The first meeting of the second session of Parliament is being chaired by the First Deputy Speaker, Joe Osei Owusu, because the Speaker, Professor Aaron Mike Oquaye, is currently serving as acting President due to the absence of both the President and the Vice President.

[contextly_sidebar id=”cLpvYuCeT9tHdLtGMbisXgmJo5fp9dWn”]The House was recalled for an emergency session earlier in January after the Minority wrote to the Speaker urging him to call for the sitting to consider their motion on the alleged ‘cash for seat’ scandal.

MPs returned to the House again on Sunday, as Prof Oquaye was sworn in as Acting President by Chief Justice, Sophia Akuffo.

However, this is the first normal sitting of the House since they went on recess for the Christmas holidays.

Citi News‘ Parliamentary correspondent, Duke Mensah Opoku, reported that the Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu in his statement, called on Parliament to summon the Interior Minister, Ambrose Dery, to answer questions on the recent jailbreak at Kwabenya which resulted in the death of one policeman.

He added that the Police Command, led by the Inspector General Commander (IGP), was currently locked in a meeting with the Interior and Defence Committee of Parliament over that issue “and other related matters with regards to security in general in the country.”

The Tamale South MP also demanded that government gives clear indications on whether or not they would extend the stay of the former Guantanamo Bay detainees.

President Akufo-Addo had indicated at last week’s Media Encounter that the two former Gitmo detainees would learn their fate when the House reconvenes.

Duke Mensah Opoku also reported that, the vetting of Special Prosecutor-nominee Martin Amidu “is part of the programme of activities that will be laid out in this session of the House” along with a report from the Committee considering a motion for rescission of the AMERI deal.

“Later on, in this session of the House, we’re expecting that President [Nana Akufo-Addo] will come and deliver his State of The Nation address to the people’s representatives. With regards to the exact time that these programmes will be held, we aren’t quite sure, but we know it will be in this session of Parliament,” Duke added.

‘Meet the deadline’

The bi-partisan Committee probing the alleged extortion of expatriates during the 2017 Ghana Expatriate Business Awards, is also expected to present its report on Wednesday, which was the deadline set by Parliament when the Committee was formed.

The acting Speaker, Joe Osei-Owusu, asked the ad-hoc Committee to ensure that they meet the deadline and submit their report accordingly.

“As you know, our mandate of scrutinizing government business and holding public officials to account gained a lot of public interest till the ad-hoc committee was setup to investigate the alleged collection of various sums of monies from expatriates business during the Expatriates Business Awards in Accra. I suppose that substantial work has been done by the Committee to meet the deadline given by Mr. Speaker to enable the House consider the report during this week,” he added.

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By: Edwin Kwakofi/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Parliament resumes sitting after Christmas break appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Dr. Osei-Assibey, however, admitted that Ghana is not getting enough revenue from the current contracts, and would be justified if it goes back to renegotiate for more.

[contextly_sidebar id=”OxaxnKHkGZYXvD4tcvx7xyrGrAw9ga9b”]The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) has asserted that past governments did not negotiate oil contracts in the best interest of the country because the country did not have the appropriate laws governing the industry at the time.

Speaking to Citi Business News at the sidelines of an IEA forum dubbed “A Decade after Oil Discovery in Ghana”, Dr. Osei-Assibey said Ghana must be circumspect on calls for a renegotiation of oil contracts.

“What we’re getting from the oil is not enough, therefore we should go back to renegotiate our oil contracts. But we must also be careful in terms of the sentiments we put out there. When we repeatedly call for contracts to be renegotiated, we might send the wrong signal to potential investors looking at investing in Ghana.”

The NPP government earlier this year set up a 17-member committee chaired by Lawyer Philip Addison to investigate the AMERI contract signed under the erstwhile John Mahama administration.

The committee recommended that the deal be renegotiated or abrogated on grounds of fraud.

The committee stated that AMERI, in its agreement with government, charged Ghana significantly higher than what it was charged by the Turkish registered company – PPR, which financed and executed the project.

Policy think tank IMANI Ghana, meanwhile disclosed that renegotiating the AMERI deal will save the country 2 million dollars monthly, translating into 24 million dollars a year.

According to the group, it is imperative for government to renegotiate the agreement to maintain value for money.

New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament for Adansi Asokwa, K.T Hammond, also revealed that Ghana stands to lose $150 million to AMERI in the deal.

