NDC gaining notoriety for corruption – Dr. Bawumia

• Posted on December 23, 2015
• by Nana Kwesi Coomson
• Comment

Under this Fourth Republic, the National Democratic Congress is gradually but steadily earning notoriety as a corrupt administration.

This observation by the Vice-Presidential Candidate of the New Patriotic Party, Dr Mahamadu Bawumia, comes on the heels of the controversial $510 million AMERI power deal, which government stands accused of failing to conduct a value-for-money exercise before entering into the agreement and presenting it to Parliament.

Addressing party faithfuls at the 15th Extraordinary Annul Delegates Conference which was held in Sunyani over the weekend, Dr. Bawumia, also touched on the MMT rebranding of 116 buses which cost the nation a whopping GHC 3.6 million.

“We have also learnt that one of the latest government projects is the rebranding of 116 Metro buses with pictures of the President and former presidents at the cost of GHC3.6 million. Is this the best use of taxpayers’ money? Is government not aware of the state of our hospitals for example?” he quizzed.

Below is a copy of the NPP’s 2016 Vice-Presidential Candidate’s remarks

Bawumia Raises More Questions on Ameri & MMT Rebranding

Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, NPP Vice-Presidential Candidate, has cited the Karpower Deal, Ameri Power Deal, Rebranding of MMT Buses and the Rehabilitation of the Kumasi Airport Runway as some of the recent examples of the many corrupt deals which have become the hallmark of the current Mahama – NDC administration.

Speaking at the successful 15th Extraordinary Annual Delegates Conference of the NPP in Sunyani on Saturday, Dr. Bawumia mentioned that many of the projects under the NDC administration are riddled with symptoms of corruption.

Dr. Bawumia had days earlier, on Thursday, questioned among others, the Ameri Power Deal at a Lecture organized by the Prempeh College Old Students Group in Kumasi.

“The issue of the Ameri Power Deal is the latest episode of issues bordering on corruption and the failure to ensure value for money for the people of Ghana.

“In this deal, Ghana is basically purchasing 10 Gas Power Plants for $510 million even though the same Plants can be acquired for 220million dollars on the market.

Dr. Bawumia raised issues about why the government failed to purchase the Power Plants from either General Electric or METKA, since it is clear even from the Ameri Agreement, that these two companies could have offered Ghana, a far cheaper alternative.

“The government has claimed that the manufacturers of the plant, GE would have provided the plant at a far more expensive price.

“However, information available indicates that GE submitted a proposal to VRA for a similar facility and this proposal was found satisfactory by VRA. Unfortunately, VRA’s precarious financial position could not permit it to enter into a Rental agreement with GE.

The VRA needed Government support in terms of security and guarantee for the transaction, which Government refused to give, the same Government has however been able to issue the needed security and guarantee under this Ameri deal. In the Ameri deal, Ameri is buying the equipment from GE through Metka. With this long chain of supply, can Ameri quote a price lower than GE?

How can a manufacturer’s price be more than that of a retailer? Can the Government furnish the public with copies of the GE proposal sent to VRA?” he queried.

Dr. Bawumia then touched on the role of METKA in the deal.

“METKA which is virtually executing the entire scope of Ameri’s responsibility under the Agreement, i.e. engineering, procurement, construction, building, operations and maintenance of the plant, is doing so at a total cost (with profit) of not more than $350million (payable in 5 years). Clearly, then entire plant could have been purchased for at most $350million and paid for over the 5-year period.

So again, why did the Government not even procure this Plant from Metka, since they could offer the same package for $350million? What value is Ameri bringing to the table to justify their $160million entitlement? This contract also does not make sense”, he stated.

Dr. Bawumia finally touched on the Metro Mass Buses Rebranding scandal and expressed worry over why government had decided in the first place to spend taxpayers’ money on rebranding the buses when government could have rather made money for the country by allowing corporate entities to advertise on the buses.

“We have also learnt that one of the latest government projects is the rebranding of 116 Metro buses with pictures of the President and former presidents at the cost of GHC3.6 million. Is this the best use of taxpayers’ money? Is government not aware of the state of our hospitals for example?

The buses should rather be a source of revenue to government because companies would be prepared to pay for advertisements on the buses. This again does not make sense and has corruption written all over it”, he noted.