$300m Loan Controversy Takes New Turn

Parliament?s Finance Committee Chairman Eugene Atta Agyepong has expressed surprise at the latest development over the document sent to Parliament by the Finance Minister as a loan agreement for 300 million dollars.

The president of the Chinese company, which is to provide the facility to Ghana, Reinze Edwards says documentation on the loan agreement approved by Parliament was only a draft and not the final agreement.

Speaking on Joy FM?s current affairs programme, Newsfile, Mr. Edwards, said what had been described, as a loan agreement was in fact a Supplier?s Credit arrangement. He was emphatic that his company is not a financial institution and therefore could not give Ghana a loan.

But the Finance Committee Chairman says the document forwarded to MP?s was the final document on a loan agreement.

In the face of the latest developments, Mr. Agyepong said the loan agreement document must be declared void as Parliament prepares to review its contents.

The NDC has meanwhile written to the International Fraud Desk of Interpol requesting it to investigate the international loan agreement involving the CNT and the CNT group of companies.

The NDC in its letter asked Interpol to investigate the backgrounds and true identities of the companies involved. The party?s Communications Director and MP for Bole Bamboi, John Mahama says Finance Minister Yaw Osafo Maafo has a lot of questions to answer.