Dr. Osei-Assibey in his submission suggested Ghana should perhaps amend its laws and make sure it gets value for money from contracts going forward.”

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By: Bobbie Osei/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana

The post Economist urges caution in oil contract reviews appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The Speaker was not in his chair throughout the week because he was not available but in my view, that did not in any way affect the smooth running of proceedings as First Deputy Speaker, Joe Osei owusu (NPP MP, Bekwai) and Second Deputy Speaker Alban Bagbin (NDC MP, Nadowli-Kaleo) steered the affairs of the House creditably from Tuesday through to Friday.

On the Floor

Some Ministers who were programmed to answer questions on the Floor of the House did not show up for various reasons including the fact that some of them had to be part of the team hosting President Alassane Ouattara [Ivorian President] who was in the country at the time.

This incurred the “wrath” of the Minority and at different times within the week. Members on the front bench of the Minority such as Chief Whip Alhaji Muntaka Mubarak (NDC MP, Asawase) and Deputy Minority Leader, James Klutse Avedzi (NDC MP,Ketu North) protested the non-appearance of the Ministers on the Floor.

Matters came to a head on Friday [October 20, 2017] when Second Deputy Speaker, Alban Bagbin then in the Speaker’s chair, rejected the explanation of the Majority as to why the Minister for Roads and Highways, Kwesi Amoako- Atta (MP, Atiwa West) failed to honour the invitation of the House and did not assign any of his deputies to represent him in answering questions from Alhassan Suhuyini (MP, Tamale North) regarding the roads in his constituency.

Not even the explanation of Majority Chief Whip, Kwesi Ameyaw-Cheremeh (MP, Sunyani East) that the Ministers were at a retreat, could dissuade the note of caution Alban Bagbin gave the front bench of the Majority.

Special Prosecutor Bill

Within the week, the report of the Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee on the Office of the Special Prosecutor Bill was laid on the Floor of the House.

Ranking Member of the Committee, Alhaji Inusah Fuseini (NDC MP, Tamale Central) insisted in an interview with me that Parliament had the power to carve out the office of the Special Prosecutor by law despite differing legal opinions proferred by respected Senior Law Lecturer at the University Of Ghana School of Law, Dr Raymond Atuguba on the constitutional questions that surround the bill.

Throughout the week, the Employment, State Enterprises and Social Welfare Committee of the House chaired by Kwame Anyimadu Antwi(NPP MP,Asante Akim Central) presented amendments to the Northern, Middle Belt and Coastal Development Authority bills which went through the consideration stage.

NCA statement on the floor of Parliament

The highlight for me on the Floor was the heated debate on Thursday that flowed from the “fiery” speech of Communications Minister, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful (NPP MP, Ablekuma West) on the sanctions of the National Communications Authority (NCA).

The Minister’s speech essentially bordered on her outfit’s resolve to bring sanity in the media space by ensuring that the NCA does not renege on its regulatory role through the issuance of sanctions as and when necessary.

The speech elicited a response in equal measure from Minority MPs such as Sam George (NDC MP, Ningo Prampram) who rejected portions of the legal argument from the Minister indicating that the schedule of fees used for the sanctions had not even come to Parliament.

Similar points of view were espoused by Minority Spokesperson on Communications, Alhaji A.B.A Fuseini (NDC MP,Sagnarigu), Mahama Ayariga (NDC MP, Bawku Central)  and Alhassan Suhuyini. The Majority mounted a spirited defence of the Minister’s speech with Alexander Afenyo-Markin (NPP MP, Effutu) defending the actions of the NCA to shut down some radio stations based on points of law and the Electronic Communications Act 775.

The Minister, in conclusion, announced that, she had received some petitions with asking for a reduction of the fines.

Over the weekend, news broke that some of the fines had been halved, an expected reprieve to many media organisations that are drowning in the sheer magnitude of the fines.

AMERI Recision

In August 2017, KT Hammond (NPP MP, Adansi Asokwa) filed an urgent motion for recision of the 510 million dollar AMERI deal for reasons of gross misrepresentation. The speaker’s decision to refer the motion to the Mines and Energy Committee of the House did not sit well with the Minority and thus, they staged a walkout.

Subsequently, the Minority decided to boycott the sittings of the Committee of which two were public hearings in the course of the week.

