In September 2017, A-Plus took to Facebook to make what critics described as vague allegations against President Nana Akufo-Addo’s two Deputy Chiefs of Staff, Francis Asenso-Boakye and Abu Jinapor.

It later emerged that the accusations had to do with the two putting pressure on the CEO of Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Dr. Felix Anyah, to give back an on-site revenue-collection contract at the hospital to UniBank after the same contract had been terminated.

The two had subsequently threatened to sue A Plus over these claims. However, following CHRAJ’s findings, Mr. Jinapor indicated that he was no more interested in pursuing the matter in court.

In a document containing its findings, sighted by Citi News, CHRAJ said it was “satisfied that the evidence does not support the allegations of corruption and abuse of power against Messrs A. Jinapor and Asenso Boakye… the allegations could not be substantiated whatsoever.”

“Accordingly, this complaint is hereby dismissed as being without merit and totally unwarranted,” CHRAJ concluded.

CHRAJ noted that, the “relations between A-Plus and the two Deputy Chiefs of Staff appeared “frosty” and may have accounted for the allegations Mr. Obeng leveled against the two.

It noted that “a possible strained relationship between Mr. Kwame Asare Obeng and Mr. Asenso-Boakye might have been extended to Mr. Jinapor as well. That could possibly be the ulterior motive for the allegations Mr. Asare Obeng leveled against the two Deputy Chiefs of Staff.

[contextly_sidebar id=”WnAQ6PUOAZGGJvQUXdn5f9BMXSh05NWs”]CHRAJ was the second state institution that was tasked to investigate these corruption claims, after the Criminal Investigations Department’s investigation also found the allegations baseless.

But the CID probe was marred by some controversy over an audio recording said to be a leaked recording of a conversation between the then-Deputy Director of the CID, ACP Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo-Danquah and A-Plus, in which the police officer was heard advising A-Plus to deny the allegations because he is a member of the NPP.

Speaking on Eyewitness News, Mr. Jinapor welcomed CHRAJ’s findings, saying they had been vindicated for the second time.

“I take the view that the combined effect of the CID’s report and CHRAJ’s investigative report has vindicated our reputation and exonerated us in this matter. “

“Whatever it is, it is refreshing to hear about the outcome of the investigations. I am not surprised because from the very onset, I have always known that the entire brouhaha was much ado about nothing. It is refreshing and comforting that CHRAJ which is an independent body has gone into this matter and come out with a petition.”

He also indicated that, he had no intentions of suing A-plus over the said claims, despite being cleared by CHRAJ.

“I do not think that we need the court to make a pronouncement on our integrity. These two investigative reports in my view will settle the matter on that score.”

Mr. Jinapor further pointed out that he was not interested in seeking for compensation from A-Plus.

“The second one regarding compensation I am not interested. I believe any lawsuit will be straight forward but I do not want to pursue it. I want to move on with my life”.

Background to Unibank, Korle bu issues

The onsite banking services at Korle Bu were needed to deal with revenue leaks that had saddled the hospital.

In 2015, six banks were shortlisted to undergo a competitive selection process where Stanbic Bank emerged first and UniBank was fourth.

But when the hospital submitted the names of the two banks to the Controller and Accountant General’s Department for approval, issues were raised about weaknesses in UniBank’s operations in two other hospitals.

Korle Bus still went ahead to sign an MoU appointing UniBank to simultaneously collect revenue in the Hospital with Stanbic Bank.

As the two banks started the onsite banking services, the revenue leaks persisted, and the hospital’s management decided to adopt an End-to-End Hospital Revenue Collection Software to integrate and network its operations.

Stanbic Bank and UniBank were both requested to submit proposals for an End-to-End Hospital Revenue Collection Software in 2015.

Stanbic Bank successfully presented an efficient software, while UniBank was alleged to have failed to turn up during the two presentation sessions, thus the hospital awarded the contract to Stanbic Bank.

Unibank, however denied missing the presentation, but said it was sidelined by the hospital.

