He said this in a Citi News interview following a meeting with the Mines and Energy Committee of Parliament on Friday, about the role he played in ratifying the AMERI deal, which was passed by parliament in March 2015.

[contextly_sidebar id=”8qYDcibBrrf5Hu5gQF59rIVovZtgSASO”]“The impact on future investment, if approvals by parliament can be rescinded, when a new government comes in with a new parliament because they have the numbers they rescind it, what will be the impact on Ghana’s investment climate?” he asked.

“Already, for developing countries, there is a political risk of investment, and therefore we pay a premium for investment because of perceived political risk. If we aggravate this by rescinding decisions properly approved, because one government is in power, and has numbers to push it through, it will be short-term and it will not be in the national interest, and in my opinion, it will be misleading, I think a rescission will be a disservice to Ghana,” he added.

The AMERI power deal, a Build, Own, Operate, and Transfer (BOOT) agreement, was signed between the Africa and Middle East Resources Investment Group, and the Government of Ghana on the 10^th of February 2105, during the country’s severe energy crisis.

The contract was awarded by former President John Mahama to the UAE-based energy company.

As part of the agreement, the company was to provide Ghana with 300MW of energy to help improve the country’s energy situation.

After years of operation, the Adansi Asokwa Member of Parliament, K. T Hammond, who was the ranking member of the Energy Committee of Parliament when the deal with signed, filed an urgent motion in Parliament to have the deal rescinded.

According to him, this was because of fresh information he had received concerning the agreement which showed that the deal was fraudulent.

Parliament’s Mines and Energy Committee is currently deliberating the urgent motion for a possible reversal of the deal.

We gave Ghana best deal; but gov’t can scrutinize – AMERI

Meanwhile, the Africa & Middle East Resources Investment Group LLC (AMERI), has stated that, its 2015 agreement with Ghana for the provision of a Power Plant in the heat of the country’s power crisis, 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 felt it was being ripped off.

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By: Farida Yusif/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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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

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On Wednesday, Adansi Asokwa MP, KT Hammond, appeared before the committee with a submission that sought to substantiate his motion for a rescission of the 510 million dollar deal ratified by Parliament in March 2015.

[contextly_sidebar id=”FsVoSfcX41Naa3K15yLBcqf9z9nRlXFH”]Dr. Kwabena Donkor was the Minister for Power when the deal was brokered and ratified by Parliament.

It is unclear if the Parliamentary Committee meeting would be a public hearing.

CID storms Kwabena Donkor’s home over AMERI deal

In July, Mr. Donkor, had his home subjected to a thorough search by some personnel from the Criminal Investigations Department of the Police over the deal.

The personnel were on a mission to retrieve evidence that suggests the former minister had caused financial loss to the state as a result of his involvement in the deal.

Background

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.

The cost of the deal was $510m, and received parliamentary approval on 20th March, 2015. However, it emerged that the country had been shortchanged by the company, acccording to the NPP government.

The reports said the government had paid in excess of $150m, but state officials of the Mahama government disagreed.

The New Patriotic Party government which assumed office said it would look into the matter.

The Energy Minister, Boakye Agyarko, later constituted a committee led by lawyer Philip Addison to investigate the matter that ended in controversy, as it emerged that the committee had seemingly entangled itself in a possible conflict of interest position by accepting sponsorship from AMERI to travel and stay in Dubai for some days as it investigated them [AMERI].

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By: Marian Ansah & Duke Mensah Opoku/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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Dr. Donkor, the Minority Spokesperson on Employment, Social Welfare, and State Enterprise noted to Citi News that his concerns were not because Sammy Awuku was a member of the New Patriotic Party.

[contextly_sidebar id=”ao9WOEF1PCsa4A5X402VlAF5Z5IRpC1r”]”I raised an objection not because he is Sammy Awuku or because he is an NPP [Youth] Organiser. I raised issues with the very requirement of the law. Act 887 of 2015 in section 4, 1(a) it is very specific on the competencies expected of the board chairperson.”