In K.T Hammond’s  submission to the Committee, he argued that new information available to him suggests that AMERI shortchanged the government of Ghana by misrepresenting some facts, and in the process made “super-normal” profits of 150 million dollars from a power plant the country procured in the heat of the “Dumsor” in 2015.

He further argued that the as the Ranking Member on the Committee who seconded the motion, he owes it a duty to bring the belated information to the notice of the House in a bid to call back the deal or get it rescinded.

Former Power Minister, Dr Kwabena Donkor (NDC MP, Pru East) under whose tenure the deal was brokered, however believed that, calling back the deal through Parliament, is not the best option especially when AMERI was signed off with the blessings of the VRA, which acted as the Technical advisers, and that AMERI till date gives the country one of the most competitive tariffs.

Go to court not Parliament

He argued that, just like most of his other colleagues in the Minority had said, if the deal is bad, it should be terminated through the law courts and not Parliament.

Opinion

The NCA had been dead to its regulatory role in the media space for years, and the sudden quickening of the state body to take up its role through the issuance of the sanctions that affected some 131 radio stations is commendable.

But for the sake of media sanity, there should be a semblance of tampering justice with mercy, at least as the “first warning” as it is said in Ghanaian parlance.

And in no uncommon way, the current leadership of the NCA and the Communications Ministry has shown through the whole sanctions that they are ready to bite the bullet and take the hard decisions to sanitize the country’s media space.

With regards to the AMERI recision proceedings unfolding, it is my view that the Minority should have participated in the hearings at least as a measure of helping grow the country’s democracy.

Just as members of the then Minority were condemned for staying out of the vetting of President Mahama’s appointees in 2013, the current Minority in Parliament, should have joined the proceedings even though they believe it would be a mere formality.

Their decision however, is consistent with their resolve that Parliament is not the appropriate tool to deal with the matter, but rather the courts.

On the matter of coverage of the proceedings of the Committee, the leadership of Parliament must be commended for allowing the media to sit through some of the hearings, notably that of Dr. Kwabena Donkor  and KT Hammond.

But in my view, the public interest would have been better served if the media were also allowed to cover the critical submission of the officials of AMERI. That notwithstanding, the proceedings so far have been enlightening and Ghanaians wait with bated breath, the committee’s full report to the plenary, and how things would unfold from there.

This week in Parliament

With the report of the Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee on the Office of the Special Prosecutor Bill laid last week, the Committee is expected to present its report, replete with the various amendments and the debate that would characterize the second reading stage, where the policy and principles of the bill are deliberated upon.

Also, if the programme of the House rolls out as scheduled, the Northern, Middle Belt and Coastal Development Authority Bills, are expected to be read the third time and passed.

The Ministers of Energy, Foreign Affairs, Interior, and National Security among others, are expected to appear before the House in the course of the week, in relation to questions from MPs on their respective sectors.

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By: Duke Mensah Opoku/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The Writer is the parliamentary reporter for Citi 97.3 FM

The post Duke’s Parliamentary diaries: Week 3 – Media sanity and tug of Ameri appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Testifying before the committee, he said the VRA was the technical adviser to the Ministry, and the custodian of the asset on behalf of the State.

[contextly_sidebar id=”fIDhEIJc0j9S9nTb6i4lIZyMEJfSOUus”]The application for tariffs, which were set by the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission, was made by the VRA “as the lead agent of the State,” Dr. Donkor also noted.

“…therefore, from the very first meeting in Doha [in the United Arab Emirates], the Chief Executive of VRA was present. The VRA therefore, had a major role to pay, even though the government negotiation team as a whole took collective responsibility.”

“They [the VRA] furnished the ministry and followed up to the committee to brief the committee on how much it was going to cost if we had the resource and were to construct the plant ourselves,” he said.

The issue of tarrifs has come up in the past, with some staff of the VRA saying they are behind $11.5 million losses being incurred by the VRA monthly.

The plant has a tariff of 15 cents per kilowatt hour, but the same power is sold to the Electricity Company of Ghana at a cost of 5 cents per kilowatts hour, leaving a deficit of 10 cents per kilowatts.

Due diligence

Dr. Donkor assured that, due diligence was done ahead of the deal, although he did not have access to relevant documents.

He said he knew for a fact that, the Finance Ministry has a report “because one of the big lending institutions under-ruled the standby letter of credit and they would not do that without doing their due diligence.”

