The Minority in Parliament has accused the Ministry of Energy’s committee which reviewed the deal between the Government of Ghana and the Ameri group of politicizing the agreement, adding that it was not fraudulent.
At a press conference organised by the minority and chaired by the Former Minister of Power, Dr. Kwabena Donkor, they raised concerns about the alleged document making rounds in the media which is purported to have been released by the Addison committee
They said the report had not been signed, making it a doubtful document indicating that they had not even been served copies. Dr. Donkor said they commented on it because the document had been made public and was being discussed in the media, casting a slur on the credibility of the work they did when in power.
The NDC Minority members of the Energy Committee debunked claims that due diligence was not done in the agreement. They argued that in an emergency situation, the ministry was happy to leave the due diligence to JPMORGAN, the International Financial Giant that confirmed the Letter of Credit (SBLC). JPMORGAN only agreed to confirm that SC after their own due diligence.
They also stated that Parliament also probed the credentials of the AMERI deal and requested and received the appropriate documentation before approving the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). Setting the record straight, the group stated that it is important to note that the State of Ghana had no exposure to AMERI at this stage because the risk of procuring the turbines was on AMERI and not Ghana.
They challenged some of the recommendations made by the purported Addison Committee, that the agreement should include penalties for the contractor in event of any deviations in the heat rate relative to the guaranteed heat rate, the Minority side is of the view, If only the Committee had talked to the OUR, they would have been educated in understanding that financial penalties based on heat rate are built into the Tariff calculations
Referring to page 12 of the Addison Committee which the committee alleged breach of contract on the part of Engineers and Planners (E&P) Limited, they alluded to the fact that whereas E&P can speak for itself, it is important to put the records right.
Dr. Kwabena Donkor said the then Sector Minister had to plead with E&P to execute the civil works which was an obligation of the State under the contract.
The Former Minister for Power and his colleagues revealed that VRA had through their normal procurement process contracted some contracting firms on their list of approved contractors and none was prepared to execute the works without the payment mobilization which the ministry of finance was not in a good position to pay. With the turbines coming in, our attention was drawn to this challenge, they disclosed. According to them that is how come E&P was brought in.
Owoahene Omari Acheampong|Onua Fm|Ghana