Mr. Bawa, who once worked at the Energy Ministry at the peak of the power crisis in the previous NDC administration, believes the reduction compromises the revenue projections for utility providers and power generators thereby exposing them to debt.

[contextly_sidebar id=”Ln2zSrdS06O0OikLWD98D3UHgJQBiykX”]”If you look at the challenges that brought us into dumsor, apart from the capacity and fuel security, it also had to do with the financial health of the utilities,” he said on Eyewitness News.

“The current move, the reduction is on the energy charges, it is an encroachment on their revenues because energy charges are one of the accruals that the utilities will make.”

In line with longstanding promises from the government, residential customers per the new tariff cuts are to enjoy a 17.5% reduction, while non-residential customers will see tariffs cut by 30%.

Those in the mining sector have also been given a 10% tariff cut, and 25% cut for Special Load Tariff Customers (LV, MV & HV).

The Public Utilities and Regulations Commission (PURC) said the decision was arrived at after extensive consultations with stakeholders in the sector, as well as detailed analysis of proposals tendered in by companies in the power distribution chain.

But Mr. Bawa said the government was risking energy security in the name of promises.

“I know the factors that took us to dumsor. Those factors are still lingering. My fear is that, if we don’t consolidate a make this system robust, and just because of the fact we want to satisfy electoral promises, we go into situations like this we may expose ourselves to yet another dumsor.”

Reduce taxes instead

Mr. Bawa further argued that the government should be “focusing on the burden it puts on the tariffs in terms of taxes and levies.”

“For example, you have a VAT of 17.5 percent on it. In all these arrangements, the take that goes to the state and the take to the government has not been touched.”

He suggested that the government simply reduce the taxes on the tariff, which will still benefit industry by allowing them to expand because of the reduced energy costs

“Industry will expand, they will make profits; you tax those profits. They expand, they employ people and you still tax incomes. This is how you will get it [revenue]. It is an indirect road but you will eventually get the money. That is the proposal I am making,” Mr. Bawa said.

Bullying from gov’t

Mr. Bawa, had earlier advised PURC not to yield to any pressure from the government to reduce tariffs beyond realistic margins.

Mr. Bawa also encouraged the PURC to withstand what he termed as “bullying” from government and put the interest of the country ahead of political interest with regards to the adjustment of utility tariffs.

The PURC has however insisted that it was not pressured into effecting these reductions, and that such major reviews are done every two years.

–

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

The post Tariff reduction could take us back to ‘dumsor’ – Bawa appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Mr. Bawa also encouraged the PURC to withstand what he termed as “bullying” from government and put the interest of the country ahead of political interest with regards to the adjustment of utility tariffs.

“I appreciate the enormity of the task before the PURC. Particularly as the Government, led by no less a person than the President of the republic, has been breathing down the Commission’s neck to ensure that an electoral promise is fulfilled even if it is at the peril of the Power Sector. The Commission must be bold and stand up to bullying government and place the long-term interest of the state above a political party’s interest,” he said in a statement.

[contextly_sidebar id=”ziYu77skxytKZFX1HvGTEY3bKrzbkNr1″]Citifmonline.com had reported that PURC may not be able to reduce tariffs by the 14% margin for industrial and residential users promised by President Nana Akufo-Addo.

Documents sighted by citifmonline.com indicate that the PURC is instead pushing for a 12.54% reduction in the tariffs for businesses instead.

Although Mr. Bawa, who is also the Member of Parliament for the Bongo constituency on the ticket of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), said he is not against a reduction in the tariffs, he stated that it would be unfortunate for the government to mount undue pressure on the PURC in order to fulfill political promises.

He however admonished government to remove the taxes on utilities if they want to drive the costs for Ghanaians down, instead of putting the PURC in a tight corner.

“I believe in tariff reduction. This is because many Ghanaians are either receiving low incomes or without any regular income. However it is wrong for government to subject the utility sector to profiteering. My proposal is that government must scrap all levies and taxes on electricity as a means of improving access and making it affordable to all Ghanaians. This is the way to go instead of the attempt to eating into the revenues of the Utility Service Providers,” he added.

