Drillship saga: NDC group damns Kufuor’s men calling for Rawlings’ testimony

Pro-government pressure group, Inside Ghana, has described as “cheap political hogwash,” arguments by former President John Kufuor’s Office that his predecessor, Jerry Rawlings, must also be hauled before the Judgment Debt Commission over the sale of a drillship belonging to Ghana in 2001.

In a response to an earlier call by the group for Mr Kufuor and his former Attorney General, Nana Akufo-Addo, under whose tenure the vessel was sold, to appear before the Commission, which is probing the whereabouts of US$3.5 million of the sale proceeds, the former President’s Spokesperson, Frank Agyekum said similar invitation need to be extended to Mr Rawlings too, to stretch the argument.

Inside Ghana, in a counter-statement described Mr Agyekum’s argument as “untenable”.

“We at Inside Ghana are at pains to decipher the logic in Mr. Frank Agyekum’s call for H.E Dr. Jerry J. Rawlings to be invited by the Judgment Debt Commission to testify in the mysterious and unprincipled circumstances under which Discoverer 511 Drillship was sold in the year 2001,” the statement said.

The group said while it welcomes Mr Kufuor and Mr Akufo-Addo’s “willingness to appear before Justice Yaw Apau, the sole commissioner, we are completely taken aback by Frank Agyekum’s call for H.E ex-President Rawlings to be invited as well”.

It said it finds Mr Agyekum’s call “whimsical and out of place,” adding: “We believe it is a wet blanket aimed at encouraging partisanship stance on the matter and urge Ghanaians to dismiss it with the contempt it deserves”.

“Is Mr. Frank Agyekum telling Ghanaians that the ship was sold during H.E Dr. Rawlings administration? This cheap political hogwash equalisation would not suffice and urge him to desist from such unjustifiable recklessness”.

It accused Mr Agyekum of seeking to politicize the whole issue unnecessarily, and said the call was “irresponsible”.

The Discoverer 511 was sold for US$24 million to defray a US$19.5 million judgment debt awarded against the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation, in favour of French Bank Societe Generale, by an English Court.

US$900,000 of the amount was deposited into an escrow account to pay GNPC's creditors and suppliers while US$100,000 was used to pay legal services covering the sale transaction.

The remaining US$3.5 million, which was deposited into an account of the Government of Ghana at the Ghana International Bank in London, on the orders of former Acting High Commissioner, Chris Kpodo, still cannot be traced.

Already, former Energy Minister, Albert Kan-Dapaah and his Deputy, K.T. Hammond, who both served in the Kufuor administration as of the time the vessel was sold, as well as former GNPC CEOs Tsatsu Tsikata and Dr. Quaah have appeared before the Commission over the matter.