Tarzan's Apocalypse Not Over Yet

Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom, Minister of Energy, on Monday confirmed the resignation of Dr. Charles Wereko-Brobby as Chief Executive Officer of the Volta River Authority (VRA) but remained silent on the findings of his committee saying that, the only copy of the report, which used to be with him, was now lying quietly in the bosom of President Agyekum Kufuor.

The Energy Minister, a successful businessman noted and respected as a man of principles, however, warned that the government would without any hesitation take action against anybody who was indicted for acting in a manner contrary to the prescribed rules and general practice of the VRA and also against the law.

Dr. Nduom avoided answers to specific questions as to whether the final report of his enquiry made adverse findings or exonerated the outgoing VRA chief, who stepped aside during Dr. Nduom's committee of enquiry and bowed out after the committee filed its final report on the desk of the Energy Minister.

The Chronicle has gathered that VRA staff at the Aboadze Thermal Plant in Takoradi resumed wearing red bands with inscriptions that called on the Minister to make his findings public while their counterparts in Accra were said to be jubilating over the exit of Dr. Wereko-Brobby, the man they insisted on calling a "terror" and a "dictator."

Dr. Nduom confirmed that the Chief Executive, and his Deputy in charge of Engineering and Operations, Mr. Jabesh Amissah-Arthur had resigned, an action, which government accepted with regrets.

In a carefully crafted speech, Dr. Nduom said, "Government does not expect to receive resignation letters from any other member of management".

The Minister quoted Dr. Wereko Brobby's resignation letter as stating that, he was bowing out of office "as a means of paving the way for peace in the affairs of the Authority" whilst Mr. Amissah-Arthur was quoted as saying he was leaving to "make it possible for government to carry out the changes anticipated in the management with greater confidence".

The Energy minister noted that as part of the reforms of the Authority, the VRA Act was being revised to make it more relevant to the modern environment and to ensure the ability of the Board to control the activities of the Chief Executive and the management.

In a related development the Chairman of the newly appointed management committee of the Volta River Authority (VRA), Mr. Kweku Andoh Awortwi has said that he would turn the fortunes of the VRA for the better in consultation with the committee members and the workers.

He said with his accumulated experience and professional skills he hoped to make the authority what it ought to have been. "I will not under estimate the problems of VRA but I will hold the bull by the horn", he told The Chronicle in an interview on Sunday following the announcement of his appointment.

Mr. Awortwi's management team takes over from Dr. Wereko-Brobby and Mr. Amissah- Arthur, who resigned as Chief Executive and deputy Chief Executive respectively in the wake of a protracted labour dispute. The workers demanded Dr. Wereko-Brobby's removal after leveling a number of charges against him.

The government responded by appointing a ministerial committee to look into the charges and although, according to the committee's findings, Dr. Wereko-Brobby had been cleared of the charges, the workers had insisted that the report be published. This had not been done before Dr. Wereko-Brobby tendered his resignation.

Mr. Awortwi, an MBA, has been seconded from the Ashanti Goldfield Company (AGC) where he was the Strategic Planning Manager. He said although he was not abreast with all that was happening at the VRA, he was being briefed.

He was grateful to the President for entrusting into "my care one of the biggest entities in the country" and hoped he would not disappoint him.

Mr. Awortwi, who doubled as the Acting Managing Director - Public Affairs of AGC, joined Ashanti in September 1998.

"There (Ashanti) he helps formulate and implement overall corporate strategy for AGC; leads in the execution of a number of business development transactions; negotiates the company's electric power requirements in Ghana; and acts as the company's investor and public relations spokesperson from time to time," a source at Ashanti said.

Prior to joining Ashanti, he was Manager of Business Planning for the Primary Aluminum Business Unit of Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Company in Pleasanton, California, where he worked for eight years. He also worked for four years as an electrical engineer with ITT and GE/RCA, also in the United States.

An MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, California, and a B.S in electrical engineering and political science from Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, Mr. Awortwi is a member of the board of Ashanti's subsidiaries in Ghana, Guinea, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe. He is also currently serving as the Acting President of the Ghana Chamber of Mines.

With the appointment of the new management team, the president also dissolved the board of directors of the VRA and suspended the director of engineering, planning and design, Mr. Evans Appiah, the director of sales, Mr. Charles Darko and the director of engineering, design and construction, Mr. Kweku Arkurst. They are to serve a six-month probation after serving their suspensions.

An official statement said the board was dissolved to facilitate the restructuring of the authority as well as to review its laws in order to halt the decline in the power sector project planning and implementation.

The non-functioning of the Strategic Reserve Plant (SRP), delay in the functioning of $110 million Osagyefo Power Barge, the continuing management of VRA without due regard to the worsening technical and financial problems and the excessive power given to the CEO and the authority, were given as some of the reasons for the dissolution of the board.

The relationship between the workers and the CEO became strained to the extent that workers were apparently prepared to cut power supply if he was reinstated.

Some workers of VRA were in a jubilant mood on Monday morning when The Chronicle visited the head office with some wearing white dresses, which symbolized victory after the news of Dr Wereko-Brobby's resignation filtered through. The elated workers said they saw "Tarzan's" exit coming when the president summoned the two to his office last week before their resignation.

"The real jubilation would begin today", one worker stated. "We think Mr. Awortwi would be a very good material for the position because he is tested and proven to be what he is". They said they would support the new management to uplift the image of VRA.