The purpose of the bribes was to induce the CSO players not to demand transparency and accountability in a controversial US$1.65 billion AKER Energy- GNPC take over transaction.
Details are emerging about how Multimedia Joy FM’s Evans Mensah acting as a media consultant led representatives of AKER Energy in Ghana and GNPC on a bribing spree in which various persons leading Energy sector thinktanks and Civil Society Organization figures allegedly received cash “bribes” running into thousands of Ghana Cedis.
The purpose of the bribes was to induce the CSO players not to demand transparency and accountability in a controversial US$1.65 billion AKER Energy- GNPC take over transaction.
Whereas Evans Mensah had tried to deny his role in the bribe expedition, one of the recipients swore Evans Mensah was involved but is now only denying to save face.
Fingered in the receiving of the bribes are Executive Director of the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC) Ghana Duncan Amoah who admitted to receiving Ghc30,000 cash directly from Evans Mensah of Multimedia JoyFM. Credit to Herald Newspaper and confirmed my MyNewsGh.com’s own sources, other names mentioned were high ranking NDC figures in Parliament serving on the Finance and Energy Committees and Steve Manteaw, former Chair of PIAC.
Also, Mensah Thompson of the Alliance for Social Equity and Public Accountability (ASEPA) personally admitted to receiving Ghc10,000 from Khadija Amoah and Joseph Dadzie of GNPC, making handsome total of Ghc40,000.
The same Evans Mensah was the point of reference when AKER Energy was exposed to have misled Akufo-Addo regarding the actual outcome and results of its supposed sponsorship of Petroleum Commission’s Accelerated Oil and Gas Capacity program (AOGC)
Analysts have wondered why GNPC, represented by its deputy CEO, one Joseph Dadzie, Evans Mensah a supposed incorruptible journalist and AKER Energy’s Khadija Amoah will go on a bribing spree if the AKER Energy – GNPC deal is in the interest of Ghana?
Also, independent analysts are asking whether the same bribes being paid to CSOs is being paid to Members of Parliament to look the other way and pass the deal?
MyNewsGh.com is reliably informed that Parliament’s Joint Committee on Energy and Finance recommended approval of the GNPC’s request for a loan to seal the deal after some “backroom negotiations” took place in place where the NDC reps were sorted out. The NDC Minority remains silent on the issue leaving CSOs to do the fighting.
A simple summary of the GNPC-AKER Energy deal is that two oil blocks sold by the GNPC to AKER Energy in 2019 at $130million, now in 2021, GNPC is buying back those same two oil blocks at over $1billion! And added to that, GNPC is going out to borrow the $1billion to buy these two oil blocks it sold in 2019. Again, as at present, GNPC has not been presented with data to show the true state of the two oil blocks it is buying back. Parliament approved the deal without the technocal documents.
More soon!
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