The act in question says the Chairperson of the YEA must be a person of recognized standing and experience in administration and human resource development or training.

But Dr. Donkor said the Minority in Parliament feels Mr. Awuku does not match up to this requirement, and thus called on President Akufo-Addoo to reconsider this appointment.

“Sammy Awuku has a lot of potential. One is not against Sammy Awuku chairing a board, but one is against Sammy Awuku chairing the Youth Employment Agency Board because of the requirement of the law.”

“We believe he could be a member of the board but to be the Chair, the law was very specific on the competencies expected of it [the chairperson] and that is why we are appealing to His Excellency the President, or the appointing authority, to take a second look and let our laws work,” Dr. Donkor added.

On Friday, 15th September, 2017, the YEA inaugurated its board, which included the Founder of Ghana’s School Feeding Programme, Dr. Kwame Amoako Tuffour, the Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Agency, Lawyer Justin Kodua Frimpong who represents management on the Board, and Lawyer Bright Wereko Brobbey, Deputy Minister for Employment and Labour Relations.

The acting CEO of the National Youth Authority, Emmanuel Sin Ayet Asigri, and a Forensic Auditor, Mr. James Quarshie were also appointed as board members.

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

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Mr. Amidu, also an NDC member, in reaction to the Minority’s comments on the raid, said he felt ashamed that legislators from his own political party had called the raid, which was backed by a search warrant, unjustified.

[contextly_sidebar id=”kTyYYKKHl0idrvK34RtS5kj7gvwUTLoG”]He expressed further reservations saying he felt strongly that the Minority’s actions were “against the founding values and principles of the NDC rooted in probity and accountability,” adding that the Minority were creating the impression former ministers were entitled to some insurance “against the commission or suspected commission of crimes for which they voted us [the NDC] out of office.”

“I feel ashamed that my own political party that is now recognized under the 1992 Constitution, as the official opposition in the current Parliament charged with making laws and being a watch dog for the citizens will call a search warrant issued by a lower court with constitutional and statutory powers to do so as an inadequate defence for searching a citizen of Ghana’s residence simply because he is a fellow Member of Parliament.”

Mr. Amidu also expressed contempt for what he called the double standards exhibited by the Minority.

“…I hate the hypocrisy, double standards and audacity of the Minority in Parliament to unlawfully and unconstitutionally impede the police in the performance of their duties contrary to their very oaths of office as Members of Parliament, simply because of their colleague, Hon. Dr. Kwabena Donkor, is now under suspicion of crime in relation to the stinking AMERI contracts.”

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

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, it emerged that the country had been shortchanged by the company, according to the current government.

The reports said the Mahama government had paid in excess of $150m, but State officials of that government disagreed.

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

The Minority also expressed displeasure 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.

Aside from this, the Minority said the CID’s actions were impeding the work of a sitting member of Parliament, amounting to contempt of Parliament under article 122 of the Constitution.

Mr. Amidu’s had some responses to some of the concerns in his reaction, which came via an article on his website, rubbishing among others, concerns a lower court could not have adequately issued the warrant.

Find below a section of Mr. Amidu’s article. The full article can be viewed here.

First, it is untrue to say that because the suspected offender is a Member of Parliament a lower court could not have adequately issued the warrant for the search of his residence.

Second, it is also untrue that because the suspected offender is a Member of Parliament, his residence could not be searched early in the morning because it cannot be said that the search was executed “while he is on his way to, attending at or returning from, any proceedings of Parliament.”

Third, the Minority knew that article 18 of the 1992 Constitution dealing with the protection of privacy of home and other property of their colleague Member of Parliament was not infringed by the police acting under the exception in article 18(2) in accordance with a warrant validly issued by a court of competent jurisdiction for the purpose.

