of mPedigree, who is also a leading member of IMANI Ghana – a think-tank - the country paid $260 million more in the deal which translates into 21% per annum, saying, “That 21% effective annual interest rate is the product either of criminal incompetence or sheer recklessness, which leads many right-minded persons to suspect underhand dealings.”