The Ghana National Gas Company Limited has denied media reports that its Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Ben Asante, is under pressure to sign a dubious $812 contract.
According to a statement issued by the state owned company, there has never been any such occurrence as is being reported.
The following is part of the statement issued by management;
Ghana Gas condemns in no uncertain terms such misleading publications regarding the award of the contract for the Engineering, Procurement, Construction, Commissioning (EPCC) and Financing of Ghana Gas’ project, technically known as the Gas Processing Plant Train 2 (GPP2 project).
As a Company that owns and operates infrastructure required for the gathering, processing, transporting and marketing of natural gas resources in Ghana and internationally, Ghana Gas embarked on this infrastructure expansion project to process incremental gas flows from the Upstream Partners to meet the rising demand for gas for power generation and industrial use.
Contrary to the claims made in the Daily Post publication, that the entire process has been shrouded in opacity and corruption, Ghana Gas wishes to state emphatically that the award of the contract for the GPP 2 project to the selected Tenderer, went through a rigorous tender process and we have complied strictly with Act 663 of the Public Procurement Act, 2003, as amended, and all relevant approvals have been obtained.
Indeed, following the approval by the Board of Directors of Ghana Gas in 2021 to commence the GPP 2 project, management applied and sought approval from the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) to adopt the Restricted Tender procurement method under Section 38(a) of Act 663 as amended for the EPCC and financing of the GPP2 project.
In accordance with the Restricted Tender Procurement method, tenders were submitted by four (4) firms, and upon evaluation of their Technical and Financial bids, by the Entity Tender
Committee, the selected Tenderer was awarded the Contract following concurrent approval received from the Central Tender Review Committee (CTRC) of the Ministry of Finance.
Accordingly, Ghana Gas and the selected Tenderer have signed a Project Implementation Agreement to outline the terms and conditions for the EPCC and financing of the project.
The selected Tenderer has incorporated a special purpose vehicle (SPV) to undertake the project and Ghana Gas is currently in negotiations with the SPV to execute the relevant agreements for the implementation of the project.
We wish to place on record that there is no external influence being exerted on the CEO to execute the agreements as is being alleged in the Daily Post publication and we urge all well- meaning Ghanaians to disregard any such mischievous publication.
We caution the media to be circumspect with their reportage, verification of facts and cross checking, so as not to harm the reputation of innocent individuals and organisations.
Ghana Gas remains committed to upholding the highest ethical standards in all our operations and would appreciate responsible and accurate reporting in our operations.
Signed:
Ernest Kofi Owusu-Bempah Bonsu
(Head of Corporate Communications)
