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General News of Sunday, April 28, 2019
Source: citinewsroom.com
2019-04-28
Pius Hadzide, Deputy Minister of Information
Vice Minister of Information Pius Hadzide urged IMANI Africa to apologize for suggesting that Ghana National Petroleum Company (GNPC) chairman KKSarpong has violated conflict of interest rules in oil transactions of Aker Energy in Ghana.
Mr. Hadzide, about the big problem about Citi FM / Citi TV, argued that IMANI had not provided enough evidence to support such a damaging claim.
"I think the honorable way will be to apologize and that an attempt to justify and say that we (IMANI) sought to ask questions will add insult to injury because you actually caused serious injury. "
At a press conference held in Accra on Thursday, IMANI Africa Vice President Kofi Bentil claimed that Mr. Sarpong and his family owned Fueltrade, one of the local partners. from Aker Energy, who had engaged in oil exploration at Deepwater Tano / Cape Three Points Field.
Aker Energy is the operator of the field with a 50% stake. He recently submitted a $ 4.4 billion development plan to the government for approval.
Kofi Bentil said his team had discovered information about a potential conflict of interest and was seeking further explanations.
While sharing his opinion on the big issue, Mr. Hadzide said, "If I were Dr. K.K. Sarpong, I would instruct my lawyers that they are already appearing in court. "
"It's advice, they're free to take it or leave it, but if they do not take it, some of us will recommend it. Sarpong to do the right thing because we have to stifle some developing trends in our country in the bud. "
"We can not under the guise of the freedom of expression and activism of civil society destroy the integrity of the population simply because we seek to ask questions," he said. -he adds.
Dr. Sarpong has so far only asked for an apology, but with a hint of legal prosecution.
He also criticized IMANI for not having been sufficiently thorough in its verification before making the claims.
Fueltrade Ltd also refuted the claims of IMANI Africa and asked for an apology for the conflict of interest claims.
The Deputy Minister also reiterated his concerns that IMANI had not done due diligence before the press conference.
"If IMANI wants us to take them seriously, they must check and recheck before communicating with the public in the same way as you. [There was a] Major press conference [by IMANI] to ask questions that could have been found by simply going to the Registrar General. "
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