I wasn’t in favour of AMERI deal – Ibrahim Mahama

CEO of E&P Company Ltd, Mr. Ibrahim Mahama Chief Executive Officer of the Engineers and Planners Company Limited, Mr. Ibrahim Mahama says he has never supported the idea of awarding state contracts to foreign firms including the AMERI deal.

According to him, if he had the power to look into the AMERI deal, he would have preferred it to be 100 percent Ghanaian-owned; thus he would not mind seeing Hon. Kennedy Agyapong being awarded the contract since at least the people of Assin would benefit from it.

A statement by the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) on Monday, claimed among others that Engineers and Planners is connected to the AMERI Energy Power Project, and described its involvement as “a serious cause for concern.”

But reacting to the NPP’s statement, Ibrahim Mahama, speaking on Okay Fm’s Ade Akye Abia Morning show, insisted the contract should have been given to a Ghanaian firm.

He emphatically stated that his company is not involved in the AMERI deal and gets oftentimes riled when Ghanaian companies are bypassed in the awarding of contracts.

He averred that Engineers and Planners was contracted by the Volta River Authority (VRA) to undertake some civil works at Aboadze to prepare a platform to receive the power generating units and other ancillary equipment for the AMERI 250MW Power Project.

He added that Engineers and Planners finished its work as specified and has handed over the completed platform to the VRA.

“Those linking us (E&P) to the AMERI deal, I sometimes get angry that some of these things (contracts) are awarded to foreigners. I have been a sole fighter against contracts being given to outsiders."

“…we don’t look for a way to empower our own to go into such business and let the money stay in Ghana,” he bemoaned.

He wondered why Ghanaians are spending man hours splitting hairs over the AMERI deal and not focusing on how after the company hits the ground running, its output will inure to our benefit as a country.