Fourth, the Minority knew that in executing a search warrant the police may take possession of items they suspect to have been used in or to facilitate the commission of the offense, to aid in their investigations.

Fifth, the Minority could not have been ignorant of the fact that laptops, documents, pen drives, and other items of interest for the investigation can be taken by the police in as long as they make an inventory of the items and give the suspect a copy.

Sixth, the Minority will be strangers to the truth in their contention that a lawful search and seizure of items likely to be exhibited in an ongoing criminal investigation from a suspected criminal sleeping in his residence at dawn can constitute impeding the work of a sitting Member of Parliament and be tantamount to contempt under article 122 of the Constitution.

Seven, it is an exhibition of outright naivety and unpardonable ignorance unbefitting any Member of Parliament to demand of seasoned and experienced police criminal investigators to forewarn a suspected criminal before executing a search warrant on his residence.

And Eight, it is cowardly and unbecoming for Members of Parliament, whom we have elected to represent us, to intimidate and threaten not only law abiding citizens in their exercise of their right to freedom of expression, speech, conscience and thought; but even law enforcement agencies, the police in this case, lawfully executing the law with being charged before Parliament for contempt. Respect must be earned not coerced!

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

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It alleged that the move was carefully engineered by the government to silence opposition critics such as Dr. Donkor.

[contextly_sidebar id=”WzL9JetDIHp131E3xRniYMCzJsdLMKen”]The Minority in a statement also contended that the raid had nothing to do with the Ameri project.

“After all, Government itself has publicly claimed just recently that it has in its possession all relevant documents in respect of the Ameri project following the establishment of the Phillip Addison committee.”

“The invasion of Hon Donkor’s residence signals the era of a calculated programme to harass and intimidate vociferous members of the minority and stifle the progress of our democratic process. Our democracy and the freedoms it guarantees is under attack and we in the minority will not sit idly by and watch. We will resist it with all the force at our disposal.”

The Minority assured that it was willing to cooperate with the government in the unravelling of corruption, however, it said it abhorred “the use of crude tactics only intended to instil fear and terror amongst our members.”

Dr. Donkor, had his home subjected to a thorough search by some personnel from the Criminal Investigations Department of the Police on Monday morning.

The personnel were on a mission to retrieve evidence that suggests the former minister had caused financial loss to the state as a result of his involvement in the controversial AMERI deal.

Find below the full statement

MINORITY STATEMENT ON THE DAWN RAID OF HON. DR. KWABENA DONKOR’S RESIDENCE

The Minority in Parliament condemns in very strong terms the dastardly act of raiding the private residence of Hon Dr. Kwabena Donkor, an honourable member of parliament, early in the morning ostensibly to conduct a search and the subsequent seizure of his laptop and other media of communication. This is shameful and sad in a country that upholds the rights of its citizens to privacy.

That it was based on the order of a lower court provides an inadequate defence. Under our Constitution, the integrity of citizen’s private communication is highly protected and it is only under exceptional circumstances that it can be breached. It is even more troubling that the Honourable Member has never been informed, until he was shown the court order that he is a suspect in any investigation.

The Minority considers as unacceptable any action of any state agency that impedes the work of a sitting member of parliament and this improper conduct amounts to contempt of Parliament under article 122 of the Constitution.

This breach of privilege clearly undermines the ability of the Honourable Member of Parliament to perform his legitimate duties and by extension negate the work of Parliament.

The dawn raid on the residence of Hon Kwabena Donkor has nothing to do with the Ameri project. After all, Government itself has publicly claimed just recently that it has in its possession all relevant documents in respect of the Ameri project following the establishment of the Phillip Addison committee.

The invasion of Hon Donkor’s residence signals the era of a calculated programme to harass and intimidate vociferous members of the minority and stifle the progress of our democratic process. Our democracy and the freedoms it guarantees is under attack and we in the minority will not sit idly by and watch. We will resist it with all the force at our disposal.

