ABUGA PELE REJECTS CONTROVERSIAL DOCUMENT

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Wednesday, March 18, 2015

A controversial document yesterday truncated the trial of Abuga Pele, the former National Coordinator of National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP) now GYEEDA and Philip Akpeena Assibit, CEO of Goodwill International Group (GIG) who are charged for their roles in the infamous GYEEDA scandal.

It also emerged at the trial that investigations found that over $2million were first paid for supposed service rendered by Assibi’t GIG  and another over GH¢8 million also paid for oil and gas training run by GIG.

The Attorney General’s Department was trying to tender in evidence a document titled: Terms of work, which they said Assibit had presented to the Economic and Organized Crime Organization (EOCO) during investigations to justify the payment of huge sums to the accused.

The defense teams took turns to raise vehement objection to the tendering of the document and Justice Afia Serwah Asare Botwe, trying the case, said she needed to give a long ruling on whether or not to accept the prosecution’s document and subsequently adjourned proceedings until today.

Controversial document

Mrs Diana Adu Anane, a deputy investigator at EOCO had mounted the witness’ box as the seventh Prosecution Witness (PW7) and was being led in evidence by Mrs. Evelyn Keelson, a Chief State Attorney when the authenticity of the document halted the trial.

According to the witness, Assibit had presented to EOCO a photocopy of the Terms of work document which she said was supposed to be the working document of the MoU signed between NYEP and Assibit’s GIG but added that “we concluded that it was an after-thought.”

She told the packed court that the document was found to be a creation of Assibit’s and said the MoU was just to make GIG strategic partners.

“The terms on his document contradicted what was on the original MoU between the NYEP and GIG with West Capital Limited,” the witness said.

Objection

When the prosecutor sought to tender Assibit’s document in evidence, the accused counsel Raymond Bagnabu objected saying “this is not the document A1 (Assibit) submitted to EOCO.”

“It is a creation of witness who has simply removed the signature page of the MoU and attached to this (Terms of work) document,” counsel claimed, adding that once EOCO is an institution of record. Assibit would have been made to initial the document as coming from the accused.

Karl Adongo, representing Abuga Pele also objected saying “the last page of the document belongs to a different distinct document.”

He said that all the documents tendered by the prosecution had been signed but the instant document was not endorsed saying “this page is contrived with the ultimate aim to do our clients in and we will resist it with our might and strength.”

He said Abuga Pele had denied ever signing any document at EOCO and added that “the last page before the signature page is 11 and logically it should follow with 12 but the signature page as we have it is 5.”

Prosecution’s Insistence

Replying, the prosecutor said “nobody said his client signed any document. The investigator testified and laid enough foundation as to how they came by the document.”

She said it was Assibit himself who made a reference to the Terms of work in his demand letter and when EOCO asked him to submit it, he brought the document in contention.

“The signature page which is the MoU has been detached and attached to the document A1 brought as Terms of Work. It is the duty of the investigator to make this known to the court and it should be admitted so that if counsel have anything, they can ask during cross-examination,” she told the court.

Assibit and Abuga Pele roles

Commencing her evidence-in-chief, Mrs. Adu Anane told the court that it was a joint team of police and EOCO officers that investigated the matter and found out that the two payments were made to Assibit’s GIG, saying “they were distinct and separate payments.”

She said they found a letter written by Assibit on Management Development and Productivity Institute (MDPI) letterhead and the accused had described himself as a Managing Consultant but when they investigated, they realised it was a false representation.

She said Assibit’s letter had stated that the supposed service was rendered with MDPI and that the work was 70 percent complete and that he (Assibit) had pre-financed it.

The investigator also told the court that Abuga Pele wrote to then Minister of Youth and Sports Clement Kofi Humado to justify the terms and recommended payment for work done by Assibit.

She also said that there was no consultancy agreement between GIG and MDPI in July, 2009 for which Abuga Pele recommended payment and said rather the agreement was between MDPI and Goodwill Solutions Associates Africa represented by Assibit.

