I was with a fellow Kukrudite when the news first reached me. We both leapt for joy because Dr. Kwame Okro’s homeland had been spared the payment of huge judgement debt. In case you are still wondering, Bank of Ghana’s (BOG) victory over Sibton in an arbitration in faraway Obroniland is what I refer.
Yes, you heard right! The Bank of Ghana has won the arbitration against Sibton Switch Systems Limited (SSSL) in London. A tribunal constituted under the auspices of the London International Court of Arbitration (LCIA) issued an award in favour of the BOG, dismissing all claims brought by SSSL in relation to the termination of the master agreement for the Ghana Retail Payment Systems Infrastructure in 2017.
Following the humiliating defeat of Zu-za in the 2016 polls, and upon the appointment of a new management of BOG, a prudent review of the terms of the contract entered into by the previous Ogwanfunu administration with SSSL revealed that another create, loot and share strategy had been used against the state. The new management of the bank smelled fraud when it found out that the contract sum, as quoted by SSSL, was 33-times higher than the price quoted by the second-highest bidder. It reached the conclusion that SSSL had neither acquired the license nor fulfilled the condition precedent for the effectiveness of the rights and obligations of the parties. The agreement was thus terminated.
SSSL subsequently went to the LCIA seeking relief in the sum of $478 million from the respondent, but left the Court empty-handed. Indeed, they were also ordered to pay BOG’s full legal fees.
This should be good news to all who claim to be patriotic citizens of Asomdwekrom, shouldn’t it? Wait a second, can you hear the deafening silence of the mainstream media on the good news? With the exception of the ubiquitous Daily Guide and the Daily Graphic, all the major media platforms have been curiously silent on the issue.
I vividly remember how they all published with glee when SSSL filed a request for Arbitration with the LCIA against the BOG in April 2018, for breaching the Master Agreement for the Ghana Retail Payment Systems Infrastructure entered into by the two parties. They made all manner of voodoo analyses and predicted another judgement debt was in the offing. Why are they so silent now?
The agenda-setting and regime-changing media houses are disappointed because they prayed for a victory for SSSL. In my mind’s eye I see their morose faces as they lick their wounds. If these are not nation-wreckers, then I wonder what they are!
They have become masters of sensationalism, churning out stories which are half-truths at best. They know that generating false news and reporting half-truths will make the Nana Dee government look bad in the eyes of the gullible public. So BOG’s victory is not the kind of news they, particularly the ones who say they are regime changers, are willing to publish.
It’s the reason I endorse the wise counsel from ‘General J. B. Adwenkese I’ to all Osono MPs to efficiently use their social media platforms to project not only their works, but also the good works of government. It is a timely advice considering the fact that most Osono MPs promote only their works, and deliberately ignore that of government. Who will need mischievous Kokomlemle CNN and their ilk if all Osono MPs endeavour to promote the good works of government on their social media platforms?
Abusuapanin, the BOG success story cannot be told without mentioning the name Dr. Alhaji Mahamudu Bawumia. I couldn’t agree more with IMANI’s Kofi Bentil that Dr. Bawumia is the gem in the whole saga. Indeed, saving the state more than $1 billion by ensuring the cancellation of the dubious agreement is no mean achievement. Only Mawu knows the vile propaganda the mischievous media houses would have used against him if the BOG had lost the case.
So I ask: What happens to those who cooked the messy deal with SSSL? Will such looters and nation-wreckers also walk free like their colleagues who received double salaries? Aaaah, I weep for this country!
As for the so-called regime-changing media, let’s allow them to wallow in their delusional state of being relevant. After all, it is the dog that is destined to get missing that refuses to hear the sound of the hunter’s whistle.
See you next week for another interesting konkonsa, Deo volente!