We wish to state in unequivocal terms that the Minority is willing and ready to cooperate with Government and its agencies to investigate any claim of malfeasance pursuant to proper due process, however, we abhor the use of crude tactics only intended to instil fear and terror amongst our members.

Available records from Parliament will attest to the fact that, the Ameri agreement which was submitted to the August house for approval was considered by the relevant committee and approved unanimously on the floor.

It is therefore surprising for the same side that spoke favourably about this project which culminated in its approval can suddenly claim it is fraught with irregularities.

Ghanaians can attest to the hard work, strategic investment and clear vision brought to bear by the NDC Government to resolve the debilitating power crisis that crippled the nation and wishes to caution that by the continues act of vilification, threats and gorilla tactics on the Ameri project and persons associated to its successful implementation, Ghana risks a return to the era of load shedding which the NDC Government had resolved before leaving office.

Once again we in the Minority would like to emphasise our undiminished resolve to continue to hold the feet of the Akufo Addo-Bawumia government to the fire of accountability and no amount of intimidation brute force or cowardly acts such as is being perpetrated will cow or petrify us into inaction.

We are a law abiding people.

Signed,

Hon. Haruna Iddrisu

[Minority Leader]

25th July 2017

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By: Duke Mensah Opoku/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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The personnel were on a mission to retrieve evidence that suggests the former minister had caused financial loss to the state as a result of his involvement in the controversial AMERI deal.

[contextly_sidebar id=”MXD5QKJHXsASTlQvabGaxndubvPwJsBi”]Kwabena Donkor, who confirmed the incident to Citi News, said the personnel arrived at his home few minutes after 6:00am today [Monday].

“It was few minutes after 6…. There were 4 of them led by an Assistant Superintended of Police. They showed me a warrant obtained from a circuit court and said I was a suspect for having caused financial loss to the state and so they should come and search my premises, retrieve my laptop and other electronic devices.”

“The officers were very professional and they were here for about 2 hours… I said I have nothing to hide so they should go ahead. They searched the whole house. They took away my laptop and some pen drives,” Kwabena Donkor said.

He expressed shock that he had not been notified prior to the Monday morning search that he was a suspect in any criminal case.

“I read for the first time on the warrant that I was the suspect for causing financial loss. Nobody has cautioned me, nobody has tried me. I’ve never been told anywhere that I’ve caused financial loss. The officers said they were looking for documentations on AMERI so they were very specific,” he said.

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. The decision was taken when Mr. Donkor was Power Minister.

The cost of the deal was $510m, and received parliamentary approval on 20th March, 2015. However, it emerged that the country had been shortchanged by the company, acccording to the NPP government.

The reports said the government had paid in excess of $150m, but state officials of the Mahama government disagreed.

The New Patriotic Party government which assumed office said it would look into the matter.

The Energy Minister, Boakye Agyarko, later constituted a committee led by lawyer Philip Addison to investigate the matter that ended in controversy, as it emerged that the committee had seemingly entangled itself in a possible conflict of interest position by accepting sponsorship from AMERI to travel and stay in Dubai for some days as it investigated them [AMERI].

Investigations are still ongoing.

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By: Duke Mensah Opoku & Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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According to him, the report is full of factual inaccuracies and lacks objectivity.

[contextly_sidebar id=”1ajxiu29k3cAMjqMtiWCEK8nJzCr9Vfz”]Speaking at a press conference in Accra on the matter, Mr. Donkor said the committee itself had been involved in shady deals with AMERI, hence does not have the moral right to question the erstwhile government’s dealings.

He said, “who should bear the allegation of fraud? The agreement went through cabinet, the committee on mines and energy recommended by consensus to plenary and was passed by parliament. Was parliament party to this fraud? Is the plant not running and operational? Does it not have the cheapest tariff of all the thermal plans in the country? First of all, there was no fraud. The committee cannot use the relationship between the development and the contractors as the basis of fraud.”