PURC meets stakeholders

PURC, in February 2018, held a series of consultations with stakeholders in the sector during which some of the service providers pushed for an increased in their allocations.

For instance, NEDCo proposed about 200 percent increase in tariff likewise did the power distributor; VRA, enclave power, among others.

Below is the full statement issued by Edward Bawa:

DON’T SEND US BACK INTO DUMSOR

On March 2, 2018 I read a piece of news item on citifmonline with the caption: ELECTRICITY TARIFFS TO DROP BELOW GOVT’S PROPOSED 14%. As a Ghanaian I should be excited by this piece of news. But as an individual who was at the centre of things through the excruciating experience of Load Management from 2013 to 2015, it is only natural to share a few concerns with this story and draw the attention of the government and in particular the PURC to some questions that need answers.

The Public Utility Regulatory Commission (PURC), in pursuance of section 3a and 16 of the PURC Act 1997 (Act 538) and in line with its electricity rates setting guidelines, I am reliably informed, received tariff proposals from the Volta River Authority (VRA), the Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo), Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), Northern Electricity Distribution Company Limited ((NEDCo), and Enclave Power Company Limited. My understanding is that VRA  request was in respect of 128.4% upward adjustment in the Bulk Generation Tariff (BGT). On the other hand GRIDCo suggested a 62.9% increase in the Transmission Service Charge  (TSC). ECG and NEDCo proposed a 64.9% and 204% increase in the Distribution Service Charge (DSC) respectively.

My information is that PURC’s review and analysis of the tariff proposal submitted by the Utility Service Providers (USP) indicate a total revenue requirement of GHc 58.138 billion to be recovered from the regulated electricity market.

The overall effect of the BGT, TSC and DSC is that there is  a 27.4% increase in Average End User Tariff – from GHp63.7694/kWh to GHp81.2309/kWh.

Notwithstanding the proposals by the Utility Service Providers, PURC indicates that based on the results of their own analysis and review, a 12.54% reduction in tariffs across board for all categories of consumers is possible. I am told that they are contemplating achieving this by first removing the 5% PURC benchmark Provision for uncollectibles which has been part of the revenue requirements for the Distribution Utilities and second, by taking into consideration a 31.5% growth in customer population between 2015 and 2018.

Notwithstanding the possible areas where the reduction will come from,  a few questions need to be answered.

1. Is this an attempt by PURC not to contradict the President who jumped the gun to announce reductions in tariffs for categories of customers? Categories that don’t exist in the categorization of consumers by PURC.
2. Has PURC taken into consideration forex losses to the Utility Service Providers due to continuing depreciation of the Ghana Cedi against the US dollar? The Cedi has lost value since the last review of tariffs. The current tariffs have been devalued by about 15% since the last review exercise. Without an appreciable shift in other variables, any reduction in tariffs can threaten the sustainability of the Utility Service Providers
3. Has PURC also taken into account the increasing dominance of thermal power generation in the overall generation mix?
4. There are new thermal plants being introduced into the grid. Has PURC considered a possibility of increased distribution loses that must be accounted for?
5. How will a proposed reduction cater for a further strengthening of the Transmission network and send signals to customers to improve efficiency. And how will this reduction minimise GRIDCo’s risk exposure to energy volume variations?
6. There is excess capacity comprising AKSA Karpowership and CENIT totalling 780MW. This translates to a total energy of 6287GWh. In monetary terms this constitutes about GHc 2.364 billion idle capacity payments. The consequence of not utilising this excess capacity is that government risk pilling debt as the guarantor of all the plants that will be available in excess of demand unless, this is absorbed in the tariff. Has this been considered in the PURC proposal of tariff reduction?
7. Has the Commission equally factored in the increasing natural gas requirements. Government in recent weeks has been indicating a possible reduction in gas price for the industry at $6.5/MMBtu. At our last encounter with GNPC and the Ministry of energy in Koforidua, the Mines and Energy Committee could not be told clearly, the details on how that savings will be achieved. PURC must be transparent on the information given to them by government in gas pricing. In addition, the recent Gas Sales Agreement between Government and Gazprom is expected to deliver gas to the Power Sector in 2019. (Government must be transparent and make available to the public the details of the Gazprom agreement) . Has PURC paid attention to the fact that LNG price is going to vary depending on Brent Crude oil removing the element of price stability associated with gas.
8. Why has government in their proposal to PURC avoided its own burden on the industry? Government must as a matter of urgency remove the 17.5% VAT on tariffs as this tends to punish industry the more. The power sector must be seen as a strategic sector whose value lies in supporting economic growth from which government can derive revenues through taxes. This will be in line with government own policy of moving away from over taxation to more production. It is a lazy approach for government to use the Power Sector as a direct revenue generating source.
9. Is it true that this proposed reduction in tariffs is only cosmetic and a desperate attempt to fulfil an electoral promise. This is only a bait to console Ghanaians ahead of a possible increase in tariffs of about 50% when the Compact II kicks in in September?

