The names behind the alleged Akufo-Addo family feud which has caused Ghana a $134m judgment debt

More details are emerging on the cancellation of the power agreement between the government of Ghana and Trafigura Ghana Power Generation Company (GPGC), which appears to be causing the country international embarrassment.

One of Ghana’s prized properties in the United Kingdom (UK), the Regina House in London, has now been taken over by Trafigura after the government of Ghana failed to pay the $134 million judgement awarded against it by a UK court for cancelling the power agreement.

One might wonder why the government of Ghana would take an action which would cause the nation a $134 million judgment debt, and the person(s) who landed the country into such debts.

But even Boakye Agyarko, who was Minister for Energy when the Trafigura deal was cancelled, has stated that he knew nothing about the cancellation.

Speaking in an interview on Oman FM on Tuesday, February 16, 2021, the former energy minister said that he was in no way involved in the cancellation of the agreement and therefore cannot be held responsible for the judgement debt.

He even indicated that the cancellation of the power agreement by the government was wrong and not in the interest of the country.

“I just realised that they had filed for arbitration on August 11, 2018. This was after I had left the ministry. I never knew they had gone for arbitration. I am told that the government presented itself at the arbitration. How would someone accuse me of cancelling the contract? I have not cancelled any contract; I don’t have the power nor the need or desire to cancel it. I am for what will help Ghana,” he said.

The Ranking Member on Parliament’s Energy Committee, John Abdulai Jinapor, has claimed that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo cancelled the power purchase agreement between Trafigura’s Ghana Power Generation Company (GPGC) and the government to punish someone in a feud involving some of his family members.

He alleged that an individual had offended the president and as a result, the contract was terminated to make a point.

“I am telling you that this termination was because of a family feud between some family members of the president on one hand and the other.

“When we assume office, you will get to know the real truth and the rationale behind the termination. They did not terminate the contract because they had Ghana’s interest at heart. It is because they wanted to teach somebody a lesson. They extended their own family problem into governance and terminated this contract and today, you and I [are paying for it],” the former Deputy Minister for Energy is quoted to have said by myjoyonline.com.

But before now, the theheraldghana.com had, in someway, predicted all that is currently happening.

In their reports, which dates back to October 2023, named some family members of President Akufo-Addo who are supposedly involved in the feud that has cost Ghana $134 million in judgment debts.

According to the report, the feud was over the sale of a parcel of land at East Legon.

New Patriotic Party (NPP) stalwart Fred Oware and the wife of President Akufo-Addo’s brother, Bumpty Akufo-Addo, reportedly tried to sell the said land to another family relation of the president, Damian Duncan, who is said to be heavily involved with Trafigura.

The land deal went south, leading to a protracted police case in which Bumpty’s wife was arrested. These events supposedly happened before Akufo-Addo was voted into office on January 7, 2017.

The Herald newspaper's report indicated that when Akufo-Addo became president, he supposedly decided to teach Damian Duncan, whose mother is Adelaide Duncan Olagbaju - a direct cousin of the president and queen-mother of the Bekai Stool, a lesson by terminating the Trafigura deal which was signed under the John Dramani Mahama government.

“With Akufo-Addo winning power, the ruling family decided to teach Damian Duncan and Trafigura a bitter lesson by terminating the GPGC contract, which had added thermal power to Ghana’s national grid. The claims are that Ibrahim Mahama and Inusah Mahama, alias 'Energy', two younger brothers of ex-President John Mahama, who are friends with Damian Duncan, were behind GPGC,” part of the report reads.

About the judgement debt:

The Ghanaian government was ordered to pay $111,493,828.92 along with obligatory post-judgment interest by a District of Columbia Court in the United States, which granted a Motion for Default Judgment in favour of Ghana Power Generation Company (GPGC).

Ghana disregarded a previous tribunal verdict from the United Kingdom, which led to this ruling.

After Ghana terminated a power purchase deal with Ghana Power Generation Company (GPGC) on February 18, 2018, a UK tribunal found on January 26, 2021, in its Final Award, that Ghana had broken its contractual duties.

According to Ghana, the contract was terminated because the foreign power company did not fulfil certain contractual obligations.

The tribunal, however, disapproved and granted GPGC $134,348,661 in damages, which were computed using the purchase agreement’s Early Termination Payment formula.

The award includes compensation of GPGC’s arbitration fees and expenses in the amount of $3,309,877.74, with interest at three-month USD LIBOR, compounded quarterly, and an interest rate of six-month USD LIBOR + 6%.

Following fruitless attempts to obtain the outstanding payment from Ghana, GPGC filed a lawsuit on January 19, 2024, in the U.S. District Court, claiming recovery of the mounting debt under the Federal Arbitration Act’s Chapter 2 and the New York Convention.

At least five properties of the Government of Ghana (GoG) in the UK were attached to the judgement, which Trafigura has been given the power to sell in order to raise the amount of money the court has ordered Ghana to pay them.

The High Commissioner of Ghana to the United Kingdom (UK), Papa Owusu Ankomah, confirmed that the properties of the Government of Ghana in the UK are likely to be sold due to a failure to pay the judgement debt owed to Trafigura.

He, however, indicated that out of the five properties of Ghana in the UK that were attached to the judgement, only one is likely to be sold, Regina House, which is used for commercial purposes.

The remaining properties, including the High Commissioner’s residence, the High Commission, and the chancery, are all being used for diplomatic purposes and are covered by diplomatic immunity.

Regina House is located in Central London. It is a six-storey building which is managed wholly by the Government of Ghana. Currently, it is being rented by the Ghana International Bank, two other banks, and another commercial entity.

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