Dr. Kofi Apraku, Minister of Trade and Industry, has admitted that the Minister of Transport and Communications, Hon. Felix Owusu-Agyapong was abroad in delicate negotiations with parties regarding the renewal of Ghana's railway system and in particular the building of a mainline from Tema to the North.
Dr. Apraku admitted this at the launch of the UN Report on World Investment at the offices of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in Accra on Tuesday, September 18.
The transport minister's speech at the launch expanded Ghana-Kenya air links in Accra that morning was made on his behalf without a comprehensive explanation as to his absence.
The office of the transport minister would only admit that he was away and abroad on duty.
The ministry's chief director further admitted that his boss was abroad "for a week" on duty connected with improving and expanding Ghana's road and rail infrastructure. The railway network has not been expanded since 1927. One deputy minister (off record) admitted two weeks ago that the government sees the project as so vital it would - in the last resort - "go it alone".
However, tentative Chronicle sources (which the paper wishes to confirm) suggest South African party(ies) are interested in Ghana's railways.
The Kufuor government seems to have wanted a famous British railway and airline magnate to take on the opportunity, as this reporter was taken to be his representative on two occasions. The misunderstanding was later corrected.
This conduct of railway renewal raises serious political and business conduct issues. How can a minister in a democratically elected government disappear abroad for a week on official business and his departure and motive is not announced without media prompting and his itinerary is kept secret?
How can such a serious alteration to the national economy like the building of an arterial link between the north and south be negotiated behind closed doors? Why has no public, open and accountable tendering process not been carried out? The contents of the negotiations may be validly confidential for business purposes but the fact of the existence of the negotiations and with whom are matters for public scrutiny.
This leads on to the conduct of the bidder(s). Most major stock exchanges across the globe have regulations by which the listed companies must abide.
These rules are there to retain public confidence in the market place and thus to stabilise share prices.
One of these rules is usually that any activity, including negotiations, carried out by the listed company or its subsidiaries that may significantly affect its share price must be admitted publicly via a press statement to the relevant stock exchange press office for public (media) scrutiny.
Chronicle invites the bidder(s) to come forward and state whether it falls within such regulations and to evidence how it has complied with them. If the bidder(s) does not fall within this criteria, the question arises as to whether firstly the government is dealing with a reputable business entity and secondly whether the bidder(s) has the capital and expertise to carry out the project.
All successful companies desire stock exchange listings for the rigorous management that the rules impose and thus the prestige that this brings with it and also for the ability to raise long-term capital in the form of selling shares to finance big ventures just like the proposed Tema-north Ghana railway.
To be fair to the government, it may not wish to raise and then dash peoples hopes by announcing the prospect of opening up and transforming Ghana by railway just like the American West was transformed by railway in the late 19th century and then to dash these hopes after fruitless talks.
However, we live in a different age to the robber barons of the late 19th century capitalist America. Modern democratic and stock exchange capitalism requires more open behaviour.