I appreciate the enormity of the task before the PURC. Particularly as the Government, led by no less a person than the President of the republic, has been breathing down the Commission’s neck to ensure that an electoral promise is fulfilled even if it is at the peril of the Power Sector.

The commission must be BOLD and stand up to bullying government and place the long term interest of the state above a political party’s interest. I believe in tariff reduction. This is because many Ghanaians are either receiving low incomes or without any regular income.

However it is wrong for government to subject the Utility sector to profiteering. My proposal is that government must scrap all levies and taxes on electricity as a means to improving access and making it affordable to all Ghanaians. This is the way to go instead of the attempt to eating into the revenues of the Utility Service Providers.

EDWARD ABAMBIRE BAWA

MP, BONGO AND A MEMBER OF THE MINES AND ENERGY COMMITTEE.

–

By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin

The post Don’t be bullied into excessive tariff reductions – Bawa to PURC appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

According to him, the parliamentary probe, which must be bipartisan, has become necessary due to the executive’s unwillingness to investigate the matter.

Bawa calls for Fisheries Minister’s resignation over premix scandal

[contextly_sidebar id=”qSwgZHW7xXasNP2CV11KqRERQjDd7C1F”]Edward Bawa, who is also a member of the Energy and Mines committee of Parliament, is also calling for the resignation of the Fisheries Minister, who he believes is ultimately responsible for the mess particularly because she arbitrarily appointed her brother to serve as the administrator at the premix fuel committee.

In a statement copied to citifmonline.com, the legislator alleged that, the diverted premix fuel was being sold to industries at a higher cost.

The Chamber of Petroleum Consumers, COPEC, also alleged that the fuel is being sold to unsuspecting motorists at the various pumps.

Citi News gathered earlier this week that, at least 200 trucks of premix fuel had been diverted by Oil Marketing Marketing Companies that were to supply the product outside Accra, but ended up supplying mostly within Accra for industrial purposes at a higher cost to make more profit.

This was revealed in series of letters from the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), to the National Premix Committee and the Ministry of Fisheries, alerting them about the development.

The Ministry, however, failed to act on the matter.

Read the full statement below:

PARLIAMENT MUST SET UP A BIPARTISAN COMMITTEE TO INVESTIGATE THE LATEST HAPPENINGS IN THE PETROLEUM DOWNSTREAM SECTOR

It has come to my notice and indeed the notice of most Ghanaians that about 200 trucks of premix fuel meant to power fishing boats in our coastal areas have been diverted to pump stations in the country and sold to unsuspecting motorists.

This is a very worrying development, particularly as fishermen are not only denied this subsidized product, which is critical to their operations, but also the product has the potential to damage the engines of vehicles. It is indeed an off spec petroleum product for our pumps.

What is more worrying is that, the chairman of the National Premix committee, who is a brother of the Minister for Fisheries (the appointing authority) is being alleged to be behind this scandal.