The witness further said the 2010 agreement was between GIG and MDPI and another agreement in 2011 with GIG for Exit Strategies for GYEEDA beneficiaries which was duly signed but said it was never operational because it was dependent on the $65million World Bank loan which is yet to arrive.

NATIONAL SERVICE IN EXTORTION SCANDAL

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Thursday, 12 March 2015

 A Member of Parliament has blown the cover on what he says is an attempt by the National Service Scheme (NSS) to allegedly extort money from students who are due to register to serve the nation.

According to Kwaku Kwarteng, MP for Obuasi West, the National Service Secretariat recently issued a directive, asking all final year tertiary students to pay enrolment processing fee of GH¢40 before they could access online registration forms but the MP insists the move is unlawful.

The NSS statement had said "Please proceed to any branch of the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) and pay your required enrolment processing fee of (GHS 40) in order to access the online registration platform. Note that without the payment you will not be able to register for your mandatory national service"

The move is creating uneasy calm among students since at all material times the payment was spread in the form of deductions from their monthly salaries.

Other are also of the view that it was unreasonable for the secretariat to coerce students who are not even on salaries to be charged for something they did not know about.

The MP wrote to the NSS Director, copied to the NSS Board expressing disgust about the situation saying “it is obvious that this charge is just wrong.”

Extortion of money

“I write respectfully to avert your mind to the fact that this charge by the NSS is wrong and unlawful. It amounts to extortion of money from students many of whom have no income of their own,” he said.

“To begin with, National Service personnel are citizens who are required by law to render mandatory service to the nation after completing tertiary education in Ghana. To force them to pay an "enrolment processing fee" before being allowed to comply with their National Service obligation is unacceptable.

He said but assuming without admitting that this charge is permissible, it would still be required under the Financial Administration Act (2004) and the Fees & Charges Act (2009) that the Minister for Finance brings it to Parliament for approval.”

“The law allows government departments that render service to interested members of the public to charge a fee for rendering the specific service. The law does not allow government departments to slap a fee on young citizens who are rather rendering a mandatory service to the state.”

The Obuasi West MP said that for the purposes of enrolling service personnel and running the National Service Scheme, “an allocation is made in the annual budget to the National Service Secretariat through the Ministry of Education,” adding “this is the state policy for funding the scheme.”

GH¢2.5 million yield

He said that per current figures, “this unlawful charge would yield about GH¢2.5 million,” asking “is this honestly the yearly cost of processing enrolment of service personnel?”

The MP pointed out that prospective service personnel have choice whether or not to join any association saying “indeed, the national constitution grants them the right to join an association and the right not to join an association.”

“Nobody has the authority to impose on them the obligations of an association they have not willingly joined. Come to think of it, they are even not National Service personnel yet; they cannot belong to any National Service association.

There is no lawful basis for this charge on the poor students. I therefore write respectfully to advise that this GH¢40 charge be removed immediately. The cost of enrolling national service personnel should be financed from the secretariat's budget allocation; that all students who have been compelled to pay this unlawful charge should have their monies refunded to them immediately.”

NSS response

In a related development the NSS has issued a statement to justify the GH¢40 processing fees saying “payment for computerized registration and deployment (posting) of National Service Personnel was introduced in 2005 and has been in existence since. It is therefore not a new policy.”

“The amount involved GH¢40 which was paid by serving and previous National Service Personnel remains the same. The breakdown of the GH¢40 is as follows: GH¢10 for NSS ID card GH¢10 for National Service Personnel Association (NASPA) dues GH¢20 for computerized registration per person.”

The statement said the NSS Board approved that starting with the 2015/2016 service year all prospective personnel who intended to avail themselves to the computerized registration will be required to make this payment at the point of enrolment.

The secretariat said the policy was to eliminate all forms of cash transactions and payment at NSS offices and to improve the quality of service rendered by NSS to National Service Personnel by ensuring that their NSS ID cards and other relevant items were ready on time and could be picked at the time of collecting their appointment letters.

NO WITNESS IN ABUGA PELE CASE

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Thursday, 12 March 2015

The much-touted trial of Abuga Pele, the former National Coordinator of National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP) now GYEEDA and Philip Akpeena Assibit, CEO of Goodwill International Group (GIG) could not proceed as scheduled yesterday because the prosecution failed to bring a witness to the court.

