In our paper today, we carried a story on the conviction of Ghanaian-American former banker, Asante Kwaku Berko, by a federal jury in Brooklyn, United States, over a bribery scheme connected to the development and financing of a power plant in Ghana.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Berko and his co-conspirators paid or conspired to pay more than US$1 million in bribes to Ghanaian government officials to help Turkish energy company Aksa Enerji Uretim A.S. secure a contract to build and operate a power plant in Ghana. The project was pursued between 2014 and 2017, during a period of national energy crisis.
The U.S. prosecution said Berko and his co-conspirators discussed paying US$1 million to the Ghanaian Minister of Power responsible for securing key approvals for the project and US$250,000 to the minister’s senior adviser. It also said bribes were paid to five Ghanaian officials during an all-expenses-paid trip to Turkey to view the equipment for the proposed power plant.
Following Parliament’s ratification of the agreement in July 2015, the conspirators allegedly discussed further bribe payments, including US$46,000 to members of the Ghanaian Parliament who had participated in ratifying the agreement. The U.S. prosecution further said Berko and his co-conspirators concealed the alleged payments through shell companies, sham invoices, nominee account holders and cash withdrawals.
The conviction of Asante Kwaku Berko in the United States is disturbing, but for Ghana, the bigger issue is not Berko alone. The real concern is the Ghanaian side of the alleged bribery scheme.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, more than US$1 million in bribes was paid or promised to Ghanaian government officials in connection with a power plant project. These are extremely serious allegations. We are not saying that every person mentioned in the U.S. proceedings is guilty. They must be investigated and given their constitutional right to due process.
But the people who allegedly received or benefited from these payments cannot simply disappear from the story. This was a power project and it was being pursued at a time when we were in the grip of a severe power crisis.
Ghanaians were suffering through ‘dumsor’. Businesses were struggling. Households were spending money to find alternative sources of electricity. The government was under immense pressure to find solutions to the country’s energy problems. It is against this background that allegations of bribes involving people entrusted with decisions on a major power project become particularly disturbing.
The position of Minister of Power carries enormous responsibility. The person occupying that office is entrusted with decisions that affect virtually every Ghanaian. That power must never become an opportunity for personal enrichment. And the same applies to Members of Parliament. MPs are sent to Parliament to represent the people. They participate in scrutinising and approving major national decisions, including agreements that commit the country to significant financial and policy obligations.
If members of Parliament were indeed paid money in connection with the ratification of a power agreement, as alleged in the U.S. case, then that is not merely a matter of personal misconduct. It goes to the heart of representation and public trust. The people who voted for those MPs did not send them to Parliament to allegedly receive money in exchange for approving agreements. They sent them there to act in the national interest.
The Chronicle is, therefore, happy that the Deputy Attorney-General, Justice Srem-Sai, yesterday posted on his X page that the Attorney-General is working with U.S. counterparts to bring to book persons implicated in the bribery scheme. This commitment must be followed through.
Ghana is still dealing with power-sector challenges more than a decade after the period in which the alleged scheme took place and reliable electricity remains a concern for many households and businesses.
We cannot continue to have national crises while people entrusted with solving those crises allegedly turn them into opportunities for personal gain. When there is a crisis, the public becomes more vulnerable. Government is under pressure to act quickly. Large contracts are negotiated. Urgency increases. That makes integrity even more important. It does not make accountability less important.
The people allegedly involved must be investigated. If the evidence establishes wrongdoing, they must face the law. If the evidence does not establish wrongdoing, that too should be made clear. What Ghana cannot afford is for the conviction of Asante Kwaku Berko to become the end of the matter.
The United States has dealt with the person before its court. Ghana must deal with the people on its side of the alleged transaction. They must be brought to book, if the evidence proves their involvement. That is what justice demands.