If this is true, the Minister must, as a matter public morality and good governance resign.

This development also comes on the heels of the Minister for Energy’s refusal to make public, the report of the Dr. Lawrence Darkua’s committee that supposedly investigated yet another scandal at BOST.

This was a scandal where five million litres of off spec petroleum product was sold to an unlicensed company without going through the necessary procurement processes. In essence, that process had all the marks of corruption written all over it.

What is more disturbing is that, the Minister for Energy on November 23, 2017, in a response to a parliamentary question posed by me, told parliament that, as a measure to ensuring that off spec petroleum products do not get to our pump stations, NPA was using tracking devices on BRVs and a marking scheme to monitor the movements of all petroleum products.

This recent development proves that the Minister was not candid with Ghanaians. This is because, as at the time the Minister was making this statement, an agency under his supervision knew that an off spec product, in the form of premix fuel, was being sold at our pump stations.

This indicates that, the Minister can no longer be trusted to protect consumers against the sale of contaminated petroleum products in the country.

I am therefore calling on Parliament to, as a matter of urgency, set up a bipartisan committee to investigate this development, as the executive led by H.E. Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo Addo has demonstrated it’s unwillingness to tackle the problem for reasons best known to them.

Edward Abambire Bawa (MP for Bongo & Member, Mines & Energy Committee).

‘We don’t have tracking system; NPA must arrest culprits’

The Minister in reacting to the development in a Citi News interview, said the NPA was in a better position to investigate and punish the culprits.

According to her, the Ministry does not have a tracking system to identify culprits, hence the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), which has a system to track such happenings “must take action.”

Fisheries Minister justifies brother’s appointment on premix c’ttee

The Minister, Elizabeth Afoley Quaye, however defended her decision to appoint her brother Joseph Botchwey, as the acting Administrator of the National Premix Secretariat.

Some have blamed the appointment of Joseph Botchwey as interim administrator of the Committee as a likely cause of the premix distribution challenges.

Speaking to Richard Dela Sky on Eyewitness News on Tuesday, Elizabeth Afoley Quaye laughed off the matter, saying “will you not appoint a competent brother of yours to hold a position in your office? Would you not? Because you hate your relations, even when they are competent enough to hold positions, you will not give it to them?”

Still directing her comment at Richard Dela Sky, Ms Quaye said: “I have not put myself in any conflict of interest. Maybe you have to go back yourself, and find out who is the substantive administrator of the premix committee. His or her government has ended and a new era is in place. He or she is not at the premix secretariat, please!”

According to the Minister, that acting interim administrator has since left the position, and a substantive person has been put there.

CID petitioned

Meanwhile, a civil society group calling itself the Fisheries Alliance, has petitioned the Director General of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service, to investigate the suspected premix fuel diversion scandal.

In a letter to the CID, the Alliance cited President Nana Akufo-Addo’s directive to ensure investigations into any corruption allegations against his appointees as the reason for their action.

–

By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Bawa calls for parliamentary probe into premix scandal appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

His call comes in the wake of the recent premix fuel diversion scandal which was supposedly superintended by the minister’s brother.

[contextly_sidebar id=”TudaPa07vCUzMM30bsk5Hi8roHwjv6XS”]In a statement copied to citifmonline.com, Edward Bawa also called for a parliamentary probe into the scandal, which he said is of great worry to the country’s fisheries sector.

According to him, the parliamentary probe, which must be bipartisan, has become necessary due to the executive’s unwillingness to investigate the matter.

Edward Bawa, who is also a member of the Energy and Mines committee of Parliament, also alleged that the diverted premix fuel was being sold to motorists at the various pumps.

Citi News gathered earlier this week that, at least 200 liters of premix fuel had been diverted by Oil Marketing Marketing Companies that claimed to supply the product outside Accra, but ended up supplying mostly within Accra for industrial purposes at a higher cost to make more profit.

This was indicated in series of letters from the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), to the National Premix Committee and the Ministry, alerting them over the development.

