Former Minister of Railways Development and Presidential aspirant for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Joe Ghartey, has emphatically denied payment to AI Sky or authorising the payment of US$2 million to fund the Accra Sky Train Project.
The Essikado Ketan MP has said the claims are mere propaganda aimed at tarnishing his hard-won reputation as someone who has served Ghana with a high degree of integrity for several years.
In a statement, Mr Ghartey explained that the Auditor-General’s Report clearly indicates that it was the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund that acquired shares in the foreign company that approached the Ministry of Railways Development with an offer to develop an elevated metro tram system for Accra, envisaged to cost US$2.6 billion.
According to him, he made it clear from the beginning to the promoters of the Accra Sky Train Project that his Ministry did not have the budget for the proposed project.
However, he welcomed the project as a Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) Project, hence the Ministry signed a Memorandum of Understanding in February 2018 and another Agreement with the promoters in November 2018.
“In 2019, the Ministry signed a concession agreement with the promoters, subject to several conditions precedent, including approval by Cabinet, approval by Parliament, approval by the Ministry of Finance, and conduct of a Value for Money Audit, among others, that needed to be satisfied before the concession agreement took effect,” he said.
The Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund was established to mobilise, manage, coordinate, and provide financial resources for investment in a diversified portfolio of infrastructure projects in Ghana.
It has invested over US$300 million in various infrastructure projects. Joe Ghartey clarifies that it is not an agency or statutory body under the Ministry of Railways Development.
He further explained that in the third quarter of 2019, the concession agreement was signed in South Africa, and the investors were supposed to come to Ghana with their technical team to complete the full feasibility and final bill of quantities in 2020.
However, due to COVID and lockdowns in both South Africa and Ghana, their program was disrupted while he was serving as Minister.
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