Executive Director of ASEPA, Mensah Thompson
Pro-National Democratic Congress (NDC) pressure group, the Alliance of Social equity and Public Accountability (ASEPA) has asked Parliament to scrutinize the Ghana National Petroleum Corperation (GNPC) and AKER energy deal.
The President Nana Akufo-Addo’s government has backed GNPC’s plans to acquire 37% shares in AKER and 70% stake in the AGM’s oil block at an estimated cost of $1.6billion.
The move by the government has caused some 15 civil society organizations to petition Parliament to probe the deal.
The Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) have argued that the value at which the deal was being reached was a threat to the country’s economic and fiscal prospects and must be looked at again.
Speaking on the matter at a press conference, Executive Director of the Alliance of Social equity and Public Accountability, Mensah Thompson, says the legislative arm of government must work to ensure that the country got value for money from the deal.
According to him, they will make a special appeal to Parliament to exercise serious scrutiny when the numbers are presented.
He said ASEPA will be the first to file an official complaint with the office of the special prosecutor and demand a corruption risk assessment on this transaction, just like it happened on Agyapa.
“We are watch dogs not only for this transaction but a number of transactions under this government and at any point when we smell any form of corruption in this transaction, whether procurements breaches, whether over evaluation or insider trading”, we will demand assessment, he noted.
He also appealed to Parliament to take their time and “painstakingly scrutinize” every bit of it and make sure that all the concerns of CSOS, experts and interested parties are adequately addressed.
He noted that they will kick against the transaction if the evaluations are bad and problematic.
He pledged that CSOs will not sacrifice the ultimate interest of the public for any private game.
He gave the assurance that CSOs will give their full support if the evaluation turns out to be fair and meets all local and international standards.
Annie Wharton Savage