The Ministry, however failed to act on the matter.

Read the full statement below:

PARLIAMENT MUST SET UP A BIPARTISAN COMMITTEE TO INVESTIGATE THE LATEST HAPPENINGS IN THE PETROLEUM DOWNSTREAM SECTOR

It has come to my notice and indeed the notice of most Ghanaians that about 200 trucks of premix fuel meant to power fishing boats in our coastal areas have been diverted to pump stations in the country and sold to unsuspecting motorists.

This is a very worrying development, particularly as fishermen are not only denied this subsidized product, which is critical to their operations, but also the product has the potential to damage the engines of vehicles. It is indeed an off spec petroleum product for our pumps.

What is more worrying is that, the chairman of the National Premix committee, who is a brother of the Minister for Fisheries (the appointing authority) is being alleged to be behind this scandal.

If this is true, the Minister must, as a matter public morality and good governance resign.

This development also comes on the heels of the Minister for Energy’s refusal to make public, the report of the Dr. Lawrence Darkua’s committee that supposedly investigated yet another scandal at BOST.

This was a scandal where five million litres of off spec petroleum product was sold to an unlicensed company without going through the necessary procurement processes. In essence, that process had all the marks of corruption written all over it.

What is more disturbing is that, the Minister for Energy on November 23, 2017, in a response to a parliamentary question posed by me, told parliament that, as a measure to ensuring that off spec petroleum products do not get to our pump stations, NPA was using tracking devices on BRVs and a marking scheme to monitor the movements of all petroleum products.

This recent development proves that the Minister was not candid with Ghanaians. This is because, as at the time the Minister was making this statement, an agency under his supervision knew that an off spec product, in the form of premix fuel, was being sold at our pump stations.

This indicates that, the Minister can no longer be trusted to protect consumers against the sale of contaminated petroleum products in the country.

I am therefore calling on Parliament to, as a matter of urgency, set up a bipartisan committee to investigate this development, as the executive led by H.E. Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo Addo has demonstrated it’s unwillingness to tackle the problem for reasons best known to them.

Edward Abambire Bawa (MP for Bongo & Member, Mines & Energy Committee).

‘We don’t have tracking system; NPA must arrest culprits’

The Minister clearly reacting to the development in a Citi News interview, appeared indifferent about her role in addressing the problem of pre-mix fuel diversion, as alleged by the National Petroleum Authority (NPA).

According to her, the Ministry does not have a tracking system to identify culprits, hence the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), which has a system to track such happenings “must take action.”

Fisheries Minister justifies brother’s appointment on premix c’ttee

The Minister, Elizabeth Afoley Quaye, has however defended her decision to appoint her brother Joseph Botchwey, as the acting Administrator of the National Premix Secretariat.

Some have blamed the appointment of Joseph Botchwey as interim administrator of the Committee as a likely cause of the premix distribution challenges.

Speaking to Richard Dela Sky on Eyewitness News on Tuesday, Elizabeth Afoley Quaye laughed off the matter, saying “will you not appoint a competent brother of yours to hold a position in your office? Would you not? Because you hate your relations, even when they are competent enough to hold positions, you will not give it to them?”

Still directing her comment at Richard Dela Sky, Ms Quaye said: “I have not put myself in any conflict of interest. Maybe you have to go back yourself, and find out who is the substantive administrator of the premix committee. His or her government has ended and a new era is in place. He or she is not at the premix secretariat, please!”

According to the Minister, that acting interim administrator has since left the position, and a substantive person has been put there.

CID petitioned

Meanwhile, a civil society group calling itself the Fisheries Alliance, has petitioned the Director General of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service, to investigate the suspected premix fuel diversion scandal.

In a letter to the CID, the Alliance cited President Nana Akufo-Addo’s directive to ensure investigations into any corruption allegations against his appointees as the reason for their action.