The End-to-End Hospital Revenue Collection Software was also said to be not compatible with the UniBank’s system, thus the hospital decided to discontinue the MoU with UniBank in order to enable Stanbic Bank to deploy the new software throughout the entire Hospital.

But this was followed by the hospital rescinding the decision.

–

By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @EfeAnsah

The post CHRAJ’s findings vindicate us once again – Jinapor appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Mr. Jinapor said this after the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), also dismissed allegations of corruption against the two following its findings into the alleged wrongdoing.

[contextly_sidebar id=”sgCkGu1InnCeUmym8ShyS2nKbqWHDfLN”]CHRAJ was petitioned by a group calling itself the Dynamic Youth Movement of Ghana, after the two had been controversially exonerated by the Criminal Investigations Department [CID].

In September, A-Plus took to Facebook to make what critics described as vague allegations against President Nana Akufo-Addo’s two Deputy Chiefs of Staff, Francis Asenso-Boakye and Abu Jinapor.

It later emerged that the accusations had to do with the two putting pressure on the CEO of Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Dr. Felix Anyah, to give back an on-site revenue-collection contract at the hospital to UniBank after the same contract had been terminated.

The two had subsequently threatened to sue A Plus over these claims. However, following CHRAJ’s findings, Mr. Jinapor indicated that he was no more interested in pursuing the matter in court.

“I do not think that we need the court to make a pronouncement on our integrity. These two investigative reports in my view settles the matter on that score.”

Mr. Jinapor also indicated that he was not interested in seeking for compensation from A-Plus.

“The second one regarding compensation I am not interested. I believe any lawsuit will be straight forward but I do not want to pursue it. I want to move on with my life”

We’ve been vindicated 

CHRAJ was the second body that was tasked to investigate these corruption claims, after the Criminal Investigations Department’s investigation was marred by some controversy.

Mr. Jinapor welcomed CHRAJ’s findings, saying they had been vindicated for the second time.

“I take the view that the combined effect of the CID’s report and CHRAJ’s investigative report has vindicated our reputation and exonerated us in this matter. “

“Whatever it is, it is refreshing to hear about the outcome of the investigations. I am not surprised because from the very onset, I have always known that the entire brouhaha was much ado about nothing. It is refreshing and comforting that CHRAJ which is an independent body has gone into this matter and come out with a petition.”

CID controversy

The Criminal Investigations Department also found the allegations baseless.

But that investigation was marred by some controversy after an audio recording said to be a leaked recording of a conversation between the then-Deputy Director of the CID, ACP Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo-Danquah and A-Plus, in which the police officer was heard advising A-Plus to deny the allegations because is a member of the NPP.

ACP Addo-Danquah denied the suggestions of a cover-up and accused A-Plus of doctoring the circulating audio. Observers believed that this audio compromised the integrity of the CID’s probe.

Background to Unibank, Korle bu issues

The onsite banking services at Korle Bu were needed to deal with revenue leaks that had saddled the hospital.

In 2015, six banks were shortlisted to undergo a competitive selection process where Stanbic Bank emerged first and UniBank was fourth.

But when the hospital submitted the names of the two banks to the Controller and Accountant General’s Department for approval, issues were raised about weaknesses in UniBank’s operations in two other hospitals.

Korle Bus still went ahead to sign a MoU appointing UniBank to simultaneously collect revenue in the Hospital with Stanbic Bank.

As the two banks started the onsite banking services, the revenue leaks persisted and the hospital’s management decided to adopt an End-to-End Hospital Revenue Collection Software to integrate and network its operations.

Stanbic Bank and UniBank were both requested to submit proposals for an End-to-End Hospital Revenue Collection Software in 2015.

Stanbic Bank successfully presented an efficient software, while UniBank was alleged to have failed to turn up during the two presentation sessions, thus the hospital awarded a contract to Stanbic Bank.

Unibank, however, denied missing the presentation but said it was sidelined by the hospital.

