Accra, Sept. 5, GNA - The Minority in Parliament on Friday said it maintains its stand on a contract to purchase four helicopters by the Ministry of Defence under a 55 million dollars Barclays Bank loan approved by Parliament this year.
In a statement signed by Mr Doe Adjaho, the Minority Chief Whip, it described as "false and misleading" a statement made by the Ministry that it was decided to suspend the contract with Messrs Wellfind Limited for further due diligence to be conducted in order to ascertain the authority of Messrs Kazan's position.
The Minority said the Minister of Defence, Dr Kwame Addo Kufuor in a letter to Messrs Wellfind Ltd dated 10th April 2003 stated that the Ministry was suspending the entire contract "due to some unanticipated financial circumstances beyond its control". The statement said the letter indicated that the Ministry "would in future not hesitate to contact you (ie Wellfind Ltd) to revisit the contract when our finances improve".
"The Minority notes that strangely enough, this letter suspending the contract due to 'unanticipated financial circumstances' was not copied to the Minister of Finance, who is in charge of the disbursement of loans approved by Parliament including the Barclays loan." The Minority statement said the first letter by Kazan Helicopters to the Ministry of Defence in which they indicated that Rosoboron Export is the exclusive authorised state enterprise for the supply of Kazan helicopters was dated 15th May 2003.
"In other words, the Minister suspended the contract even before being in receipt of the letter from Kazan Helicopters."
The Minority said it was surprised that at the time the Minister wrote to Wellfind Ltd complaining of financial difficulties, Parliament had already approved the 55 million dollars loan.
"The Minority finds the whole dealings with Rosoboron Export as lacking in transparency and contrary to the financial administrative procedure."
The statement urged the government to ensure that the Ministry of Defence and the Ghana Armed Forces Council follow proper procedures in order to forestall any embarrassment to the government and the nation. "The Minority will consider any loss resulting from legal entanglements with Messrs Wellfind as amounting to 'causing financial loss to the State.
"If this is not done, the Minority will be compelled to put all the pertinent information it is holding into the public domain and call for the resignation of the Minister of Defence Dr Addo Kufuor and members of the Ghana Armed Forces Council."
The Ministry of Defence on Monday said it had not caused any financial loss to the State.
A statement signed for the Minister of Defence, Dr Kwame Addo Kufour said it was in reaction to information making the rounds in certain circles about a contract for the supply of four transport helicopters to the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) by M/S Wellfind Limited of the United Kingdom.
The statement signed by Mr F.O. Mpare, Chief Director of the Ministry, said the Ministry was being guided by the policy of transparency and adherence to the laid down procurement procedures of military hardware in the acquisition of the helicopters.
The statement explained that the Ministry signed a contract agreement with M/S Wellfind Limited for the supply of four transport helicopters to the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) on August 20, 2002. "The contract made provision for training of Ghana Air Force personnel as well as spares and tools.
"This agreement was entered into with the understanding and knowledge that M/S Wellfind Limited had concluded arrangements with Messrs Kazan Helicopters of Russian Federation for the supply of the helicopters.
However, Messrs Kazan Helicopters informed the Ministry that Messrs Rosoboronexport of Russian is the exclusive state enterprise for the supply of services and products including all types of helicopters produced by Kazan Helicopters.
Under the circumstances, the statement said, the Ministry of Defence sought the advice of the Attorney General on the matter to resolve the issue without prejudice to the obligation entered into with Wellfind Limited.
"Messrs Wellfind Limited was, therefore, requested to produce written evidence from Kazan Helicopters confirming that presently Wellfind Limited has the authority of Kazan Helicopters to supply the helicopters, spares, tools and training under the contract between Wellfind Limited and the Ministry of Defence."
It said the Ministry of Defence, therefore, decided to suspend the contract with Messrs Wellfind Limited for further due diligence to be conducted to ascertain the authority of Messrs Kazan's position. The Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning was subsequently advised to stay action on any payment due Messrs Wellfind Limited under the agreement.
The statement said, in pursuit of seeking value for monies spent on procurement of Military goods and services, the Ministry made representations to Messrs Kazan Helicopters to ascertain relevant information in respect of the contract.
"In view of this we wish to emphasize that: The Armed Forces Council under the chairmanship of the Vice president, was duly briefed on the transactions concerning the procurement of four transport helicopters.
"The Attorney General and Minister of Justice was consulted on the contract.
" Further due diligence exercise was conducted to ensure that this Ministry does not cause financial loss to the State.
"No contract has been signed with the Russians neither had any payment been made to the Russian Company.
"Finally Messrs Weelfind Limited has been offered the opportunity to indicate whether they can meet their obligations under the terms of the contract within a specified time frame.
