Mpiani Causes $1.3 Million Financial Loss To Ghana

From the huge amount of money he splashed in putting

up the so-called Golden Jubilee House to the state’s monies he, together with

Wereko Brobbey shared like confetti to party cronies in the name of the

Ghana@50 celebrations, Mr. Kwadwo Mpiani, Former Chief of Staff has become

synonymous with the causation of financial loss to the state.

As if the financial mess he has plunged Ghana into

is not enough, yet another financial scandal leading to a huge financial loss

to the state has been uncovered again. And once more, Kwadwo Mpaini is the man

behind it!

The latest financial mess makes it mandatory for

Ghana to pay a Spanish company, Isofoton SA, the sum of $1.3million after the

company was awarded the said amount by a court because Kwadwo Mpaini got the

NPP government to abrogate a contract between the company and the Government of

Ghana (GOG).

Already, government has paid $400,000 to Isofoton SA

but this has not stopped the company from going to court to obtain a garnishee

order against the Ministry of Agriculture’s account in order to retrieve the

remaining $850,000.

The garnishee order means therefore that the Ministry

for Agriculture (MFA) has been frozen until it completes defraying the debt.

According to the facts of the matter, in 2005, the MFA

entered into an agreement with Isofoton SA for the company to provide a solar

PV powered water pumping and irrigation system in remote rural areas of Ghana

under the Second Ghana-Spanish Financial Protocol.

However, for reasons known to himself only, Kwadwo

Mpiani wrote to both the Ministers of Agriculture and Energy ordering them to

give the project to Elecnor, another Spanish company to execute .

In a reply to Mr. Mpaini, the MFA said it has never

dealt with Elecnor and thus the company is not known to it. It therefore could

not guarantee that the company can execute the project satisfactorily.

“Throughout

the discussion at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, Hon. Ministers

were made to understand that, for an effective and speedy execution of the

projects under the protocol, Ministers were to identity suitable Spanish

companies with the requisite technical knowledge to execute the projects.

“The MFA after a diligent search, settled on two companies to execute the

projects in the Ministry. The two companies were ISOTOFON SA MADRID” the letter

to Kwadwo Mpian signed by Mr. Clement Eledi the then Deputy Minister for

Agriculture in charge of Crops stated.

The letter

went on to warn that “The Hon. Minister for Food and Agriculture would want to

draw your attention to the fact that, a change of company at this stage could

open up the Ministry and indeed the government to legal actions, especially by

ISOTOFON.” (See

Page 6 of this paper).

The

Spanish government in a letter to the Minister For Finance dated April 21, 2006

protested the illegal abrogation of the contract between the MFA and Isofoton

SA and warned of the legal implications.

In another letter to the Minister for Finance dated

4th June, 2008, the then Attorney-General & Minister for Justice, Joe

Ghartey also warned of the legal implication for taking the project away from

Isofoton SA. He warned that the orders of Mpiani,

if carried out, will lead to “Special Damages, General Damages and interest at

the prevailing bank rate from the time of breach till the day of payment” against

the GOG.

He continues” We advise that any law suit arising

out of this matter would be detrimental to the government. In the consequence,

substantial financial burden could be imposed on the government through this

breach”.

Despite all these warnings, Kwadwo Mpiani insisted

that the project be executed by Elecnor and not Isotofon. This compelled

Isofoton SA to go to court to secure a judgement debt of GH¢1.3million against

the GOG in 2008 when the NPP was still in power. Much needed funds by the government

is therefore going to be paid to the Spanish company thanks to Mpiani’s

foolhardiness.