Best value for money

Meanwhile, the Africa & Middle East Resources Investment Group LLC (AMERI) has stated that, its 2015 agreement for the plants offered the best value for money despite government findings that the $510 million deal was bloated by $150 million.

AMERI, in a statement following an appearance, before the Mines and Energy Committee of Parliament on Friday, however, said the government had the right to review the deal if it suspected some wrong doing.

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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post VRA was at forefront of AMERI deal – Kwabena Donkor appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

AMERI, in a statement following an appearance, before the Mines and Energy Committee of Parliament on Friday, however, said the government had the right to review the deal if it felt it was being ripped off.

[contextly_sidebar id=”8nYBjGl6LlVN7yIasGx8PtloOS8ZJBoV”]”AMERI acknowledges that the Government of Ghana has every right to assess all public contracts for value of money or quality of delivery. The company strongly believes the project delivered on both. An independent report by renowned auditors PriceWaterhouse Coopers (PwC) found that, out of 7 similar projects, the Ameri plant at Takoradi offered the best value for money,” the statement said.

According to the committee charged to review, restructure and recommend areas of amendment of the AMERI power deal, AMERI in its agreement with Government dated February 10, 2015, is said to have charged Ghana significantly higher than what it was charged by the Turkish registered company, PPR, which financed and executed the project.

The Turkish firm pegged the total cost of the project at a maximum of $360 million.

AMERI committed to Ghana’s development

Despite the concerns, AMERI stressed its “commitment to remain a positive contributor towards Ghana’s economic development,” after the “transformative effect” of previous dealings with Ghana.

“AMERI restated that the 250MW gas power plant, built in Takoradi, had been constructed in record time, having taken only 4 months to install. More importantly, the project has had a transformative effect on the Ghanaian energy sector. Supplying close to 20% of Ghana’s electricity, the plant is part of a successful wider push by the country for a more reliable and resilient energy market.”

The statement also noted that, AMERI’s CEO, Maher Al Alili, had defended the short-term five-year BOOT (Build, Own, Operate and Transfer) deal as the best option for Ghana.

“When we entered Ghana, the country was going through its worst energy crisis. The only option on the table for the Government was a rental deal, which offered no value for money to the country. We are proud to say that we are the only company working in the region which offered and delivered a short term 5 year BOOT (Build, Own, Operate and Transfer) solution, installed in record time the power plant features brand new, state of the art GE turbines.”

Go to court over AMERI deal – Jinapor dares gov’t

Ameri’s response comes at a time when a former deputy Power Minister, John Jinapor, has called on the Member of Parliament of Adansi-Asokwa, K.T Hammond, to seek redress in court if he wants to challenge the validity of the AMERI deal.

K.T Hammond, on Wednesday, moved that Parliament withdraw the agreement due to what he calls “misrepresentations” by the company, when the deal was presented to the House under the Mahama Administration.

Find below the full statement

AMERI speaks at Parliamentary Committee hearing: “We are proud of our power plant”

Company welcomes opportunity to address Takoradi plant contract

Reasserts timely delivery and flawless supply record since operations began

Positively declares that the project was good value for money – cites PWC report

Spokesperson: ‘We came to Ghana this week to reassert our commitment to this country and its people – we are proud of our power plant.’

ACCRA – Following a committee hearing at the Mines and Energy Committee at the Parliament of Ghana, Ameri Energy has today reiterated the positive effects of the Takoradi Gas Power plant. The company also iterated its commitment to remain a positive contributor towards Ghanaian economic development.

Today’s hearing followed concerns by some MPs over whether the contract was correctly valued. Speaking to committee members, representatives of AMERI welcomed the opportunity to address the committee and hear their concerns.

AMERI restated that the 250MW gas power plant, built in Takoradi, had been constructed in record time, having taken only 4 months to install. More importantly, the project has had a transformative effect on the Ghanaian energy sector. Supplying close to 20% of Ghana’s electricity, the plant is part of a successful wider push by the country for a more reliable and resilient energy market. Blackouts are now much rarer.

AMERI CEO Maher Al Alili said:

“Ameri prides itself on the partnerships that we forge across the world, supplying power to countries when they need it most. As a responsible organisation, we appreciate the chance to address any misconceptions about our work in Ghana. Only from a point of mutual understanding and cooperation with all stakeholders can we move forward.