The End-to-End Hospital Revenue Collection Software was also said to be not compatible with the UniBank’s system thus the hospital decided to discontinue the MoU with UniBank in order to enable Stanbic Bank to deploy the new software throughout the entire Hospital.

But this was followed by the hospital rescinding the decision.

–

By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @EfeAnsah

The post I won’t sue A-plus over ‘false’ corruption claims – Jinapor appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

His Tema home was stormed by five police, two of them armed and three others in plain clothes, and the MP felt the security personnel “didn’t need to go to that extent… I don’t think it is proper to besiege my house.”

[contextly_sidebar id=”YN5VQaeVAB2xlj9KnkB7Hr0XqHHnSaBk”]Speaking after the incident, Mr. Jinapor narrated to Citi News that when he was about to leave home for Parliament, “five policemen, two of them armed with AK 47s, accosted me and indicated that they had a search warrant from the court to look for documents in relation to AMERI.”

He noted that he had a CCTV camera surveilling his home “that records both audio and video so if need be, I will get the guys who did the installation to extract that clip… To come to my house with all those weapons and put my children in the state of trauma, it leaves much to be desired.”

This raid on his home followed a raid on the home of the former Minister for Power, Kwabena Donkor by some personnel from the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) on Monday morning, also in connection with the AMERI deal where it was alleged the Mahama administration paid in excess of $150m in the agreement.

‘I was not allowed to leave home’

Mr. Jinapor was not allowed to leave his home until the search on his raid was completed. Despite his reservations, the presence of armed men compelled him to stand aside and watch on with his family.

“I told them I needed a copy of the search warrant but they insisted they couldn’t give a copy to me because that was the instruction from their superiors.”

“They insisted that they had express instructions from their superiors and they would not let me leave until they conduct what they call a search for documents in relation to AMERI.”

“I knew it was not appropriate but if you have people with weapons in the house, and the fact that my children were traumatized, I had no choice but to open my house to them,” the MP recounted.

Police found nothing relating to deal

The search by the police bore no fruit as they left without finding documents pertaining to the AMERI deal in Mr. Jinapor’s home, but they did confiscate his phone and request for his Parliament laptop.

“They did search the entire house… but they couldn’t find whatever document they were looking for. They said they wanted my laptop and I made it clear to them the laptop was in Parliament because the laptop was the property of Parliament and it was secured in Parliament.”

“If they needed it urgently, then we had to go to Parliament, meet the Speaker [of Parliament] and inquire whether the Speaker would agree to be released to them but they indicated that I should go and tell the Speaker that. So I intend going to the speaker to inform him that the police administration claims that they are in need of that laptop.”

Mr. Jinapor further reiterated that all relevant documents pertaining to the AMERI deal that he knew of “were in possession of the [Energy] ministry following the setting up of the Philip Addison committee.”

Mr. Jinapor was also told he was to report to the police on Monday, July 31.

–

By: Franklin Badu Jnr/Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Police raid on my home traumatized my kids – John Jinapor appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Two of the police men effecting the raid were reported to have been armed with AK 47 assault rifles. They were in search of documents related to the controversial AMERI contract.

[contextly_sidebar id=”rjnxFR4L7AggmH5PUxAr7SI1qqIdx7d9″]Mr. Jinapor, the MP for Yapei Kusawgu, was on his way to Parliament when he was restrained and held for about two hours.

This raid follows the former Minister for Power, Kwabena Donkor, having his home subjected to a thorough search by personnel from the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) on Monday morning.

In Dr. Donkor’s case, the CID was searching for evidence implicating the former minister in financial loss to the State, as a result of his involvement in the AMERI deal.

The cost of the AMERI deal was $510m and received Parliamentary approval on March 20, 2015. However, the current government contends that the country had been shortchanged by AMERI, noting that, the contractor, PPR, actually built and financed the plant at a cost of $360 million, yet AMERI, which secured the deal, forwarded a bill of $510 million in the agreement.

Reports said the Mahama administration had paid in excess of $150m, but state officials for that administration disagreed.