–

By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Bawa calls for Fisheries Minister’s resignation over premix scandal appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

He says the situation has prevented many people from becoming nurses, and has put pressure on female nursing trainees to depend on men who take advantage of them, to enable them complement what parents give to them to pay their fees.

In a Citi News interview after providing some financial support to fifty tertiary students in the Bongo district, the Bongo legislator could not fathom why diploma nursing students are paying far more than degree nursing students in the universities, and wondered if the nursing colleges were charging approved fees by Parliament.

“There has been this consistent increment of fees ranging from GHC3, 000 plus in the nursing training colleges. So if you have a diploma nursing student who pays higher than a degree nursing student in the universities, then there is something wrong. What are the modalities in admitting these students and when they are admitted, what are the actual fees approved  by the Ministry of Health to be charged, because what is the logic in making a diploma nursing student pay more than a degree nursing student? It means that, you are using money as basis to eliminate those who otherwise would have volunteered to be good nurses in this country.”

Edward Bawa, who bemoaned the negative effects on the trainees especially the females, called on Parliament to probe the matter and bring sanity to the nursing colleges.

“What is then happening is that, you have families who will have to almost sell every bit of what they have to pay for a single ward in the nursing college while some female trainees are sexually exploited by men to compliment their efforts to pay these unreasonable high fees.”

He called on the Ministry of Health to swiftly intervene to sanitize the situation or else parliament will not hesitate to take the matter up.

Mr. Bawa gave financial assistance of GHC300 each to fifty vulnerable second cycle and tertiary students to support their education.

Some beneficiary students expressed their gratitude to the MP and called on philanthropists, benevolent organizations and senior citizens of Bongo to extend a helping hand to needy but brilliant students in the area.

–

By: Frederick Awuni/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Edward Bawa bemoans ‘high’ fees for nursing trainees appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

President Akufo-Addo for the first time spoke on the BOST issue during his encounter with journalists on Tuesday and said there was no wrongdoing.

[contextly_sidebar id=”gIvotj0emHgjjS44QGNPxesqQJ6D9dvb”]But speaking on Eyewitness News on Wednesday, Edward Bawa who insisted that whole deal breached the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) Act argued that the Akufo-Addo lost a great opportunity to dissociate himself from the scandal.

“If you look at this current activity, it bordered on distribution, marketing and sale. So I was surprised that the President was not aware that the NPA Act has a position that covers that and that was an Act that was breached. And indeed it was because of the infringement of this portion of the Act that the NPA itself in its statement when the issue broke indicated that the actors of this particular issue have breached sections of the Act and therefore they were contemplating even punishing them.”

“So that was the part that we realized that the President was ill-informed, he didn’t know the facts, and to a very large extent he lost the greatest opportunity to dissociate himself from this scandal that is smelly in this country,” he added.

Background

BOST has been heavily criticized for selling 5 million litres of contaminated fuel to two unlicensed companies, Movepiina and Zup Oil, which were allegedly set up few days before the sale making Ghana lose about GHc 7 million in revenue.

The Minister of Energy who tasked a committee to investigate the issue subsequently cleared BOST and its Managing Director, Alfred Obeng Boateng of wrongdoing citing a Bureau of National Investigation (BNI) and National Security report.

But some Ghanaians especially the Minority in Parliament complained that it was a cover up.

–

By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin

The post Akufo-Addo ill-informed about BOST saga – Edward Bawa appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

According to him, the Energy Minister’s call might have been influenced by orders from senior figures in government.

[contextly_sidebar id=”Wrq3AACiCFeDvbKEq8tBCgumfkVJZkdv”]A BNI and National Security report cleared the current CEO of BOST of any wrongdoing in the matter, and those comments were echoed by the Boakye Agyarko at a press conference.

This conclusion was made before the Committee set up to investigate the matter had commenced their probe.

There had been calls from the Minority for the current MD to step aside for investigations to proceed without external influence.

But the Energy Minister stated at the press conference that “on the basis of previous practice, there was no wrongdoing at BOST on the sale of the 5 million litres of contaminated products.”

