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Press Release
NPP
December 14, 2015
TEN REASONS WHY THE NPP DEMANDS AN
IMMEDIATE, OPEN, PUBLIC, BIPARTISAN PARLIAMENTARY INQUIRY
INTO THE $593M AMERI POWER DEAL
Following on from the damning revelations from the two
Norwegian investigative journalists on President John
Mahama's NDC government’s alleged fraudulent deal on 10
power turbines from Ameri Group of Dubai, and its rather
weak, contradictory and porous response this morning, it is
now evident that an urgent, immediate open public inquiry by
Parliament, through a bipartisan committee, into details of
the deal is urgently required.
In February this year, the NDC Government entered into a
Built, Operate, Own and Transfer agreement with Ameri Energy
of Dubai for the supply of 10 turbines with 230-250MW
capacity of power. The total cost of the deal to Ghanaian
taxpayers for the five-year period will be US$593 million,
comprising of the $510 million direct cost plus a “variable
charge” of $83 million ($16.6 million x 5 years). This is
16.3 per cent of the total cost of the project. Normally, a
variable charge never exceeds 2 per cent of the total cost
of any contract of this nature. So what explains this
astronomical mark up?
These 10 GE turbines, according to industry experts, go for
a total basic cost of some $220 million. This, naturally,
has raised questions over the justification for the
additional whopping $360 million.
The investigations, done by the two foreign journalists,
first of all, confirm several suspicions raised by local
observers, surrounding this deal, as well as raise questions
that have not, and will not be answered by the President’s
agents merely issuing statements and press releases. It
calls for an open, bipartisan full-scale enquiry into it.
For clarity, let us summarise some of the issues:
1. Two of the companies connected to this transaction are
also closely connected to President John Mahama. These are
Engineers & Planners, owned by the President's brother, and
entrepreneur, Ibrahim Mahama. In fact, President John Mahama
was at one time a director of Engineers & Planners. The
other firm, Amandi Construction, which has also generously
benefitted from government contracts and its executives are
very close to the President, is a sister company to STL, the
controversial firm that is a contractor to both the
Electoral Commission and the National Health Insurance
Authority regarding the biometric register of both
institutions. The involvement of these two firms in a deal
that is reportedly inflated to the tune of some US$360
million is a serious cause for concern, adding to the
worrying matter of how the cost of corruption is sinking our
nation under this NDC Government.
2. The NDC Government has come out to deny the key financial
details of the transaction, but evidence from the contract
before Parliament, especially the key annexures (Annexes 'G'
& 'C'), clearly contradicts the NDC Government's position.
In fact the contract suggests that together with the
specific, quoted costs, other contingent costs will lead to
a total outlay far in excess of US$1 Billion. This is a
worrying matter, given the precarious position of Ghana’s
finances, including a near GHS100 billion public debt.
3. The structure of the deal is itself troubling. President
John Mahama's government also has a working relationship
with GE, the global American conglomerate from whom the
plants were acquired. GE is also working in the energy
sector to supply electric power. Why did the Ghana
government choose to enter into an arrangement that would
cost us, in specified terms, some 130% more (and
potentially, if contingent liabilities fall due, cost five
times more what it would have been if we purchased the
plants outright)? Why go through an inexperienced middle
company?
4. Why did the deal go through Ameri Group, which appears to
have been created shortly before this deal? Who are the real
people, Ghanaian contacts, behind this Ameri deal? This
question is legitimate because Ameri came from nowhere to be
handed this lucrative deal on a ‘golden’ platter.
5. Amund Bakke, the Editor of the Norwegian paper which
broke the story, VG, contradicted the statement from the
Minister of Energy this morning that the alleged Norwegian
fugitive, Umar Farooq Zahoor, was not connected to Ameri and
was merely a witness, who signed the agreement. Mr Bakke
insists Mr Umar Zahoor was the CEO of Ameri at the time the
deal was signed earlier this year and that the Minister is
on tape, admitting to same when he was interviewed by the
two Norwegian journalists last October. When was Mr Umar
Farooq Zahoor removed from Ameri as CEO of Ameri Energy?
6. We also want the NDC Government to come clean on the
involvement of US company, APR Energy on this project. Our
information is that, APR Energy, which former US Secretary
of State, Magdelene Albright and financier, George Soros,
reportedly have controlling shares in, won the bid for the
10 GE turbines in Ghana. It appears, for some reason yet to
be explained, that deal was frustrated and handed to Ameri
Energy without any competitive tender.
7. In the President’s own State of the Nation Address this
year, given on 26th February, 2015, he stated that,
“Guarantees are currently being agreed for the following:
Karpower ship (Turkey) 450MW, APR (UAE) 250MW, GE 300MW.”
Whiles making this statement to the Ghanaian people before
Parliament, the President was fully aware that the contract
with Ameri Energy had been signed on 10th February, 2015, 16
days earlier. So why did he give the impression that some
Dubai-based APR was the company contracted to provide the 10
turbines? Was Ameri Power or Ameri Energy created to deceive
the procurement process that it was still APR (US) that
Government was dealing with?
8. Why did Government take out the Florida-based APR Energy,
with years of experience in the business, offering a far
cheaper option, to bring in Ameri Energy, which had no
experience in the field? Was it all to make hundreds of
millions dollars of unconscionable windfall on the back of
the needless Dumsor misery visited on suffering Ghanaians in
the past four years?
9. This is because we have been made aware that Ameri has
effectively sold the entire operational aspects of the
contract to Metka, to be the operator of the five-year BOOT
project between Ameri Energy and the Government of Ghana.
Indeed, the terms of agreement paved way for exactly that to
happen. The contract is worth $350 million to Metka, which
will undertake the entire project, including the procurement
of the 10 turbines and the management of the plant.
Government should explain to us, does this mean that for
being the needless agent, Ameri Energy simply walked away
with at least $160 million or possibly $240 million, if you
add the peculiar $16.6 million per annum “Variable Charge”
slapped on top of the contract for five years.
10. Our final question for now, there is actually a company
based in China and Pakistan called Ameri Energy Group (www.amerienergygroup.com)
which has been in operations since 2005. It has no links
with Ameri Energy, which is also linked to Ameri Group, both
in Dubai. Could this be a case of passing off created by a
person allegedly wanted for multi-million Euro fraud in
Europe?
We have reason to believe that the public information
available on this Ameri deal is significantly more in what
it covers than it reveals, especially the key players behind
the deal, the extremely high costs of acquisition, how much
the government has paid in cash, guarantees and escrowed
amounts and other issues.
This murky, and allegedly fraudulent deal has come at a time
when Ghanaians have suffered four years of power outages
that have collapsed businesses and added to the growing
unemployment and desperation of Ghanaians. It has come at a
time, today, Monday, 14th December, when Ghanaians are being
demanded to pay a 60% price increase in the cost of
electricity to their homes and businesses.
This “Ameri Christmas” gift is probably the straw which will
break the back of the camel, regarding the incompetence and
corruption of this NDC Government. We, the New Patriotic
Party, are extremely concerned about the reckless and wicked
manner that the affairs of our country are being conducted
under President John Mahama and his NDC Government.
On these and other burning questions requiring answers, we
of the New Patriotic Party are convinced and feel obliged to
demand, on behalf of the people of Ghana, an immediate and
public inquiry into the Ameri Group deal. Nothing below this
will satisfy Ghanaians as to the propriety of this deal.
…Signed…
Freddy Blay
(Ag. National Chairman)
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