The Minority in Parliament condemned the raid on the residence of Dr. Donkor and alleged that the move was carefully engineered by the Akufo-Addo administration to silence opposition critics.

The Minority expressed reservations with the fact the warrant for the raid on Dr. Donkor’s residence was based on the order of a lower court, whilst contending that the integrity of citizen’s private communication was protected per law.

It was also upset with the fact Dr. Donkor was apparently unaware he was the subject of any investigation until he was shown the court order that he is a suspect in any investigation.

–

By: citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post John Jinapor detained, home raided in connection with AMERI deal appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

According to him, the previous government put in place the necessary measures to forestall such occurrence.

“We worked tirelessly, the whole of last year [and] we had reliable and sustainable energy. The FPSO went off for two months and we never had dumsor. Mr. Speaker; it dazzles my imagination that the FPSO goes off for just one week and almost the whole nation is plunged into darkness,” he added.

[contextly_sidebar id=”S28kIXbLaWk7kXPodDdjb6G2LkqfaSar”]Speaking on the Floor of Parliament on Tuesday, John Jinapor called on the Akufo Addo government to sit up and deal with the current power situation.

He also boasted that when the National Democratic Congress (NDC) took over the administration of the country, access to electricity was about 50%, but “today as I speak to you, access to electricity is 83.5% second to only South Africa.”

“We wish to entreat our colleagues on the other side that on Thursday when the budget is presented by the Minister of Finance, we shall keenly monitor to ensure that the energy sector levies and the VAT which they promised are scrapped or not. And the people of Ghana will make a decision on whether they sold their colour television and they have been offered black and white TV or not,” he added.

New deadline to end of dumsor

Following recent erratic power cuts in Accra and other parts of the country, the Minister of Energy, Boakye Agyarko assured that the situation will normalize by end of Saturday, February 25, 2017 but it turned out to be false.

The Energy Ministry subsequently issued a statement extending the deadline to Monday, February 27, 2017.

“We wish to state that with the tie-in operation successfully completed, and coupled with the measures we put in place including procurement of fuel and increased power supply from La Cote d’Ivoire, the [power] situation will normalize from 27th February 2017,” a statement signed by the Communications Officer at the Energy Ministry, King A. Wellington, added.

–

By: Godwin A. Allotey & Duke Mensah Opoku/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin

The post Don’t blame Mahama for recent ‘dumsor’ – John Jinapor appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

According to the Deputy Minister of Power, John Jinapor, the country’s power producers can rely on crude oil to power the various power plants to adequately serve the energy needs of Ghanaians in the absence of gas.

The Deputy Minister made the remark in an interview on Eyewitness News in reaction to a letter the Volta River Authority wrote to GRIDCo informing it of a 15-day interruption in gas supply between February and March 2017.

[contextly_sidebar id=”XzeeTMZ2Djw67HvOjJ9f3h57c0psOa8B”]The Authority in the letter further indicated that “power from Ameri Energy will also not be available during that period.”

Ghanaians have however expressed worry over the situation after enduring intense load-shedding for nearly three years.

But Mr. Jinapor observed that the nation will not be plunged into darkness if the incoming New Patriotic Party handles the situation properly.

He explained that earlier in 2016, a similar situation occurred yet the nation was enjoyed 24 hours of uninterrupted power supply throughout the period because they relied on lite crude oil.

“If we do our things well, if we continue to put in place the right mechanisms and the right framework and we build on the gains we have made so far, we should never have load shedding and this is factual. Even if we don’t have gas from the FPSO, most of the plants in the west; thus the Aboadze enclave can run on lite crude oil. This year, getting into the election we had a 21 day shutdown of the FPSO, it did not affect production. And so if you could manage it for 21 days, it means you can equally manage it for one month,” Mr. Jinapor noted.

He also explained that additional plants are coming on-board which will supplement the hydro power generated from the Akosombo dam.