As a result, the trial judge, Justice Afia Asare-Botwe, had to adjourn proceedings until Tuesday, March 17 and Wednesday, March 18, for the seventh prosecution witness (PW7) to testify.

It was about the seventh time the trial of the former NYEP Coordinator who is also the MP for Chiana-Paga in the Upper East Region and his co-accused Assibit was being adjourned.

So far, Nuru Hamidan former NYEP Deputy National Coordinator in charge of Operations and now MCE for Asokore Mampong, Gladys Ghartey current Head of United Nations Systems at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, Mohammed Pelpuo, Head of the Business Development Unit at NYEP as well as Clement Kofi Humado, former Minister of Youth and Sports have since testified and cross-examined.

Dr. Shaibu Ahmed Gariba, who until September 2014 was the Director General of Management Development and Productivity Institute (MDPI) told the court as well as an Accountant attached to the Ghana Youth Employment and Entrepreneurial Development Agency (GYEEDA), Eric Sunu have also testified and cross-examined.

Prosecution’s request

When the case was called yesterday, Mrs Evelyn Keelson, prosecuting told the judge that the next witness was still not back from an official assignment.

“Our witness has an official assignment as I indicated to the court at the last adjourned date and unfortunately, he is still not back.”

Mrs. Keelson told the court that the AG’s Department only got to know about the absence of the witness at the last hour and that made it impossible for them to inform the judge ahead of time.

The trial judge was not happy with the prosecution’s ‘tactics’ and complained that she had to adjourn a number of cases she was handling in order to make room for the instant case which could not come off.

Accused Persons

Abuga Pele and Philip Akpeena Assibit are standing trial for the various roles they played, which the Attorney General’s Department said caused huge financial loss to the state.

The MP is accused of wilfully causing financial loss to the state to the tune of GH¢3,330,568.53 while Assibit is being tried for defrauding the state of an amount equivalent to $1,948,626.68.

The two have pleaded not guilty and are currently on bail. They were present in court yesterday.

Charges                                               

The NDC MP is facing six counts of wilfully causing financial loss to the state under Section 179A (3) of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 Act 29, two counts of abetment under Sections 20(1) and 131(1) of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29) and one count of intentionally misapplying public property, contrary to Section 1(2) of the Public Property Protection Act, 1977 (SMCD) 140.

Mr. Assibit, who is the first accused person on the other hand, is facing six counts of defrauding by false pretences, contrary to Section 131(1) of the Criminal and Offences Act 1960 (Act 29) and five counts of dishonestly causing loss to public property contrary to Section 2(1) of the Public Property Protection Act, 1977 (SMCD) 140.

NCA UNDER PRESSURE OVER TELCOS CLEARING HOUSE

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Wednesday, March 11, 2015

OccupyGhana, a socio-political non-partisan pressure group is piling pressure on the National Communications Authority (NCA) to get the regulator to reveal more information about the announcement of the award of the proposed Interconnect Clearing House (ICH) for the telecommunications sector.

According to the group which also campaigns against rampant corruption, they never received any acknowledgement for an earlier letter they sent to the NCA relying on Article 21(1) (f) of the constitution to request for clarity on the ICH policy which is scheduled to take off in May, 2015.

ICH policy

The government, through the NCA, is claiming that some telecommunication companies (Telcos) are involved in scams and also underpaying revenue due the government and as a result, said it was in the process of establishing an ICH that would require Telcos and International Carriers to connect their gateways via a clearing house.

Phone Tapping

However, critics say the NCA hurriedly arranged the ICH programme with little or no stakeholder input and contracted Afriwave Telecom Ghana Ltd as a mandatory ICH for all telecommunications service subscribers in Ghana effective May, 2015.

Some have even argued that the ICH policy is a means to tap into people’s privacy by listening to telephone calls.

Court Action

In the ensuing argument, MP for Obuasi West, Kwaku Kwarteng and two others filed a suit at an Accra High Court seeking to put a stopper on the whole ICH programme until all issues are put right.

