The three New Patriotic Party (NPP) Members of Parliament challenging the $700 million loan acquisition by the Ghana National Petroleum Authority (GNPC) have finally filed a suit at the High Court restraining the company from going ahead with the facility.
The three, Dr. Anthony Osei Akoto, Samuel Atta Kyea and Mathew Opoku Prempeh say the loan acquisition without Parliamentary approval is illegal.
The GNPC is reportedly seeking a $700 million loan from the Deutsche Bank and used its share of oil revenue as collateral.
Critics say the Authority cannot secure a loan without prior approval from Parliament.
The Chief Executive Officer of the GNPC, Alex Mould defended the decision to secure loan by saying “I know some people have been mischievous, saying that GNPC is raising this money to give to government. GNPC is not raising the money to give to government.”
[contextly_sidebar id=”NY6rSMJCjDeVZBZhgSZHmMkUaJ9TUFVO”]Speaking to Citi News, Lawyer for the three MPs, Nana Asante Bediatuo said the GNPC loan if allowed to go through will serve as a bad precedent.
He insisted that “the borrowing that GNPC intends to make should be subjected to Parliamentary scrutiny and approval.”
“If you consider the statement that has been made by GNPC, it would appear that they do not believe that this matter requires Parliamentary involvement at all. In fact, they have suggested that the Attorney General has given them an opinion to the effect that parliamentary approval is not required,” he said.
Asante Bediatuo further explained that “the MPs hold the view that Parliament cannot be disrespected, the law cannot be breached and therefore they want to seek the court’s intervention to ensure that the proper thing is done.”
“We are seeking declaration that acquisition of the loan without parliament scrutiny is unlawful and they want a perpetual injunction restraining them from proceeding with any such borrowing until such time that parliament has the opportunity to approve the facility and the intended project.”
Meanwhile, the Africa Center for Energy Policy (ACEP) is also insisting that the facility must go through Parliament.
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By: Godwin Allotey Akweiteh/citifmonline.com/Ghana