Disgratuled Workers Leak VRA "Kalabule"

SRP AND GULFSTREAM CONTRACTS ARE THE SAME…
STRIKES AND NATIONWIDE BLACKOUT IMMINENT

Information gathered from major Volta River Authority (VRA) installations at Akosombo, Akuse, Tema and Aboadze last week suggests that the VRA workers who have been ‘gagged’ are now finding ways and means to be heard.

''Chronicle'' has learnt that revealing documents about activities at the authority have been passed on to the opposition, namely the National Democratic Congress (NDC), where a party source intimated that all is set to expose the VRA for the world to have the opportunity to judge between zero tolerance for corruption and supervising corruption at the highest level.

The source said, over a period, the party decided to distance itself from happenings at the VRA with the hope that necessary corrections would be effected, but that seemed a wishful thinking.

According to the source, the white elephant Strategic Reserve Plant (SRP), which had over the months absorbed billions of cedis from the taxpayer, as well as the alleged awards of contracts to cronies, came under their scrutiny.

Chronicle was told that the acquisition of the SRP was done in such a manner that one can surely say there is no moral justification for the Kufuor administration rejecting the controversial Gulfstream III presidential jet.

One of the documents available to Chronicle indicates that the workers, now pushed against the wall and anxious to save the VRA from total collapse, may soon take to the streets and possibly follow up with what has been described as ‘what happened in Acheampong’s era''.

According to the document, the action ''will last for only five minutes, but its implications can be very devastating.'' It further stated that in order to realise this line of action, certain staff in key positions in various plants of the authority have been sensitised and the action will be definitely forthcoming.
The document, dated February 19, this year, referred to boasts and pronouncements by the chief executive officer, Dr. Charles Wereko-Brobby, of late, such as '' ‘I am making money for the party,’ ‘The president is aware of what is happening,’ ‘I am purging the system of rot and I have the full backing of the president and so I do not care, whatever happens,’ ‘It is disgruntled NPP members in the VRA who are frustrating me and I will deal with them.''
The disillusioned workers mentioned that on Saturday, February 15, this year, when the president, Mr. J.A. Kufuor, visited the Volta Hotel, they had planned to send a delegation to talk to him, but the decision was rescinded because of the inappropriateness of the environment.
According to the protesting workers’ document, staff of the Information Technology (IT) department of the authority, which, Chronicle learnt, is now disorganized, have been dumped at the head office and the project, VOLTACOM, has been allegedly hijacked by a company which has supplied everything ‘from mobile phones to computer accessories.
The workers further noted that the ownership of that company is said to have set tongues wagging, and alleged that the authority has resorted to purchasing a fleet of new vehicles, while the old ones are parked at the mercy of the weather, and operational inputs, such as spare parts, lubricants and even stationery, are absent.
Over the past 40 years, an Italian company, ABB, the document said, has been maintaining equipment at the authority but indications are that it is being frustrated to pack up and go to pave way for a lady to supply transformers and breakers for the SRP, which are 30 and 31 years old respectively.
The VRA is losing grip over its professional engineers, the document charged, pointing out that the director of Generation had resigned and similar resignations are being recorded at the major installations, Akosombo, Akuse, Tema and Aboadze with many more ready to join the bandwagon.
The workers demanded to know whether it is true or not that the chief executive officer, Dr. Charles Yves Wereko-Brobby, is receiving a standing salary of US$7,000 (?58 million) aside of huge allowances. And the withdrawal of wards of employees from the Akosombo VRA International School where six students from Kumasi, in the Ashanti Region (names withheld) are benefiting from the company’s scholarship scheme, Chronicle was shown a letter dated August 19, last year and signed by Rev. I. N. Ghansah, acting deputy chief executive, Resource and Services, to all departmental heads, captioned ‘Revision of fee charged in VRA.’ The letter read, ''It is announced for all parents and guardians that with effect from September 1, 2002, basic fees charged in VRA schools are as follows: Kindergarten - ?267,000; Primary - ?530,000; JSS - ?810,000 (day), ?1,760,000 (boarding); SSS - ?1,065,000 (day), ?1,995,000 (boarding.)
''This revision is a result of policy changes in the firm, management of the authority, which focus upon relating VRA tariffs and revenue to the cost of VRA core business of power production.
''In the non-core business areas, such as the schools, the authority will pursue a phase programme aimed at eliminating subsidiaries and retaining full cost recovery.
It is hoped that parents/guardians make prompt payments to enable the school to provide good quality education to children and wards. It was further learnt that an arbitrary decision by the director of the school, Rev. (Mrs.) Grace Manieson-Annancy, to relegate her two deputies, has compounded the problems at the school.
The paper was told that Dr. Wereko-Brobby is making efforts to outsource the security department, a move observers think will bring on security implications.
When Chronicle called at the public relations department to check on an enquiry made by this reporter about the SRP on December 10, last year, a lady this reporter was referred to, Bellona Gerad, said to be the supervising public relations officer, was at her outwitting best, tossing him up and down and finally succeeding in undertaking public relations for a sensitive public institution like the VRA by applying excuses.
At a stage, she referred the reporter to her director, Mrs. Essilfie, who also said that unless the manager in charge of the SRP was contacted, there was not going to be any information for the press. Later, Bellona promised to organise a press tour to the site at Tema.
When contacted again later, she said she had stitches on her foot and was visiting the doctor, but the next day she was seen busily distributing hampers and calendars.
Chronicle discovered afterwards that the public relations department quickly rushed a reporter from a state-owned newspaper they could control and resorted to throwing dust in the eyes of the public that the plant was ready to be commissioned, when it was still born.
In a related development, the president of the Manya Krobo Youth Association, Mr. Michael Teye Angmortey, has appealed to government to set up a probe into the affairs of the VRA because of recent media revelations.
According to him, the construction of the Akosombo dam has left so many homes deficient up to date and that it is wrong for Dr. Wereko-Brobby and the public relations department to evade the press.

