Drill ship saga: Amaliba smells a rat

A member of the legal team of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), Abraham Amaliba has described as questionable, attempts by former ministers of state under the Kufuor administration to provide documents to assist with investigations into the sale of the GNPC drill ship.

Speaking on Radio XYZ’s news analysis programme, 'The Analyst' on Saturday September 21, 2013, Mr. Amaliba said: “I have a problem where we can’t find documentation within the institution that is the custodian of that document. Rather you have public officials who previously occupied that position producing the document”.

The Discovery 511 was sold in 2001 to pay a judgment debt awarded to French Company, Societe Generale, by a UK court.

However, the Energy Ministry, the GNPC and the Bank of Ghana say they cannot trace documents covering the transaction. Societe Generale officials in Ghana who appeared before the judgment debt commission have also said they don’t have any record of the transaction.

According to Mr. Amaliba, “indeed in court, if you attempt to tender those documents, the lawyer on the other side can object to it and say that it is not coming from proper custody. Who knows you could tamper with it”.