When we entered Ghana the country was going through its worst energy crisis. The only option on the table for the Government was a rental deal, which offered no value for money to the country. We are proud to say that we are the only company working in the region which offered and delivered a short term 5 year BOOT (Build, Own, Operate and Transfer) solution. Installed in record time the power plant features brand new, state of the art GE turbines.”

AMERI acknowledged the Government of Ghana has every right to assess all public contracts for value of money or quality of delivery. The company strongly believes the project delivered on both. An independent report by renowned auditors PriceWaterhouse Coopers (PwC) found that out of 7 similar projects, the Ameri plant at Takoradi offered the best value for money.

Commenting, Mr Al Alili said: ‘Our facility offers the lowest levelized tariff of any thermal plant in Ghana. This is something we are very proud of. Value for money has always been a huge priority for our work in Ghana. The project is on a fully financed basis, with no sovereign guarantee from the Government, and a standby letter that covers less than 10% of the project value – Ameri have borne the majority of the financial risk.’

‘More importantly, the project delivered. Built at record speed, our company helped plug the energy deficit at a time of emergency. This plant remains the most reliable energy supplier to the country with not a single shutdown. Its contribution to Ghana’s energy supply remains substantial.’

Mr Al Alili also stated: ‘We came to Ghana this week to reassert our commitment to this country and its people. However, we are also aware that cases such as these have the potential to undermine investor confidence in Ghana.

We hope this is the beginning of a positive and constructive dialogue, one that continues to ensure a reliable and economical energy supply for the Ghanaian people.’

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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post We gave Ghana best deal; but gov’t can scrutinize – AMERI appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

K.T Hammond, on Wednesday, moved that Parliament withdraw the agreement due to what he calls “misrepresentations” by the company, when the deal was presented to the House under the Mahama Administration.

[contextly_sidebar id=”OrzBSsnFsKqYmevNuMPMns38sfJNrNZZ”]Mr. Hammond notably seconded the motion for the agreement between the country and the Africa and Middle East Resources Investment Group’s (AMERI Energy), to rent the 300MW of emergency power from the company for $510 million, at the peak of the country’s power crisis.

However, K.T Hammond, who was the Ranking Member of the Energy Committee of Parliament in 2015, when the deal was approved, told Parliament’s Mines and Energy Committee on Wednesday that, AMERI failed to live up to portions of the agreement presented to Parliament in March 2015.

According to him, AMERI acted in a way that was contrary to its proposal to the government, for which reason he had seconded the motion for the agreement to be ratified two years ago.

However, the Minority boycotted the session of the Mines and Energy Committee deliberating the urgent motion, filed to reverse the power agreement.

The boycott was due to the fact that, the motion to withdraw the deal was not debated in Parliament before being forwarded to the Mines and Energy committee.

Speaking on Eyewitness News later in the day, the MP for Yapei Kusawgu, John Jinapor, insisted that the Minority’s argument was anchored on principle, and said “we are right and think that we ought to be commended” for resisting the motion to rescind the deal.

He also asked that anyone with challenges with the deal should go through the legal system in order to get their concerns addressed.

“It is not within our ambit to sit and adjudicate, and give a ruling as to whether something is fraudulent or not. The right place to go to is the court of law… we hold the view that the right place to go to seek redress is the court of law,” Jinapor said.

He added that, the Minority would remain resolute in its resistance to the Adansi Asokwa MP, K.T. Hammond’s attempts to get Parliament to cancel the agreement.

Their continued resistance is also evidence of consistency from the Minority, he added, after the Minority staged a walk out of Parliament in August, over the Speaker’s decision to forward the motion to the Energy Committee without input from them.

Jinapor stated that, the Minority deserved to be commended for their actions.

“…If we go, after boycotting on the Floor, to go and sit in the [Mines and Energy] committee to go and agree with them, then there is an element of double standards so we are maintaining consistency,” Mr. Jinapor opined.

His advice to Parliament on the matter of the AMERI deal is that, it “considers all the options, and if we really determine that there is an element of fraud, let the party to the agreement, which is the government of Ghana, go and say that we have an agreement with AMERI and AMERI has breached the agreement… that is neater, that is tidier and that is fairer.”

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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa and Edwin Kwakofi/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Go to court over AMERI deal – Jinapor dares gov’t appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Speaking on Eyewitness News, the MP for Yapei Kusawgu, John Jinapor, insisted that the Minority’s argument was anchored on principle, and said “we are right and think that we ought to be commended” for resisting the motion to rescind the deal.

