Abrogate Ameri deal or go to court – Donkor dares government

The former Power Minister, Dr. Kwabena Donkor has dared the Akufo-Addo government to abrogate the Ameri deal if it believes the deal was fraudulently signed.

A 17 member committee set up by the Energy Minister Boakye Agyarko and chaired by lawyer for president Akufo-Addo in the famous 2012 election petition Philip Addison uncovered technical, financial and legal lapses in the $510 million power contract signed between Ameri Energy and the Ghana government.

As a result, the committee recommended to government to call back owners of the Dubai-based company for renegotiation, urging that if AMERI refused to return for re-negotiation the government should abrogate the contract.

But addressing the media Monday April 3, 2017, Dr. Donkor said the government of Ghana-Ameri deal was the best the country could have mustered at the time.

That notwithstanding, he urged the Akufo-Addo government to go ahead and abrogate the deal if it is convinced of fraud in its signing

Courting judgment debt

Meanwhile, the African Centre for Energy Policy has warned that government of Ghana could end up paying huge judgement debts if it goes ahead to abrogate the AMERI power deal.

Speaking on Morning Starr last month Benjamin Boakye, a Deputy Executive Director at ACEP stated the government is treading on dangerous grounds because AMERI cannot be blamed for any wrongdoing.

“Renegotiating this deal will not be in our interest,” Boakye told Francis Abban, host of the Morning Starr, Tuesday. “AMERI was just doing business so they can’t be held responsible for anything.”

He added: “The conclusion that the contract should be abrogated doesn’t match what is in the report… AMERI used our own security to go get the money to address our challenge. AMERI will have to agree to the negotiation. We cannot compel them.”

According to Boakye, Ghana can only push for renegotiation “if there is a fresh evidence, otherwise we cannot talk about a fraudulent act.”