PDS Concession Agreement: Group petitions US government

The Crusaders Against Corruption ( a pressure group ) has petitioned the government of the United States of America through the US Ambassador to Ghana for an independent investigation into the the PDS concession agreement which has been suspended by government .

It would be recalled that the Minority Caucus of Parliament on Wednesday presented a similar petition to the US Ambassador to Ghana .

According to the Crusaders Against Corruption, its petition is aimed at finding out whether there was any conflict of interest in the concession agreement and also to identify the individual shareholders in the PDS concession .

Mr Emmanuel Wilson Chief Crusader for the Crusaders Against Corruption in an interview with UTV wondered why even when the Minister of Energy Mr Peter Amewu had acknowledged fraud in the agreement , government decided to suspend the agreement instead of terminating it completely .

Mr Emmanuel Wilson said the Crusaders Against Corruption will not rest on the issue until an independent investigation is carried out into the it ( PDS concession agreement)

Dear Ambassador Sullivan,

PETITION FOR AN INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATION: THE POWER COMPACT, THE ECG PROJECT, AND MATTERS ARISING

Please accept the compliment of the entire members of Crusaders Ghana.

Your Excellency, I write on behalf of Crusaders Ghana to officially bring to your attention the recent developments involving the ECG PSP Project. The government of Ghana has suspended the concession agreement with PDS and commenced investigations into alleged breaches in the issuance of demand guarantees by PDS, with respect to lease payments and power purchase payments under the agreement.

Crusaders Ghana believe that as a sponsor of the project, the United States Government is interested in these developments. Our interest encompasses what we consider to be anomalies and about how Ghana has handled the breaches so far. We understand that for agreements like this, a party at fault is given time by the other party to remedy the breach. Your Excellency, the rhetoric by Government of Ghana does not suggest such a course of action.

Again, the concession agreement provides for a procedure for cancellation if it comes to that, but the government of Ghana does not appear to be following these requirements in public statements that it has issued so far.

Also, the Government promised to send a fully representative team to Qatar to investigate the matter, but a team of only government officials went to Doha, and has returned with a report that could be the guess of anyone.

Additionally, Government of Ghana seized the passports of individuals who have been involved in the process and had wanted to travel on their own to Doha.

Finally the speed with which the Government of Ghana is seeking to cancel the agreement as announced by Ghana’s Minister for Energy, raises eyebrows. Your Excellency, there are too many rumours surrounding the development, that makes it pertinent that an independent investigation is conducted by a fair minded party to settle the minds of all of us Ghanaians who live in trepidation of the consequences of any recklessness on the part of any of

P.O.Box OS 2816 Osu -Accra Ghana, crusadersgh@gmail.com, +233(0)244 044 045

the parties involved.

On these grounds, Crusaders Ghana is petitioning the Government of the Unites States of America, through Your Excellency, that you bring the influence of your good offices to bear on the process of investigating this matter,

• To determine the individual shareholders of the local companies and their relationships with the directors.

• To determine the extent to which the transaction is fraudulent, as mentioned by the Minister of Energy.

Crusaders Ghana fear that if transparency does not characterize the process, Ghana may lose $190m of the Power Compact funds, and also participation in the Regional Compact, which we understand could bring close to $1b into the sub-region. The truth must triumph always, and please accept our best regards.

Yours sincerely

Emmanuel Wilson Jnr.

Chief Crusader