The Presidency has confirmed that Boakye Agyarko’s dismissal as the Energy Minister was due to his handling of the AMERI novation and amendment agreement.
The statement communicating Mr. Agyarko’s dismissal did not indicate reasons for the President’s actions but it was widely suspected that it was related to the controversial renegotiation.
[contextly_sidebar id=”fA6jL0aeDQyn1unMWN8cyt7hEAxvQhyG”]The Director of Communications at the Presidency, Eugene Arhin said President Nana Akufo-Addo was acting in the best interests of the country.
“In a nutshell, it [the dismissal] is to do with the issue of the controversial AMERI deal. That is why the President has relieved the Minister for Energy of his position.”
“We all know the circumstances. We all know the story that has panned out as a result of the deal and the President believes that in the interest of the Ghanaian people, in the interest of the country and in the interest of his own administration, the Minister for Energy, Hon. Boakye Agyarko should be relieved of his position,” Eugene Arhin told Citi News.
In the meantime, John Peter Amewu is to act as Minister for Energy until a substantive appointment is made.
The Akufo-Addo government took the revised deal to Parliament last week under a certificate of urgency.
But the House deferred its deliberation on the contract due to concerns over the cost and value for money.
The new agreement was to extend the current five-year deal with Africa and Middle East Resources Investment Group (AMERI) Energy which is currently operating a 300MW emergency power plant in Ghana to 15 years and bring onboard a new company from Greece, Mytilineous International Trading Company, to manage the plant for the period.
Analysis from observers indicates that the proposed amendment to the AMERI agreement will see a cash flow of $1,125,007,380.
But it is expected that the government would be paying a total of $1.375 billion for the AMERI power plant over approximately 15 years instead of the original $510 million.
Background to AMERI deal
The John Mahama administration in 2015 signed a contract with Africa and Middle East Resources Investment Group (AMERI) Energy, to rent the 300MW of emergency power from AMERI.
This was at the peak of the country’s power crisis.
The power agreement with UAE-based AMERI Energy cost $510 million.
But according to the Akufo-Addo administration, it found out that the government had been shortchanged by AMERI as they presented an overpriced budget, and were overpaid by $150 million.
Under the new agreement, a new company, Mytilineous International Trading Company, will take over the management of the AMERI power plant for 15 years.
The new company has offered to pay AMERI an amount of $52,160,560, with the government paying the remaining $39 million to the Dubai-based AMERI Energy to wash its hands off the deal entirely.
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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citinewsroom.com/Ghana