“…We are having additional capacities coming onboard. So if you don’t have gas Ameri may not produce but you have a complement of between about 370 [megawatts]. The second batch of Karpower is also available and will start producing in around February. So you are looking to about 600 megawatts of extra capacity coming on board. In addition to that the hydro levels have gone up to appreciable levels. From that low of about 235 we hit over 250 so it means that given all the conditions that we have we should not go into load shedding,” the Deputy Minister explained.

Dumsor is coming back- ACEP warns
The African Center for Energy Policy (ACEP) had earlier warned that Ghana may face power crisis in 2017 over disruption in gas supply.

It further admonished the incoming government to tackle as a matter of urgency challenges in the power sector since power supply from the nation’s hydro power sources are still dim.

–

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

The post Gas shortfall won’t result in ‘dumsor’ – Power Ministry appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

He said NDC’s record in all sectors of society including education, health and roads infrastructure was unmatched adding when retained in power, it the party would do more to better the lot of the people.

Mr Jinapor, was addressing teeming party supporters, who gathered at the Bole R/C Primary School Park, for the launch of NDC’s Bole/Bamboi Constituency Campaign.

Bole/Bamboi Constituency, which is the hometown of President John Mahama, is being contested by Alhaji Yusif Sulemana, the NDC Parliamentary Nominee.

Mr Jinapor said though the NDC was sure of victory in the December elections there is the neeed for party supporters to be vigilant.

Alhaji Mohammed-Muniru Limuna, Minister of Food and Agriculture and Northern Regional Campaign Coordinator of NDC, urged supporters to go to all parts of the constituency to spread the party’s campaign messages to the people.

Alhaji Sulemana said he would work to improve water supply, hospital infrastructure, agricultural production and education to improve the living conditions of the people.

–

Source: GNA

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This comes days after the acting Power Minister, Seth Terkper admitted on the Citi Breakfast Show that government is presently negotiating with the Chinese and plans to use the country’s gas as guarantee.

[contextly_sidebar id=”OLM03qUDeW3wFkEOEaEdRRjlpychyPH2″]Deputy Minister of Energy, John Jinapor earlier denied the existence of such plans after the NPP made the claims.

The opposition party last week said the agreement which could see the country offer one of Ghana’s gas fields to China for a period of 19 years starting in 2018 has bleak implications for the future of Ghana

They also said Ghana may experience power crisis in 2017 if the governing National Democratic Congress is retained in power.

But the Ministry of Petroleum in a statement signed by its Head of Communications, Edward Bawa, said the NPP is peddling untruths.

“There is no basis for the assertion that Ghana’s gas would be exported for $2 billion. All of Ghana’s gas are being used and would continue to be used in Ghana for power generation. We should not confuse the use of proceeds or revenues from the sale of gas or its derivatives to support financing arrangements with the actual sale of lean natural gas and liquids. It is ridiculous to say that Ghana’s gas would be sold to China.”

The statement explained that the CDB facility simply anticipates the use of revenues from the sale in Ghana to power plants of lean natural gas to support financing.

“No natural gas would be sold to Chinese to facilitate the financing. Any excess lean gas which is not sold to power plants in Ghana would be dedicated to petrochemical industry development including fertilizer production to support Agriculture in Ghana. Any excess LPG or other natural gas liquids not used in Ghana can also be exported either to our neighbours or to any potential buyer.”

Jubilee field shut down normal

On claims that in 2017 gas supply from the Jubilee fieds will stop as the FSPO is expected to shut down for a period of six months the Ministry said the country has extra gas supply plants in place.

“In Ghana, gas supply is routed to our power plants through the gas plant in Atuabo. Gas Supply shutdowns are part of normal maintenance regimes on fields. Thanks to the hard work of the NDC Government, under the able leadership of President John Mahama, gas supply in 2017 will no more be from one field but from both the Jubilee and the TEN Field. Therefore, any shutdowns on one field would be substituted by Gas supply from the other field. Due to diligent planning, any shutdowns for maintenance on the Jubilee field would be more than compensated for by supply of gas from the TEN Field,” the statement added.

The Ministry further entreated Ghanaians to disregard the reports as they do not represent the facts.

