As Ghanaians prepare for General Elections, on December 7, 2024, there are two key questions about one of the major players in the race, and that is the NDC. The questions are about Bank of Ghana and Sibton Switch and the Meridian Ports Services (MPS).
With Sibton Switch, the NDC government, under John Mahama made Bank of Ghana (BoG) go into a very shady deal with this company, awarding ita $1.2 billion contract for Ghana Retail Payments Systems Infrastructure, which encompasses the mobile payment systems interoperability. Even though Sibton Switch’s bid was thirty-three times higher than the next highest bidder, it was awarded the contract.
Further more while the Public Procurement Authority approved the project on condition that Bank of Ghana’s liability was to be GH¢300,000.00, the NDC government made BoG raise its liability to GH¢2.6 billion or $478 million. Meaning this was what Government of Ghana will pay Sibton Switch, should it terminate the contract.
The transaction was also a bribery galore with BoG’s official at the time allegedly pocketing GH¢410,000.00 and $500,000.00, as bribe. If a lower ranked staff, could receive this, how much will those at the top receive?
In April, 2017 after the NPP took over, it appointed Dr. Ernest Addison as governor of BoG and this fine gentleman terminated the one-sided contract with Sibton Switch.
Sibton Switch took the matter to the London Court of Arbitration (LCIA), hoping to get $478 million for its efforts. Unfortunately, the company lost the case and was made to pay legal fees to Bank of Ghana.
The project was executed by the Nana Addo administration led by Dr. Bawumia the Vice President and it cost only $4.5 million. Something that was to cost $1.2 billion in 2016, under the NDC government, turned out to cost $4.5 million in 2018, under the NPP government.
Then news of another scandalous contract sprang up. This one was even bigger. It is the deal the NDC Government under JDM entered into with Meridien Ports Services (MPS) in which the Service took control of 70% of the Tema Harbour until after 35 years. Ghana had $7 billion from the deal, but that did not show in our books. We had to go to the IMF to borrow less than $918 million.
MPS was able to raise $750 million in one year from port charges and immediately transferred it abroad. Meaning, if all things go equal, MPS will make $26.25 billion after thirty-five years, from its $7 billion investment.This money would have remained in Ghana, even if a local company was put in charge.
And if Government of Ghana intends to terminate this contract, it will be mandated to pay $21 billion to MPS and also into NDC coffers.We could have been raising $750 million a year from Tema Port, and need not go to IMF, but we gave away that opportunity to a foreign company on silver platter.
The question from the gong-gong is that after Sibton Switch and Meridien Ports Services, are there any more of such NDC shady deals, from which this country is being milked dry?
Hon Daniel Dugan
Editor’s note: Views expressed in this article do not represent that of The Chronicle
