Massive Rot Uncovered At GNPC ….Workers Demand Corporation Be Saved From K.K Sarpong & Freddie Blay Dr. Kofi Kodua Sarpong, CEO of GNPC, Freddie Worsemawu Blay, NPP National Chairman, Ogyeahohoo Yaw Gyebi II, Board Member of GNPC and Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, Energy Minister
Business

Massive Rot Uncovered At GNPC ….Workers Demand Corporation Be Saved From K.K Sarpong & Freddie Blay

The Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) has been described as “can of worms” which must be opened up and thoroughly audited to appreciate the extent of the rot happening in the state institution under the management of Dr. Kofi Kodua Sarpong, its Chief Executive Officer (CEO). They mentioned procurement issues, property rentals, renovation works among others, as issues of concern, which are ongoing at the Corporation and need the urgent attention of the President, Nana Akufo-Addo, because they don’t see the Energy Minister, Mathew Opoku Prempeh, as leading a crackdown exercise at GNPC to stop the financial hemorrhage. The demands are coming on the heels of revelation by the Executive Director of the Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP) Ben Boakye that Dr Sarpong, while leaving the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) as Managing Director, left behind a debt of US$1.4 billion from a debt of about US$400 million. The ACEP boss said, “In 2015, a government committee, with the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) and KPMG, recommended further investigation into the debt and use of funds at TOR. However, as vulnerable as the Ghanaian public is, he gets rewarded with a more significant portfolio in GNPC”. Insiders, have painted a picture of an institution that is decaying, tardy and unproductive, which must be salvaged from the current management of Dr. Sarpong, and board of directors led by the National Chairman of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), Freddie Worsemawu Blay, who has just been retained. Also of particular interest to the GNPC insiders, are the reckless use of funds in the name of the GNPC Foundation headed by Ogyeahohoo Yaw Gyebi II, the Paramount Chief of Sefwi Anhwiaso traditional area, who doubles as the President of the National House of Chiefs and the granting of scholarship packages. Interestingly, Ogyeahohoo Yaw Gyebi II, who is on the GNPC board, is also a member of the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC); an independent statutory body mandated to promote transparency and accountability in the management of petroleum revenues in Ghana, but many insiders, say his management of the GNPC Foundation, must be probed. PIAC, until recently was chaired by Dr. Steve Manteaw, but it doesn’t appear to have looked into the operations of GNPC. Also cited to The Herald, was the employment of cronies, which has bloated the workforce of GNPC. Both the current board and management, have been in charge of the Corporation in the last four years, but many of the workers; both retired and serving, insist there is no clear direction for the strategic state institution. For instance, the workers alleged that the GNPC Foundation, has recorded lots of mismanagement of funds in the award of scholarships. There are claims of politicians eating from funds allotted from the foundation, while the children of cronies of various managers, are on one scholarship or the other. This paper learnt that, the Corporation has recorded some procurement issues in recent times. Mention was made of a building at a suburb of Takoradi in the Western Region bought from the owners of Global Haulage, whose financial institution; Royal Bank, the GNPC Chief Executive had worked with before its collapse, following the clean-up of the banking sector. The Global Haulage building, this paper learnt, was bought for nearly US$8 million. What is interesting is that at the time of purchasing the Global Haulage building, GNPC, had almost completed a building project which started under the management of Alex Mould during the John Mahama administration. The uncompleted building, The Herald, learnt has been left to the vagaries of the weather. Furthermore, mention has also been made of the renting of a building facility from one John Taylor at Tema, near the Petroleum House, which has been under renovation for years now without any end in sight. Indeed, many say the renovation work, had been abandoned, while GNPC continuous to cough up outrageous amounts in United States Dollars to settle the said Mr Taylor for the use of his building to house officials of the corporation. The cost of the rent, according to insiders, is running into millions of dollars, since GNPC occupied it some years ago, and there is no effort to stop the financial hemorrhage by completing the Petroleum House renovation works for the workers to return. The last four years, has seen lots of staff recruitments into the Corporation, but The Herald was told, most of these staff, are not technically inclined to assist in the core mandate of GNPC. They are said to be largely administrative staff. The Freddie Blay board, is also mentioned as lacking technical expertise, hence difficult to monitor and evaluate the work of the management led by Dr. KK Sarpong, and to the insiders the return of the board will not bring anything of value to the country. Freddie Blay, is cited as sleeping on the job and signing many documents without reading them. Also mentioned is the construction of numerous facilities at educational institutions in the country, including the GHS12 million University of Mines and Energy (UMaT) and the US$5 million GNPC School of Governance and Law at the University of Cape Coast (UCC) in the name of getting GNPC Professorial Chairs in four public universities as some of the procurements which must be probed. About two weeks ago, the Executive Director of the Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP) hit hard at the GNPC boss, Dr. Sarpong, for insulting Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) over the US$1.65 billion controversial GNPC- AGM Petroleum and Aker Energy oil deal. Benjamin Boakye in an open letter, suggested that Dr. Sarpong’s escapades and incompetence at the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) and Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) were such that he should not have gotten any other public appointment, but he was rather given another job at GNPC. “TOR was handed to Dr Sarpong with a total debt of about $400 million. At the time, the State needed the genius to save the company. Not only that, the public was billed, through