SRP AND GULFSTREAM CONTRACTS ARE THE SAME…
STRIKES AND NATIONWIDE BLACKOUT IMMINENT

Information gathered from major Volta River Authority (VRA) installations at Akosombo, Akuse, Tema and Aboadze last week suggests that the VRA workers who have been ‘gagged’ are now finding ways and means to be heard.

''Chronicle'' has learnt that revealing documents about activities at the authority have been passed on to the opposition, namely the National Democratic Congress (NDC), where a party source intimated that all is set to expose the VRA for the world to have the opportunity to judge between zero tolerance for corruption and supervising corruption at the highest level.

The source said, over a period, the party decided to distance itself from happenings at the VRA with the hope that necessary corrections would be effected, but that seemed a wishful thinking.

According to the source, the white elephant Strategic Reserve Plant (SRP), which had over the months absorbed billions of cedis from the taxpayer, as well as the alleged awards of contracts to cronies, came under their scrutiny.

Chronicle was told that the acquisition of the SRP was done in such a manner that one can surely say there is no moral justification for the Kufuor administration rejecting the controversial Gulfstream III presidential jet.

One of the documents available to Chronicle indicates that the workers, now pushed against the wall and anxious to save the VRA from total collapse, may soon take to the streets and possibly follow up with what has been described as ‘what happened in Acheampong’s era''.