Kwabena Donkor added that, “If there was fraud, why wouldn’t the committee recommend straight away the termination of the contract and take criminal action, but why recommend that you are inviting them back to the table for negotiations. And only if they don’t agree, then you will introduce fraud.”

A 17-member committee constituted by the Energy Minister, Boakye Agyarko, and chaired by lawyer Philip Addison, said it had discovered many lapses in the contract, which was worth $510 million, and was signed by the John Mahama government.

Among other things, the committee said the government fraudulently paid an extra $150 million in the AMERI power plant deal.

It noted 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 with government.

But according to Mr. Donkor, the committee failed to invite relevant individuals in the previous government to help it acquire the full details about the agreement.

“The committee did not find it necessary to either invite the then minister in charge or his deputy to provide relevant information that will help its work. Neither myself as the then sector Minister who piloted this agreement through parliament or my deputy was invited by this committee and yet against the rules of natural justice, the committee goes ahead to allege fraud,” he said.

A former Head of Communications at the Ministry of Petroleum, Edward Bawa, in a previous interview with Citi News said the extra $150 million was a commission that was included in the original Bills of Quantity submitted to undertake the service, and was paid because AMERI was “not a charity organisation” hence had to be paid for its work.

Mr. Donkor also pledged the Minority National Democratic Congress’ (NDC) support to ensure a strong energy sector.

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @jnyabor

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The former army chief said he wanted “freedom” and “social justice”, echoing the slogan of the 2011 revolution.

Mr Sisi spoke after election officials announced that he had received 96.9% of the vote and his sole challenger, left-winger Hamdeen Sabahi, only 3.1%.

The retired field marshal overthrew President Mohammed Morsi last July.

He has since been locked in a battle with Mr Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood, which urged a boycott of what it called “the election of blood”.

Liberal and secular activists, including the 6 April youth movement which was prominent in the 2011 revolution that ousted Hosni Mubarak, also shunned the poll in protest at the curtailing of civil rights.

‘Historic day’

Some journalists and government officials burst into applause and started dancing after the final results of the election were announced at a news conference in Cairo on Tuesday.

Thousands of Sisi supporters also celebrated in the capital’s famous Tahrir Square, cheering, singing songs and setting off fireworks.

In a speech broadcast later on state television, Mr Sisi thanked voters and said he hoped to “be up to your trust”.

He said it was now “time to work”, adding: “Our co-operation in work and construction will lead to prosperity and luxury.”

Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah, a close ally, declared in a letter published by the Saudi state news agency that it was a “historic day” after a “period of chaos”. He also said he would organise a donor conference to help Egypt “get out of the tunnel” and “overcome its economic crisis”.

The Saudis, along with the UAE and Kuwait, have already promised the military-backed interim government almost $12bn (£7bn) in financial assistance since Mr Morsi was ousted.

Challenges

The official turnout was 47.45%, far lower than Mr Sisi had hoped for as an endorsement and only achieved after an additional third day of voting.

Before the election, he declared that he wanted 40 million, or 74%, to cast their ballots to show that there was “consensus on a national level”.

He now faces a wide array of challenges, including fixing the economy, easing poverty and preventing further political crises.

Mr Sisi has also promised to restore security in a country where attacks by Islamist militants have left hundreds of security personnel dead over the past 11 months.

The militants have stepped up attacks in response to the state’s crackdown on Mr Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood and its allies, in which more than 1,400 people have been killed and 16,000 detained.

Mr Morsi and other senior leaders of the Brotherhood, which has been designated a terrorist organisation, are currently standing trial on a raft of charges. They strongly deny any wrongdoing.

Critics fear that Mr Sisi will continue to show little tolerance for dissent.

On Monday, the interior ministry announced plans to increase surveillance of the internet for a variety of “dangers”, ranging from extremism to “humiliating mockery” of officials.

Source: BBC

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