The suit which has one Elijah Adansi-Bonah, a subscriber to the telecommunications services and Development Data, a policy research and advocacy institution as part of the plaintiffs cites the NCA and Afriwave Telecom Ghana Ltd as well as all telecoms service (mobile phone service) providers as the defendants.

NCA’s Snub

“It is most unfortunate that until now, OccupyGhana has neither received an official acknowledgement, nor a response to our letter,” the group said in a statement issued yesterday.

They said per their second letter, they were asking the NCA to provide additional information on the ‘purported ICH policy’ and it should be done within seven days.

The Queries

The group particularly wants the NCA to make available “Minutes, and/or notes of all related meetings and discussions involving NCA personnel, directors, board members, and outside persons, prior to NCA making its policy recommendation to the ministry per within NCA mandate.”

They also requested for “Minutes, and/or notes of all related meetings and discussions involving NCA personnel, directors, board members, Ministry of Communications personnel (including the minister and deputy ministers), and outside persons, whether initiated by NCA, the ministry, or any other person, in which recommendations from NCA or policy goals from the ministry were presented or discussed including without limitation.”

OccupyGhana further wants to know any analysis prior to the policy recommendation from the NCA to the ministry, by or at the request to NCA or received by the authority, including names of persons performing such analyses and their experience in the relevant area prior to NCA making its policy recommendation to the ministry per within NCA mandate.”

They said they want the names and titles of all NCA and other personnel contributing to the authority’s consultation paper, including their qualifications and personal experience with matters presented therein adding OccupyGhana wants “all materials received by NCA to its consultation paper, as received without editing.”

They also requested for “any document showing why and when the NCA decided to renege on its commitment to publish all responses to its consultation paper as it committed to do when it was released,” and further requested for “all applications received in respect of the license, in their entirety, without editing or redaction.”

They further asked for “minutes and/or note of all meetings and discussions regarding selection of the successful applicant for the license.”

CONFUSION AT EC…AS AFARI-GYAN PROCEEDS ON LEAVE

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Tuesday, March 10, 2015

There appear to be confusion at the Electoral Commission (EC) over who should take over from the outgoing Chairman, Dr. Kwadwo Afari-Gyan who is retiring very soon.

Dr. Afari-Gyan is due to address parliament today, probably for the last time, as he proceeds on terminal his leave prior to retirement next week.

Even before he retires, there is serious power-play among the deputy commissioners and the issue of who should take over as the acting Commissioner before a substantive one is appointed, has become intense.

The EC boss is going to parliament to explain the botched District Level Elections which should have been held on March 3, to the house.

A source told DAILY GUIDE that Amadu Sulley, a deputy commissioners in charge of Operations is seriously lobbying to be appointed acting Commissioner and possibly substantive when Afari-Gyan finally retires in June.

Sources told DAILY GUIDE that Mr Amadu has a lot of question to answer as he was said to have created the mess in the botched district level election.

As the person in charge of operations, he reportedly ignored calls by Dr. Afari-Gyan to extend the District Level Elections timetable when it became apparent that the Constitutional Instrument (C.I.) that was to be used to regulate the election was flawed.

“If there is anybody to be blamed, it should be Amadu Sulley because Afari-Gyan asked him to extend the time for the election but he did not heed to the advice. He caused the election mess,” the source claimed.

“He is busily positioning himself as the Acting Commissioner and the sort of ongoing power-play at the commission is amazing. Dr. Afari-Gyan’s imminent departure has gripped everybody at the commission.”

The source said the cancellation of the election by the Supreme Court has thrown the EC’s budgeted programmes out of gear.

“The EC spent millions of state money to print the ballot papers and made other preparations before the court ordered them to restart the whole process so it is a huge financial loss Dr. Afari-Gyan and his staff caused.”

“It is clear that the commission will have to do another balloting for candidates except in areas where only one candidate will be contesting and all these will be at the expense of the taxpayer.”

The election was called off because Benjamin Eyi Mensah, a fisherman from winneba in the Central region, challenged the maturity of C.I. 85, the instrument used by the commission to attempt to organize the election and the Supreme Court duly affirmed the plaintiff’s reliefs.