According to the document, the action ''will last for only five minutes, but its implications can be very devastating.'' It further stated that in order to realise this line of action, certain staff in key positions in various plants of the authority have been sensitised and the action will be definitely forthcoming.
The document, dated February 19, this year, referred to boasts and pronouncements by the chief executive officer, Dr. Charles Wereko-Brobby, of late, such as '' ‘I am making money for the party,’ ‘The president is aware of what is happening,’ ‘I am purging the system of rot and I have the full backing of the president and so I do not care, whatever happens,’ ‘It is disgruntled NPP members in the VRA who are frustrating me and I will deal with them.''
The disillusioned workers mentioned that on Saturday, February 15, this year, when the president, Mr. J.A. Kufuor, visited the Volta Hotel, they had planned to send a delegation to talk to him, but the decision was rescinded because of the inappropriateness of the environment.
According to the protesting workers’ document, staff of the Information Technology (IT) department of the authority, which, Chronicle learnt, is now disorganized, have been dumped at the head office and the project, VOLTACOM, has been allegedly hijacked by a company which has supplied everything ‘from mobile phones to computer accessories.
The workers further noted that the ownership of that company is said to have set tongues wagging, and alleged that the authority has resorted to purchasing a fleet of new vehicles, while the old ones are parked at the mercy of the weather, and operational inputs, such as spare parts, lubricants and even stationery, are absent.
Over the past 40 years, an Italian company, ABB, the document said, has been maintaining equipment at the authority but indications are that it is being frustrated to pack up and go to pave way for a lady to supply transformers and breakers for the SRP, which are 30 and 31 years old respectively.
The VRA is losing grip over its professional engineers, the document charged, pointing out that the director of Generation had resigned and similar resignations are being recorded at the major installations, Akosombo, Akuse, Tema and Aboadze with many more ready to join the bandwagon.
The workers demanded to know whether it is true or not that the chief executive officer, Dr. Charles Yves Wereko-Brobby, is receiving a standing salary of US$7,000 (?58 million) aside of huge allowances. And the withdrawal of wards of employees from the Akosombo VRA International School where six students from Kumasi, in the Ashanti Region (names withheld) are benefiting from the company’s scholarship scheme, Chronicle was shown a letter dated August 19, last year and signed by Rev. I. N. Ghansah, acting deputy chief executive, Resource and Services, to all departmental heads, captioned ‘Revision of fee charged in VRA.’ The letter read, ''It is announced for all parents and guardians that with effect from September 1, 2002, basic fees charged in VRA schools are as follows: Kindergarten - ?267,000; Primary - ?530,000; JSS - ?810,000 (day), ?1,760,000 (boarding); SSS - ?1,065,000 (day), ?1,995,000 (boarding.)
''This revision is a result of policy changes in the firm, management of the authority, which focus upon relating VRA tariffs and revenue to the cost of VRA core business of power production.
''In the non-core business areas, such as the schools, the authority will pursue a phase programme aimed at eliminating subsidiaries and retaining full cost recovery.
It is hoped that parents/guardians make prompt payments to enable the school to provide good quality education to children and wards. It was further learnt that an arbitrary decision by the director of the school, Rev. (Mrs.) Grace Manieson-Annancy, to relegate her two deputies, has compounded the problems at the school.
The paper was told that Dr. Wereko-Brobby is making efforts to outsource the security department, a move observers think will bring on security implications.
When Chronicle called at the public relations department to check on an enquiry made by this reporter about the SRP on December 10, last year, a lady this reporter was referred to, Bellona Gerad, said to be the supervising public relations officer, was at her outwitting best, tossing him up and down and finally succeeding in undertaking public relations for a sensitive public institution like the VRA by applying excuses.
At a stage, she referred the reporter to her director, Mrs. Essilfie, who also said that unless the manager in charge of the SRP was contacted, there was not going to be any information for the press. Later, Bellona promised to organise a press tour to the site at Tema.
When contacted again later, she said she had stitches on her foot and was visiting the doctor, but the next day she was seen busily distributing hampers and calendars.
Chronicle discovered afterwards that the public relations department quickly rushed a reporter from a state-owned newspaper they could control and resorted to throwing dust in the eyes of the public that the plant was ready to be commissioned, when it was still born.
In a related development, the president of the Manya Krobo Youth Association, Mr. Michael Teye Angmortey, has appealed to government to set up a probe into the affairs of the VRA because of recent media revelations.
According to him, the construction of the Akosombo dam has left so many homes deficient up to date and that it is wrong for Dr. Wereko-Brobby and the public relations department to evade the press.