Haruna Iddrisu plays smart on the PDS scandal

General News of Saturday, August 3, 2019

Source: theheraldghana.com

2019-08-03

The leader of the minority, Haruna Iddrisu, seems to play cleverly in the face of the scandal that led to the suspension of the concession agreement between the Ghana government and Power Distribution Services (PDS) Limited.

Wednesday, in front of Parliament, he called for a large-scale parliamentary inquiry on the suspension of the concession agreement between the government and the PDS Limited, despite the fact that his name appeared several times during investigations Herald. in the scandal that started last February.

First, the lawyer Andrew Kofi Egyapa Mercer, whose activities within PDS as director, lawyer and secretary of the director of TG Energy Solutions Ghana; One of the companies involved in the deal, which The Herald created during the newspaper's investigations, mentioned for the first time the leader of the minority, Haruna Iddrisu.

According to the Sekondi MP in the western region, Haruna Iddrisu, leader of the minority, had approached Parliament and questioned him about a possible conflict of interest situation because of his involvement. in TG Energy Solution Ghana.

The second person involved in the agreement to mention the minority leader, Haruna Iddrisu, was David Nana Yaw Asare, who identified himself as the owner of the TG, as the owner of TG Energy Solutions. Ghana, as being in contact with the leader of the minority. and properly informed about the agreement.

David Asare, whose owner of the TG solution, Philip Ayensu of the East Legon X-Men Hair Salon – Accra, had also sought, in another interview, to challenge the story, told the Herald that there had been many interviews with the minority leader well before Tuesday, July 24, 2018 Approval of the concession by Parliament.

Interestingly, lawyer Andrew Kofi Egyapa Mercer served in Parliament as a Member of Parliament to approve an agreement in which he was to earn financially as a director, secretary, lawyer and secretary of TG Energy Solutions Ghana, but his role has never been mentioned by the minority leader.

Joseph Kwabena Aidoo, owner of Santa Power Limited and holding a 13% stake in PDS, also mentioned that the minority leader was familiar with PDS activities. He also mentioned commitments with the minority leader on the transaction.

It is unclear what the minority leader did with all the information that was provided to him by the parties involved in the transaction, particularly with respect to their financial obligations and their expertise in managing the badets of the minority. ECG, who are at the heart of the suspension, but speaking. On Wednesday, the European Parliament, Mr Iddrisu, said that the investigation was aimed at bringing to light all the facts surrounding the suspension.

Interestingly, David Nana Yaw Asare, in the interview with The Herald, admitted that TG Energy Solutions Ghana did not have the financial capacity to invest in the ECG, but hoped to use the badets of the electricity supplier of the state to raise the necessary funds for its part. l & # 39; agreement.

After Parliament's approval, he told The Herald newspaper that ECG makes millions of cedis every day and that financial institutions will be more than willing to give money to everyone involved in the dealership.

Haruna Iddrisu's request, following the announcement by the Ministry of Information that the Akufo-Addo government, suspended the agreement after the discovery of fundamental and substantive breaches of the law. PDS obligation to provide payment guarantees (on-demand guarantees) for the transaction, which was discovered after due diligence.

"On-demand collateral was an essential prerequisite for leasing badets as of March 1, 2019 to secure badets transferred to the dealer. The government is currently conducting a thorough investigation into this case, the outcome of which will determine the next plan of action, "the statement said.

Energy Minister Peter Amewu later told Citi Business News that initial investigations by the government had shown that a document presented by PDS as a guarantee of the takeover of the ECG had been falsified.

The minister explained that, even though the document stated that a company in Qatar had a guarantee on the PDS, the company's management had told the Ghana government that it was not aware of this document.

Mr Amewu said the government would prosecute any person found guilty of fraud.

TG Energy Solutions Ghana, a strictly Ghanaian company, owned 28% of the investor consortium, making it the second largest shareholder in the market, under which EGC will be managed for 20 years. Meralco holds 30% of the transaction, compared to 19% for Aenergia of Angola.

The careful investigation of the Herald on the concession agreement between the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and the investor consortium, led by Manila Electric Company (Meralco), established that the Ghanaians had received a raw deal, the state's main badet far under some fish and disorderly circumstances.

It is interesting to note that the Millennium Development Authority (MIDA), led by its CEO, Martin Esson Benjamin, had, for conflict of interest, dismissed another investor, BXC Ghana, claiming that it had not revealed his working relationship with ECG. ahead of the offer. The case finally ended up in court, but the court ruled in favor of MIDA.

The investigations in this document clearly show that free money will be in the pockets of some people whenever the consortium will increase the electricity tariff with the approval of the PURC (Public Utilities Regulatory Commission). ).

Indeed, some companies, in particular TG Energy Solutions Ghana, seemed in a hurry to build themselves wisely to collect these free sums under the concession.

The Herald discovered that the company had no technical expertise in the energy sector and also lacked the financial means to manage ECG with its 6,000 employees.

The investigation of this document clearly shows that MIDA, led by Martin Esson Benjamin, did not carry out any technical and financial badessment of all the companies before entrusting them with Ghana's national strategic badet.

Attorney Andrew Kofi Egyapa Mercer, in an interview with The Herald newspaper, admitted that he was a director of TG Energy Solutions Ghana, but could not be accused of a conflict of interest because he had explained his role within the company, Haruna Iddrisu, who had questioned him about his involvement in the business in Parliament.

He claimed to have been hired only as an attorney for the registration of TG Energy Solutions Ghana, but he decided on his own to act as 39, director and secretary of the company until his owner, David Asare, set about the task and appointed staff members after his (Mercer) resigned from his two positions at TG Energy Solutions Ghana.

He described the situation as "not the best thing to do. But some of these things are going on before and after … "The MP of the NPP also downplayed the importance of his vote in parliament on the agreement and repeatedly rejected the accusations of conflict. 39; interests.

Strangely, however, the role of the lawyer Andrew Kofi Egyapa Mercer within TG Energy Solutions Ghana goes beyond the role of director and secretary. Its address on the 7th floor of the Heritage Tower in Accra has been identified as the "main place of business" of the company.

He also denied participating in the voting process that approved the agreement saying, "I was not even in the room when the process was put on the front burner". I did not participate … Anyway, it was a vote by voice. This was not a recorded vote. For him, if there were divisions and the Parliament had entered different parts, he could then be accused of a conflict of interest but his did not take place and the vote took place.

Attorney Mercer also stated that he was unaware that TG Energy Solutions Ghana was participating in the EGC's concession process until the agreement was submitted to Parliament and the leader. of the minority, he saw his name and drew his attention.

It is unclear who saw the second MP on July 24, 2018 leave Parliament before the vote and can testify to it. But, to return to history, the same lawyer, Mercer, who did not participate According to the agreement, he has not yet resigned from TG Energy Solutions Ghana as secretary and director of the society.

But, although he insisted that he was not in Parliament, the Herald obtained a record of the forty-second sitting of the second meeting of Parliament. the day of the approval of the ECG concession agreement, and the Mercer attorney was captured as having taken part in the "Votes and Proceedings" of the day. He was number 161 in the archives of Parliament.

This means that lawyer Andrew Kofi Egyapa Mercer lied when he stated that he was not participating in parliamentary proceedings because he was neither in the House nor in Parliament.

The Herald discovered a possible scam to perpetuate against unsuspecting Ghanaians through the controversial ECG Concession on the Second Concession, by prominent figures from society and the political environment.

Some of these individuals are shocking deputies, other government officials and the rest are private sector businessmen who are about to toil for the fates of the more than 6,000 workers in the country. ECG which, by the end of February of next year, will be entrusted to the new company. .