The Minority has already accused the New Patriotic Party of using Parliament as a back door to rescind the deal which is said to be plagued with irregularities.

[contextly_sidebar id=”Fo1uu6oLIPNDruEobbQ9smPIIS3bdKHp”]K.T. Hammond, who filed the motion for the withdrawal of the deal, contends that there were “misrepresentations” by AMERI in the deal that saw Ghana doll out $510 dollars for a 300-megawatt power plant, leaving AMERI with a commission with $150 million.

Following a government review, AMERI in its agreement with Government dated February 10th, 2015, is said to have charged Ghana significantly higher than what it was charged by the Turkish registered company, PPR, which financed and executed the project.

The Turkish firm pegged the total cost of the project at a maximum of $360 million.

Mr. Jinapor, however reiterated the Minority’s stance that challenges to the validity of the AMERI deal, must be done in the court of law.

Speaking on Eyewitness News, the MP said: “It is not within our ambit to sit and adjudicate and give a ruling as to whether something is fraudulent or not. The right place to go to is the court of law… we hold the view that the right place to go to seek redress is the court of law.”

Their continued resistance is also evidence of consistency from the Minority, he added, after the Minority staged a walk out of Parliament in August, over the Speaker’s decision to forward the motion to the Energy Committee without input from them.

The Minority subsequently went ahead with a planned boycott of Mines and Energy Committee of Parliament’s deliberations on the motion.

“…If we go, after boycotting on the Floor, to go and sit in the [Mines and Energy] committee to go and agree with them, then there is an element of double standards so we are maintaining consistency,” Mr. Jinapor opined.

His advise to Parliament on the matter of the AMERI deal is that, it “considers all the options and if we really determine that there is an element of fraud, let the party to the agreement, which is the government of Ghana, go and say that we have an agreement with AMERI and AMERI has breached the agreement… that is neater, that is tidier and that is fairer.”

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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post We’ll resist K.T. Hammond on cancellation of Ameri deal- Jinapor appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Mr. Hammond notably seconded the motion for the agreement between the Mahama administration and the Africa and Middle East Resources Investment Group’s (AMERI Energy), to rent the 300MW of emergency power from the company for $510 million, at the peak of the country’s power crisis.

[contextly_sidebar id=”HsGBc8nUyFLj5uBIohXWQMZyucGIBUVn”]However, K.T Hammond, who was the ranking member of the Energy Committee of Parliament in 2015 when the deal was approved, told Parliament’s Mines and Energy Committee on Wednesday that AMERI failed to live up to portions of the agreement presented to Parliament in March 2015.

According to him, AMERI acted in a way that was contrary to its proposal to the government for which reason he had seconded the motion for the agreement to be ratified two years ago.

“The law allows for procurement to be made and sole-sourced. The government went through that procedure and brought the agreement to Parliament. We agreed on the $510 million, and expected that they would go out there and achieve results the way it had been presented to us. It’s the process that [it went through] that has brought me here. They made so many misrepresentations,” he said.

K.T Hammond revealed on Eyewitness News in August that, Ghana stands to lose that $150 million to AMERI in the deal.

He has asked Parliament to therefore rescind the decision in order to allow for a renegotiation of the deal to ensure that the country isn’t shortchanged.

“I beg to move that this House rescinds its aforementioned decision on the terms that AMERI Energy re-engages with government to re-negotiate the said agreement with a view to reaching terms that are agreeable and mutually beneficial to both parties,” the motion from KT Hammond said.

AMERI in its agreement with Government dated February 10th, 2015, charged Ghana significantly higher than what it was charged by the Turkish registered company, PPR, which financed and executed the project.

The Turkish firm pegged the total cost of the project at a maximum of $360 million.

However, in the Build Operate Own Transfer (BOOT) agreement signed between the government and AMERI, the deal was pegged at a minimum of 510 million dollars leaving Ameri with a commission of $150 million.

Today,[Wednesday] the Minority boycotted the session of the Mines and Energy Committee deliberating the urgent motion, filed to reverse the power agreement.

The boycott is due to the fact that the motion to withdraw the deal, was not debated in Parliament before being forwarded to the Mines and Energy committee.

