KK Sarpong: 5 Controversies That Rocked The Outgone GNPC CEO

Dr Kofi Koduah Sarpong’s five-year tenure as chief executive officer of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) was a barrage of controversies. From allegations of procurement breaches to questions about his retirement age, the former GNPC boss constantly made headlines for numerous contentions.

His position has been taken over by Opoku Ahweneeh Danquah, who is said to be a relative of President Nana Akufo-Addo.

Here are a  brief reminders of five controversies that rocked Dr Sarpong during his five years as CEO of GNPC.

1. The Auditor-General’s report for 2020 cited GNPC under Dr Sarpong for breaching the Public Procurement Law in the award of contracts to the tune of $34 million. According to the report made public last year, from 2015 to 2018, Dr Sarpong’s GNPC signed and awarded five international business contracts without recourse to Parliament, as required by the procurement law. The GNPC boss, according to the report, used the Restricted Tendering method without seeking approvals from Parliament.
2. 2. Dr Sarpong cited in botched $7.5m building deal In January 2022, the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) cited Dr Sarpong and the management of the GNPC for acquiring a dilapidated residential property at Chapel Hill, a suburb of Takoradi in the Western Region, for a whopping $7.5 million. READ ALSO Three Members of Parliament file injunction against implementation of E-Levy at Supreme Court Again there was a breach in the procurement process as PIAC reported that “there was non-compliance with the Procurement Laws of Ghana in that there was no public tender or bid”. Dr Sarpong was singled out in that PIAC report for acting in breach of the laws governing Conflict of Interest.
3. 3 Dr KK Sarpong sued over retirement age In 2021, a journalist filed a suit at the high court challenging Dr Sarpong’s appointment in 2017 as GNPC CEO, claiming he had crossed the compulsory retirement age of 60 at the time of his appointment. Larry Dogbey, Editor of the Herald newspaper, claimed Dr Sarpong was 63 when he was appointed and should have been on retirement per the law.
4. 4 Dr Sarpong allegedly breached a fiduciary duty in the Aker-GNPC deal Last year, Dr Sarpong came under intense fire over the Aker-GNPC deal. He was accused by energy expert Kwadwo Poku of breaching his fiduciary obligation concerning the controversial energy deal. READ ALSO Fuel station manager lands in jail after stealing GH¢398,000 at the height of Covid pandemic Mr Poku said Dr Sarpong presented expenditure and project costs higher than those quoted in the books of the publicly traded firms involved in the deal.
5. 5 Dr Sarpong among beneficial owners of Jubilee Oil Holdings In January this year, an energy think tank, African Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP) alleged that GNPC had a sinister plan to assign an interest in some of Ghana’s oil blocks to a company not owned by the Ghana government and registered in the Cayman Islands. ACEP claimed that the company, Jubilee Oil Holdings, was registered to Dr Sarpong and Board Chairman of GNPC, Freddie Blay. GNPC later came to deny the allegations, insisting that it applied the law to the letter in that transaction.