The Alliance of Civil Society Organizations Working on Extractive, Anti-Corruption, and Good Governance has revealed that parliament ignored their request to probe the GNPC Acker-AGM transactions.
According to a letter signed by Yao Graham, the association’s Convener, they hoped that parliament would at least attempt to verify the GNPC’s investment figures.
This according to the association would have saved the energy sector Minister the embracing letter from Lukoil to the effect that they were not even aware that such a major change to the shareholding and operator ship of the block was happening on their blind side.
They then added that, such practices in the sector should not be tolerated.
The CSO’s warned that the $1.6 billion deal would jeopardize Ghana’s economy and fiscal outlandishness, when the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) decided to buy 70% of the South Deep Water Tano (SDWT/CTP) and another 37% of the Deep Water Tano/Cape Three Points (DWT/CTP) operated by AGM Petroleum Ghana Limited and Aker Energy Ghana Limited, respectively.
They also mentioned other transactional and policy difficulties that, if not resolved, might leave the GNPC with expensive assets on its balance sheet.
The group further added that. on August 9, 2021, Lukoil, a Russian energy corporation, wrote to the energy minister, claiming that it was unaware of discussions with its partners to sell the interest and change the operator ship.
According to Lukoil, they were not consulted at any point of the transaction despite its main partnership in the DWT/CTP project with a 38% license interest and a 42,22% participating interest.
Responding to the claims of Lukoil, the Energy Ministry indicated that its outfit will engage Lukoil at the appropriate time.
“GNPC’s discomfort with a direct and principled engagement with a group of citizens asking serious questions about the propriety and fiscal implications of its intended transaction can only be interpreted as indicative of its discomfort with a direct and principled engagement with a group of citizens asking serious questions about the propriety and fiscal implications of its intended transaction.”, the letter stated.
The group also responded to “misrepresentations and distortions of facts by GNPC on the specific issues regarding the proposed transaction, which the Corporation has been unwilling to engage the public.
FIND BELOW THE LETTER
Alliance of CSOs Response to GNPC’s Letter to Parliament, IMF WB and Norwegian Embassy (1)(1)
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