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By: Edwin Kwakofi and Duke Mensah Opoku/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post KT Hammond pushes Parliament to cancel ‘fraudulent’ AMERI deal appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The boycott is due to the fact that the motion to withdraw the 2015 AMERI deal, was not debated in Parliament before being forwarded to the Mines and Energy committee.

[contextly_sidebar id=”J4s3Cpu1L5kEEDHrfl8sbDHPi0ztj6Vr”]The motion in question was brought before Parliament by K.T Hammond, the Adansi Asokwa NPP Member of Parliament.

The National Democratic Congress Minority has complained that the Speaker of Parliament, Professor Mike Oquaye, was disregarding the voice of the Minority, and now it is saying that the government wants to use them as ‘backdoor’ to cancel the deal.

Speaking to Citi News, the Minority Spokesperson on Mines and Energy, Adams Mutawakilu, said his side does not think that “Parliament can refer a motion when it has not been debated on, and we don’t want to set a bad precedent.”

He added that, the Minority also does not “want [the New Patriotic Party] government to use Parliament as the back door to rescind decisions that are effectively between the government and the company involved.”

Mr. Mutawakilu further stressed that, K.T. Hammond does not have the standing to use Parliament to rescind the $510 million agreement with AMERI.

“Once government approves an agreement without indicating in the approval that they still have a say in respect to the recession, Parliament cannot come later to rescind it. So we believe that, Parliament has no hands, and K.T Hammond cannot use Parliament to rescind a decision that has been approved, and based on that we will not take part,” he said.

The Minority staged a walk out of Parliament in August, over the Speaker’s decision to forward the motion to the Energy Committee without input from them.

K.T. Hammond, who was the ranking member of the Energy Committee of Parliament in 2015 when the deal was approved, filed an urgent motion seeking to reverse the deal because of his position that the deal was suspicious.

The John Mahama administration in 2015 agreed to rent the 300MW emergency power from AMERI at the peak of the country’s power crisis.

As part of the agreement, AMERI was to build the power plants and operate them for five years before transferring it to the government.

The deal received parliamentary approval on 20th March, 2015. It later emerged that the government may have been short-changed by AMERI as they presented an overpriced budget.

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By: Farida Yusif/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Minority to boycott today’s discussion on withdrawal of AMERI deal appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

“We the Minority Members of the Mines and Energy committee have decided, upon careful consideration of all relevant facts, not to take part in the deliberation of the committee in respect of the urgent motion filed by K.T. Hammond,” the Minority’s spokesperson on the committee, Adams Mutawakilu revealed in a Citi News interview.

[contextly_sidebar id=”HvH2HTnTwF556TF7dLRQG3euNlpL3o0A”]He said the Minority wanted no part of any bad precedent, as far as Parliamentary practice was concerned.

“There is no part, section or rule of the standing orders that allows for a motion to be referred to a committee after it has been moved and seconded to without deliberation by the House. This cannot be found in the current standing orders or standing orders of the House since independence,” Mr. Mutawakilu explained.

The MP further said K.T. Hammond did not have any standing in the matter.

“It is strange the honorable K.T. Hammond, who is not a party to the agreement is requesting Parliament to rescind its decision on the basis of gross misrepresentation. K.T. Hammond has no locus standi in this matter… In the overall circumstances of this matter, we think his request should not be honored.”

Aside from this, the Minority feels the government has been too quiet on the question of the AMERI deal.

“It is surprising that government, which is a party to this agreement has remained silent on its position. We, therefore, call on the government to come clear on its position with regards to the agreement,” Mr. Mutawakilu said.

The approval of this motion came at a time the Minority felt it was being undermined by the Speaker of Parliament.

The Minority staged a walk out of Parliament in August, over the Speaker’s decision to forward the motion to the Energy Committee without input from them.

K.T. Hammond, who was the ranking member of the Energy Committee of Parliament in 2015 when the deal was approved, filed an urgent motion seeking the reversal of the deal because of his conviction that the deal was suspicious, based on some fresh information available to him.

The John Mahama administration in 2015 agreed to rent the 300MW of emergency power from AMERI at the peak of the country’s power crisis.

As part of the deal, AMERI was to build the power plants and operate them for five years before transferring it to the government.

The deal cost $510 million, and received parliamentary approval on 20th March, 2015. It later emerged that the government had been shortchanged by AMERI as they presented an overpriced budget.

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By: Duke Mensah Opoku/Delali Adogla-Bessa/ citifmonline.com/Ghana

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