“We once again assure Ghanaians that our offices are opened to all persons who genuinely seek information on the happenings in the sector.”

NPP may be ‘hallucinating’; Ghana has excess power

The Deputy Minister of Power, John Jinapor said the NPP was “hallucinating” and the claims had no basis.

“It’s simply hallucination; there is absolutely no basis for that,” he said on Eyewitness News.

We’ll mortgage Ghana’s gas to China but…

But Seth Terkper, the Minister of Finance who doubles as the acting Minister of Power confirmed the NPP’s claims but downplayed assertions that the deal has bleak implications for Ghana explaining that the gas being offered will be drawn from only one of Ghana’s three gas fields.

He indicated that it was “gas going to the Atuabo plant only under the GNPC. That is the only one we are talking about.”

Mr. Terkper also explained that this agreement was in line with government’s self-financing loan strategy following the negotiations with the CNB by a task force mandated to discuss the utilization of the $500 million remaining $1.5 billion of the $3 billion deal.

“The premise for the CDB facility, which is in tune with our self-financing loan strategy is that proceeds from any commercial project must be used to pay for any loans that are used to finance the project,” he said

“The payment was to be from revenue flows from crude oil which is sold on the international market at bench mark prices but crude oil prices fell and that source of financing the loan became inadequate,” Mr. Terkper noted in unison with the NPP’s narration.

He also explained that the strategy of self-financing loans was to avoid putting any burden tax payers.

“So we had indicated that once the processes start, there could be other source of financing repayment for the facility. That is the discussion that we are holding now, to see how we can use the proceeds from lean gas and from other gas sources to finance any infrastructure that is built and not put the load for such infrastructure on the tax payer and increase public debt.”

Click here for the Power Ministry’s full statement

–

By: Godwin A. Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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The post NPP peddling untruths; Ghana won’t sell gas to China – Petroleum Ministry appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

According to him, the NPP might be “hallucinating” for making such allegation.

“It’s simply hallucination; there is absolutely no basis for that,” he said on Eyewitness News.

The NPP, in a bleak analysis of the power sector on Wednesday said Ghana could experience up to 700 megawatts of power shortage early in 2017 resulting from factors ranging from the a drop in gas supply to a reduction in power imported.

Policy Advisor to the NPP campaign, Boakye Agyarko who made the claim further chided the NDC for not demonstrating “any measure of control” in addressing power challenges in the country.

He also stated that gas supply from Nigeria was cut in June 2016 and may not resume anytime soon due to government’s failure to pay outstanding debts in excess of $160 million.

But Jinapor said Ghana has enough power and may even export to neigbouring countries like Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Togo and Benin.

We have enough power

He hinted that the government may have to even shut down some of power plants because they have excess power in the system.

“We have more power that we require domestically. As I speak to you, some of our plants have been shut down because of excess capacity. KTPP is down, TT1PP is down, the Sonun plant is down, not due to fault but due to strategic reasons. We do export power to Togo, Benin, Burkina Faso; we do export power through NEDCO to Ivory Coast.”

No China agreement signed

He also dispelled claims by the NPP that cabinet had approved a proposed agreement with China to send Ghana’s gas to China in a bid to lure the China Development Bank to reactivate the reaming $2 billion of the $3 billion Chinese loan to the Ghanaian government.

“I’ve listened to my big brother Mr. Boakye Agyarko and some of his statements are completely out of order.  There is no agreement that states that we are going to give out gas to the Chinese. We have consistently stated that we believe in a gas fired thermal system and so as much as possible we intend using our gas resources to fire our thermal plants because that is cheaper, efficient and that is part of our plans. So that cannot be true. I listened to him this afternoon and he claimed that VRA supply 75% of our power needs, that is not true he claimed that the dam is at an all-time low, that is not true, he claimed that crude oil is far expensive compared to their time in terms of the premium, that is not true. I think that this doomsday mongering wouldn’t help us. I’m not aware of cabinet approving such deal. Cabinet has not approved any agreement where we would carry our gas to the Chinese,” he added.

–

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

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