This was in reference to the reports which revealed that 38 unlicensed companies had also purchased contaminated fuel from 2014 to 2016, while the NDC were in power.

However, Edward Bawa, who is also a member of the Energy Committee in Parliament, believes that the Energy Minister had been forced to announce the innocence of the BOST MD despite the fact that he had entrusted the 8-member Committee with the mandate to investigate the matter:

Speaking on Citi FM‘s news analysis programme, The Big Issue the MP said: “Listening to the voice of the Minister and knowing who he is, I know he made the announcement with a lot of reluctance. [He made it] under duress. Obviously, it’s not a junior official who’ll put pressure on him to make the decision. I feel that the man believe in the process he had put in place. He believed in the fact that the Committee he had set up had the capacity to unravel the mystery surrounding this whole transaction.”

“The Minister of Energy set up a Committee to investigate the matter based on institutional representation. I was one of the people who commented the setup of the Committee. It had someone from TOR, people from Ghana Standards Board because of standards requirements the BDCs, Civil Society and the BNI. We felt the composition of the Committee was good.”

According to him, it was curious that the BNI, which was supposed to have had a member on the Committee, conducted separate investigation and came out with a report before the Committee had even started work.

“The BNI was supposed to have been represented on the Committee then suddenly they said it had come out with its own findings. It looks like the whole idea of the BNI report was a one-item term of reference to exonerate the [Bost MD]. There were a lot of things that went on at BOST.”

The Minister of Energy set up a Committee to investigate the matter based on institutional representation. I was one of the people who commended the setup of the Committee. It had someone from TOR, people from Ghana Standards Board because of standards requirements the BDCs, Civil Society and the BNI. We felt the composition of the Committee was good.

Edward Bawa also denied suggestions that similar incidents had happened under the NDC, stating that there was only on istance of contamination of fuel under NDC which was dealt with promptly and properly by BOST.

“The last time there was contamination at BOST until January 18, was in December 24, 2013. The quantity was 200, 000 litres. BOST treated the product and sold it at market value,” he said.

The BNI report, however, has been criticised by several observer groups including policy think tank IMANI Africa and anti-corruption group Occupy Ghana, who described it as deficient.

Think-tank CDD have also called for fresh, external investigations into the issue

–

By: Edwin Kwakofi/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Boakye Agyarko exonerated BOST MD ‘under duress’ – MP appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The Ivory Coast striker is back at Stamford Bridge two seasons after leaving for Shanghai Shenhua, and then Galatasaray, on a high with victory in the 2012 Champions League final.

His penalty saw the Blues crowned champions of Europe and he is confident the combination of ability and experience in Jose Mourinho’s current squad can fire them back to the top in the Premier League and beyond.

“It’s amazing to be back, a great feeling,” Drogba told the club’s website. “I’m happy to be back here and I’m looking forward to seeing the best fans.

“It was an easy decision to make, it’s very difficult to say no to Jose and to Chelsea. I have so many good memories with the club so when the opportunity came up it was easy for me.

“He said to me that a player like me, who has history with the club, should come back one day.

“He said I have to come back and I agree with him because, even if I left, I was still a Chelsea player because of the eight years I spent here. No offence to the teams I was with during those two years but that’s just the way it is.

“He’s the one who gave me a chance to play in the Premier League. We won so many trophies together and so many matches on the pitch. His relationship is not only with me, it’s with all the players who were here from the beginning of the story. It’s quite emotional but the most important thing is that we want to win, win, win.

“I think the best thing I can bring to this club and team will be to stay the same as I was during my first spell here. I don’t have to change, everybody knows my character, my attitude and my mentality.

“They know if I’m here it’s not just to smile and thank people for welcoming me back. I want to win, I want to share my desire and will to win games. The squad is young but to get the best results you have to push yourself.”

–

Source: Sky Sports

The post Didier Drogba had no doubts about returning to Chelsea appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The Ivorian, 36, won 10 trophies at Chelsea from 2004 to 2012 and was a free agent after leaving Galatasaray.