EC statement

The Commission later in a terse statement said "in view of the Supreme Court's decision in the matter of Benjamin Eyi Mensah v The Electoral Commission, on Friday, 27th February 2015, with regard to the maturity of C.I 85, the District Level Elections and all activities connected with them have been suspended forthwith until further notice."

RED FLAG OVER INTERCONNECT CLEARING HOUSE

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Tuesday, March 10, 2015

The Parliamentary Select Committee on Communications has raised red flag over the government’s introduction of Interconnect Clearing House (ICH) for the telecommunications sector.

The government, through the National Communications Authority (NCA), is claiming that some telecommunication companies (Telcos) are involved in scams and also underpaying revenue due the government and as a result, said it was in the process of establishing an ICH that would require Telcos and International Carriers to connect their gateways via a clearinghouse.

A Member of Parliament, Kwaku Kwarteng, MP for Obuasi West has sued the NCA and others over what he called an unlawful breach of the law. 

Stakeholders’ Queries

However, the Select Committee chaired by Albert Abongo, MP for Bongo has written to the sector minister requesting him to respond to queries raised by the Chamber of Telecommunications Service Providers and other stakeholders who are complaining that an ICH regime might curtail free speech.

The letter which was also copied to the NCA, Chamber of Telecoms, Speaker of Parliament, leadership of parliament as well as all Communication Service Providers said “I write to remind you of the Members’ request that you submit to the committee, responses to the numerous queries raised by the Chamber of Telecommunications Service providers as well as the individual Service Providers.”

The Committee said that if the Ministry of Communications abandoned the process of dialogue with stakeholders it “may jeopardize the implementation of the INTERCONNECT Clearing House (ICH).”

“It is in this regard that the Committee respectively believes the need for extension of tie for the consultation processes with the stakeholders,” the letter further said.

The committee assured the ministry and the stakeholders of its preparedness “to continue to be a part of the process towards amicable resolution of the concerns raised, as the committee continues to receive petitions and representations on daily basis.”

Franklin’s critique

In a related development, IMANI Centre for Policy and Education Franklin Cudjoe says the proposal to establish the ICH is illegal and said stakeholders were not even consulted.

He told Citi FM‘s News analysis programme The Big Issue, that “The National Communication Authority and the Ministry of Communication, exceedingly wasteful enterprises which are causing a lot of harm to us. Even in Pakistan their supreme court ruled that the Interconnect Clearing House is an illegality.”

He said the project is political and criticized President Mahama for describing the project as ‘transformational’ in his State of the Nation address last Thursday saying “it is a political project which is building war chest of a party and I think it is one of the grandest sponsored schemes ever”.

“That the president spends less than a minute on an illegality, which is the interconnect clearing house and he suggested that is something transformational. This is one bad piece of legislation which was smuggled through cabinet because it never had any serious discussion in the public and certainly no telco was involved. Very bad communication policy.”

OccupyGhana concerns

OccupyGhana (OG), a fast-growing pressure group campaigning against widespread corruption in the country were one of the first groups to criticize the ICH initiative.

They issued a release on February 2, saying “while the ICH concept may not necessarily be an inappropriate solution, OccupyGhana has legitimate concerns, a number of which have been expressed by other stakeholders in the telecommunications industry.”

“OccupyGhana believes that these concerns must be thoroughly discussed and a consensus reached in the best interest of the country, bearing in mind telecommunication licenses are national assets and the citizenry ought to be assured by government that all such assets will be harnessed and put to proper use to enable the nation to gain optimum benefit”

MFWA’s call

Another organization to join the crusade against ICH was the media right group, Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) who called on Ghanaians to fiercely resist what it called “the ongoing attempt to introduce the proposed industry-crippling entity.”

MFWA in a news release issued in Accra

said the proposed ICH policy “have been quite imprudent.”

“In fact, recent actions by the regulator (NCA) have the potential of not just crippling the industry, but also rolling back the gains made in the sector so far,” it’s Executive Director, Mustapha Sulemana, said.

