The minority in Parliament is demanding for the immediate dismissal of the Executive Secretary to President Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo, over the controversial Ameri energy deal saga which has led to the sacking of energy Minister, Boakye Agyarko.
According to a Minority Member on the Mines and Energy Committee of Parliament, Edward Bawa, the former Mr Agyarko should not go alone, looking at the circumstances that led to his dismissal by the president.
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“I’m not surprised over Agyarko’s dismissal because he has failed but the Executive Secretary to the President should not also have his job by now,” he noted.
Edward Bawa who is MP for Bongo was speaking Monday on Adom FM’s political talk show, Burning Issues following the dismissal of Mr Agarko from the Energy Ministry.
“Stop praising the president that he has shown leadership in Agyarko’s dismissal, President Akufo-Addo must apologise to Ghanaians for sleeping on his job and failing to protect Ghanaians’ interest in the renegotiation of the Ameri deal,” Edward Bawa demanded.
The Bongo legislature jabbed Nana Asante Bediatuo for failing to do due diligent and proper scrutiny of the documents presented by the former Energy Minister before endorsing the agreement through an executive order to seek Parliamentary approval.
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“An astute lawyer like Bediatuo who is very knowledgeable in the law should not be left out, he should follow Agyarko,” Edward Bawa told show host, Afia Pokua.
A statement by the President’s secretary, Nana Asante Bediatuo stated that “the President of the Republic of Ghana has granted executive approval for the Novation and Amendment Agreement dated July 20, 2018 between (i) the Government of the Republic of Ghana represented by the Minister for Energy (or his authorised representative), (ii) Volta River Authority(VRA), (iii) Africa and Middle East Resource Investment Group(AMERI ENERGY), (iv) Ameri Energy Power Equipment Trading LLC (AMERI EQUIPMENT), (v) Power Projects Sanayi Insaat Ticanet Limited Sirketi (PPR), and (vi) Mytilineos International Trading Company AG (Mytilineos), for operations and maintenance of the existing 250MW AMERI Thermal Plant at Aboadzi, for a period of 15 years.”
Various groups including the Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP), the Institute of Energy Security (IES), Volta River Authority (VRA) Senior Staff Association and among other stakeholders called on Parliament to reject the renegotiated AMERI deal, saying the new deal will cost the country more after the 15-year period.
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The IES said the country risks paying more when the deal is agreed upon in its current form.
Under the new agreement, a new company, Mytilineos International Trading Company, will take over the management of the AMERI power plant for 15 years.
The new company has offered to pay AMERI an amount of $52,160,560, with the government paying the remaining $39 million to the Dubai-based AMERI Energy to wash its hands off the deal entirely.
But the Bongo MP, Edward Bawa said the Executive Secretary should’ve waited for the document to be sent to cabinet for it to be subjected to proper scrutiny before granting an executive order.
He added that the minority in parliament will continue to be vigilant in ensuring government protects the public purse in the interest of the citizenry.