Manager Jose Mourinho had earlier said the striker “belongs” at Stamford Bridge – but said any deal would be made “in a non-emotional way”.

Drogba told Chelsea’s official site:  “It was an easy decision – I couldn’t turn down the opportunity to work with Jose again.”

Drogba, who joined Chelsea from Marseille for £24m in July 2004, won three Premier League titles, four FA Cups, two League Cups and a Champions League during his spell at Stamford Bridge.

He left the club in 2012 after scoring the winning penalty in the Champions League final against Bayern Munich.

After a brief spell at Chinese Super League side Shanghai Shenhua, Drogba joined Galatasaray in January 2013 and scored five goals in 13 league games as the Turkish club won the title.

The following season, the striker netted 10 times in 32 games as Galatasaray reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League – where they lost to Chelsea – and finished as runners-up to Fenerbahce in the Turkish league.

The Ivory Coast international was voted Chelsea’s greatest ever player in a poll of fans in 2012 and has spoken of his close ties to the Blues.

Mourinho previously said: “Because we know his heart is pushing him to where he feels he belongs, we are thinking about the possibility [of a deal]. We feel that Didier belongs to us.”

Mourinho, who managed Drogba from 2004 to 2007, said any decision would be based on the player’s ability, rather than his history with the club.

The Portuguese said: “If you bring him back it is not because he is Didier or scored the most important goal in the history of Chelsea, or because I read I need an assistant, no.

“We want to win matches and win titles and Didier is one of the best strikers in Europe. He is still very adapted to the needs of the Premier League and we are thinking about it in a non-emotional way.”

Mourinho also intimated that Drogba, who made one start and two substitute appearances during the Ivory Coast’s three games at the 2014 World Cup, would be a squad player.

He joins Fernando Torres, new signing Diego Costa, as well as Romelu Lukaku and Victor Moses, who both spent last season out on loan, as striking options at Stamford Bridge.

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The Ivorian, 36, won 10 trophies at Chelsea from 2004-2012 and is available on a free transfer from Galatasaray.

Mourinho said the club were thinking about a deal, but that the decision would be made “in a non-emotional way”.

“If I bring him back, and the decision has to be made soon, it is because as a player he has qualities to make the team stronger,” he said.

Drogba, who joined Chelsea from Marseille for £24m in July 2004, won three Premier League titles, four FA Cups, two League Cups and a Champions League during his spell at Stamford Bridge.

He left the club in 2012 after scoring the winning penalty in theChampions League final against Bayern Munich.

After a brief spell at Chinese Super League side Shanghai Shenhua, Drogba joined Galatasaray in January 2013 and scored five goals in 13 league games as the Turkish club won the title.

The following season, the striker netted 10 times in 32 games as Galatasaray reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League – where they lost to Chelsea – and finished as runners-up to Fenerbahce in the Turkish league.

The Ivory Coast international was voted Chelsea’s greatest ever player in a poll of fans in 2012 and has spoken of his close ties to the Blues.

Mourinho said: “Because we know his heart is pushing him to where he feels he belongs, we are thinking about the possibility [of a deal]. We feel that Didier belongs to us.”

However, Mourinho, who managed Drogba from 2004 to 2007, said any decision would be based on the player’s ability, rather than his history with the club.

Drogba featured in all three of the Ivory Coast’s games at the 2014 World Cup

The Portuguese said: “If you bring him back it is not because he is Didier or scored the most important goal in the history of Chelsea, or because I read I need an assistant, no.

“We want to win matches and win titles and Didier is one of the best strikers in Europe. He is still very adapted to the needs of the Premier League and we are thinking about it in a non-emotional way.”

Mourinho also intimated that Drogba, who made one start and two substitute appearances during the Ivory Coast’s three games at the 2014 World Cup, would be a squad player.

He would join Fernando Torres, new signing Diego Costa, as well as Romelu Lukaku and Victor Moses, who both spent last season out on loan, as striking options at Stamford Bridge.

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Source: BBC Sport

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