MFWA said that “in the attempt to win public support for the needless ICH, the NCA has put out what can be described as the fallacy of ‘ICH and SIM Boxing Fraud (SBF),’” saying  “quite clearly, the solution to SBF cannot be the proposed ICH. The solution lies with dealing with the conditions that make sim-boxing an extra-ordinarily lucrative venture in Ghana.”

MP SUES GOV’T OVER CLEARING HOUSING

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Monday, March 09, 2015

The government’s decision to set up an Interconnect Clearing House (ICH) for the telecommunications sector is meeting fierce resistance from the public particularly players in the industry, as a Member of Parliament runs to court to stop the process.

There have been a number of agitations following the National Communications Authority (NCA’s) hurriedly-arranged ICH programme which had little stakeholder input and the fact that the NCA has decided to contract Afriwave Telecom Ghana Ltd as a mandatory ICH for all telecommunications service subscribers in Ghana effective May, 2015, has raised eyebrows.

The government, through the NCA, is claiming that some telecommunication companies (Telcos) are involved in scams and also underpaying revenue due the government and as a result, said it was in the process of establishing an ICH that would require Telcos and International Carriers to connect their gateways via a clearing house.

Some have argued that the ICH is a means to tap into people’s privacy by listening to calls.

Court Action

MP for Obuasi West, Kwaku Kwarteng and two others have filed a suit at an Accra High Court seeking to put a stopper on the whole ICH programme until all issues are put right.

The suit which has one Elijah Adansi-Bonah, a subscriber to the telecommunications services and Development Data, a policy research and advocacy institution as part of the plaintiffs cites the NCA and Afriwave Telecom Ghana Ltd as well as all telecoms service (mobile phone service) providers as the defendants.

The suit filed on March 5, 2015 by their solicitors Sory @ Law, also invites the Attorney-General as an interested party.

Reliefs

The plaintiffs want a declaration that the NCA’s decision to constitute Afriwave Telecom Ghana Ltd as all the telecoms companies for the ICH programme is “unlawful, unreasonable and in breach” of the authority’s “constitutional obligation” to the plaintiffs “to act fairly, reasonably and in accordance with law.”

They want another declaration that the NCA’s decision to constitute Afriwave Telecom Ghana Ltd as all the telecoms companies for the ICH programme “unjustifiably interferes with Plaintiffs' fundamental human right to freedom from interference with their communication and correspondence,” or in the alternative,  a declaration that the action of the regulator “has the likelihood of interfering unjustifiably with Plaintiff s fundamental human right and freedom from interference with their communication and correspondence.”

The plaintiffs therefore are seeking an “order of perpetual injunction restraining the defendants from implementing and or executing” the NCA’s decision to constitute Afriwave Telecom Ghana Ltd “as a mandatory Interconnect Clearing House for all telecommunications service subscribers in Ghana.”

Plaintiff’s claim

Plaintiffs averred that on November 5, last year the NCA invited “public and stakeholder comments and input” into the setting up and implementing the ICH and the input was to be done on or before November 19, 2014.

Plaintiffs said that on November 26, 2014, the NCA invited applications for licenses to operate the said ICH with the application deadline fixed for December 10, 2014 which was “eleven (11) business days from the date of publication of the notice (26/11/14) for applications to operate the Interconnect Clearing House.”

The plaintiffs said the effect of the NCA’s invitation for applications to operate the Interconnect Clearing House was that, “between the period 19/11/14 and 26/11/14, that is about five (5) days after 1st Defendant invited and received public and stakeholder comments on 1st Defendant’s decision to establish an ICH had ostensibly reviewed all the comments it received from the public and stakeholders on the feasibility, legality and/or propriety or otherwise of the decision to create the ICH.”

Afriwave Appointment

According to the plaintiffs the NCA proceeded to appoint Afriwave Telecom Ghana Ltd as the ICH operator and tasked the company “with the responsibility of inter connecting telephone calls

and data services provided by and for and on behalf of” the telecoms companies.

They averred that as the ICH for the telecoms companies therefore, Afriwave Telecom Ghana Ltd “assumes the responsibility of interconnecting all telephone calls and data services now directly provided by” telecoms companies to its customers including the plaintiffs “with the effect that the direct connectivity advantages that availed” all of the telecoms companies’ customers will now be rendered redundant.

Enabling Statutes

“In terms of its enabling statute, the 1st Defendant (NCA) has no power to appoint a third party such as 2nd Defendant (Afriwave Telecom Ghana Ltd) and impose its interconnect services on 3rd to 8th Defendants (Telecoms companies) the imposition of the interconnect services of 2nd Defendant on 3rd to 8th Defendants being unlawful and unreasonable, irrational and contrary to law.”

According to the plaintiffs, by law, telecommunications service providers in terms of their respective licences, “are required to interconnect with one another.”

“The purpose and effect of such interconnectivity is that subscribers of one network are able to communicate seamlessly with subscribers of other works thereby facilitating communication between network subscribers and operators especially in emergency situations and in the national interest.”

Right to free speech

“Since their right to and freedom from interference with their correspondence and communication is constitutionally guaranteed, 2nd Defendant can only lawfully transmit the content of their voice and data communication, with their express consent.”

They also averred that if the NCA finds the need to appoint Afriwave Telecom Ghana Ltd to support telecommunications service providers who have difficulty satisfying their interconnect obligations, “then the subscription to those interconnect services ought to be done as an optional non-mandatory business decision of each telecommunications service provider.”

DUBAI POWER DEAL STINKS

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Thursday, March 5, 2015

It has emerged that the NDC government will be spending a whopping $700million for a total of 250megawatts of emergency power from a Dubai based company called Ameri Energy Group.

Interestingly, the government can make an outright purchase of the same power plant between $180-$220 million according to energy policy analysis group Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP).

The Mahama-led government rather wants to spend $700million to rent the emergency power unit in a period of five years from Ameri Energy Group to solve the country’s protracted power crisis.

Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam, Executive Director of ECEP at a news conference in Accra on Monday punched holes into some of the agreements reached by the government and foreign companies that are seeking to help the government solve the power crisis.

He said the Dubai deal “is a lease based on build, operate, own and transfer (BOOT) with a total of 250MW of emergency power. The units consist of 10 set of GE TM 2500 power plants each consisting of 25 MW.”

According to ACEP, the units will be leased to Ghana at about $120million yearly in addition to $16 million for other contingencies that could shoot the cost up to $138 million but excluding cost of fuel.

“If we have $138million to pay for one-year lease, this could buy about 6 or 7 of the unit outright in Ghana,” the ACEP boss said.

He insisted that “it does not make economic sense to rent the plants for $700million for five years before taking ownership when we could have bought them outright for $220million.”

He said under the deal, GRIDCo is supposed to bear the cost of transmission interconnection, which had not been budgeted for.

Additionally, the ACEP boss said that the plant required 85MM scf/day of fuel and it was to be sourced from the Atuabo Gas plant adding “on this basis, the gas meant for the T1 and T2 plants is to be displaced and run on the new 250MW APR plant. The gas is estimated to cost $20-25million.”

“The implication of the gas arrangement is that crude oil will have to be procured to run the T1 and T2. At current crude oil price of $50bbl, the monthly cost is $25-30 million but the total consumption of T1 and T2 at full operation is approximately 20,000bbl/day.”

Dr. Adam said “this makes it difficult to run T1 and T2 given the history of VRA’s financial challenges.”

KIA COCAINE BARON DEPORTED

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Tuesday, March 3, 2015

Owner of Sohin Security Check Limited – the company that was providing security at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) – Solomon Adelaquaye has been deported after serving a 24-month jail term in the USA.

He was jailed in the US for dealing in heroin, a narcotic drug, for only 24 months because he cooperated with investigators, according to sources.

He arrived on Friday, February 13, 2015 via Delta Air Lines Flight 478 and was immediately whisked away by NACOB officials for debriefing.

A US Department of Homeland Security document that details  Adelaquaye's deportation shows that he has been banned from entering the US for life.

"You have been found to be inadmissible to the United States under the pro­visions of Section 212(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act or deportable under the provisions of Section 237 of the Act as a Visa Pilot Waiver Programme violator. In accordance with the provisions of Section 212(a) (9) of the Act, you are prohibited from entering, attempting to enter, or being in the United States," a notice to Alien Ordered Removed/Departure Verification filed on December 31 last year indicated.​

Adelaquaye was arrest­ed in May 2013 with two Nigerians and a Colombian following a joint US-Ghana operation.

He was tipping off drug barons as well as aiding them to use the KIA for their operations.

The ex-convict was said to have secured the KIA security contract using his National Democratic Congress (NDC) connection.

Aggravated Felony

“At any time, because in addition to being found inadmissible, you have convicted of crime designated as an aggravated felony,” the document whose subject identity was 351750614 affirmed Adalaquaye’s case.

Adalaqauye who was touted as an NDC financier from 2009 had been issued a two-year US Multiple Entry Visa with Control number 20131235160003.

He served his two year jail term and has since been deported to Ghana. He was jailed for only 24 months because he co-operated with investigators, according to sources arriving on Friday, February 13, 2015 via Delta Air Lines Flight 478 and was immediately whisked away by NACOB officials for debriefing.

US investigators were able to prove that Adalaquaye by virtue of his position at Ghana’s main airport was able to conspire with others to export narcotic drugs to the America.

He stood trial together with Colombian Samuel Antonia Pinedo-Rueda and Nigerians Frank Muodum and Celestine Ofor Orjinweke.

US Under-Cover Agents

During the trial it emerged that at a meeting on February 25, 2012 at Adalaquaye's office at the KIA in Accra, a US under-cover agent who feigned interest in the narcotic drugs business said he had hidden 1kg of heroin in his laptop, and the Sohin Security boss was able to use his influence to by-pass security checks and hand over the computer to the agent later.

The agent again was able to give Adalaquaye $6,000 cash to guarantee the safe passage of the heroin through the airport.

It adds that at a separate meeting in Accra in May 2013, another US under-cover agent who posed as a dealer from Colombia was able to discuss with Adelaquaye, Muodum and Orjinweke a plan to supply them with 3,000kg of cocaine, valued at $25,000 per kilogram, in exchange for an amount of heroin of similar value.

Adelaquaye, Muodum, and Orjinweke told the agent that they could transport the heroin to the United States by airplane in multiple shipments of 25kg each.

Adelaquaye and the Nigerians were arrested in New York soon thereafter while Pinedo-Rueda was apprehended in Colombia.

FIC Factor

In a related development, the security agencies are yet to disclose the steps they took when fresh allegations emerged against Adalaquaye over the €1million (approximately GH¢2.6million at the time) which was reportedly found in his local bank account.

The amount was tracked down by the covert agency- the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) – instituted to hunt money launderers in Ghana, as far back as October 2012.

The FIC’s investigations had been triggered by a whistleblower within Five Stars Mining Company Ltd, the mining company also owned by Adalaquaye and a confidential document of October 10, 2012 was addressed to then National Security Coordinator, Larry Gbevlo-Lartey.

Mining Decoy

Investigations conducted by the FIC into the activities and operations of Five Star Mining Company Limited later revealed that although it was registered with the Registrar General’s Department to do mining prospecting and mining, as well as deal in mining equipment and chemicals, “the company was engaged in an unlawful business since it has no mandate from PMMC to deal in gold.”

The FIC accordingly wrote to the National Security Coordinator to inform him of the outcome of its investigations in a letter of December 13, 2012, in which it also identified the Directors of the company as including Adelaquaye who was CEO, one Mark Archibald, Rufus Kofi Korvili Mensah and Eric Kwaku Harrison as the secretary, all purported to be bearing Ghanaian passports.

Gbevlo-Lartey Alerted

The letter had alerted Col. Gbevlo-Lartey about the fraudulent activities of Adalaquaye in the report including how Adelaquaye’s mining company’s bank account number 8700231292600 with a local bank (name withheld) has been used as a conduit for laundering all sorts of fraudulent money for his partners abroad.

The Sohin Security boss was believed to have retained 50 per cent of all the monies transferred through him as payment for allowing his account to be used for the fraudulent movement of cash.