Read More
Govt prompt with PIAC allocations — President President Akufo-Addo
Politics

Govt prompt with PIAC allocations — President

The government has ensured the timely release of allocations to the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC), the body charged to monitor the responsible use of oil revenue and resources in the country. “Government since 2017 has ensured that, unlike in the past, the budgetary allocations of PIAC have been released to enable it undertake its activities. In 2020, for example, an amount of GH¢3.1 million was given to PIAC, with GH¢2.35 million set to be released for this year, in spite of the pandemic,” President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, stated. The President disclosed this when he launched the 10th anniversary of PIAC in Accra yesterday. Independent checks from PIAC indicated that the committee in a timely fashion to support their programmes, received GH¢1.34 million in 2017, GH¢3.54 million in 2018; GH¢2.94 million in 2019 and GH¢3.09 million last year. “Indeed, the committee utilised part of its 2018 budgetary allocation to procure its current office building at East Legon, in Accra, which brought an end to the era of evictions and threats of eviction by landlords. “For as long as I remain President, support to PIAC will be forthcoming and on time,” President Akufo-Addo stressed. President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo urged the Ministry of Finance and PIAC to resolve the delay in transmission of information between them. He observed that the delay chiefly emanated from distortions in the deadlines of reporting obligations of the two institutions, which he stressed, must be addressed. The President explained that the delay in information exchange had sometimes stoked unhelpful controversy and called for an amendment of the relevant provisions in the Petroleum Revenue Management Act, 2011 (Act 815) to help resolve the situation.   Rekindle meeting He urged the Ministry of Finance and PIAC to rekindle their quarterly meetings to ensure that issues of mutual interest and concern were addressed through dialogue. The President appealed to PIAC, in its publications, to help provide the general public with a better understanding of how petroleum resources were managed. The committee should also clarify its position on matters swiftly should it be misconstrued in the media space, President Akufo-Addo stated. Assurance “Let me reiterate the fact that the government is fully committed to supporting PIAC, and will help it ensure that petroleum revenues are well managed for the benefit of all Ghanaians,” the President assured. Objective The Petroleum Reverence Management Act (PRMA) states that PIAC must monitor and evaluate compliance with the Act by the government and relevant institutions in the management and use of petroleum revenues and investments and provide space and a platform for the public to debate on whether spending prospects, management and use of revenues conform to development priorities as provided under the Act. It is also charged to provide independent assessment on the management and use of petroleum revenue to assist Parliament and the Executive in the oversight and the performance of related functions. Applause Speaking before launching the 10th anniversary, President Akufo-Addo noted that by all accounts, PIAC had succeeded in attaining the objective for which it was established, saying “I applaud, on behalf of government and the people of Ghana, successive heads and members of PIAC for this. For long may this continue.” Revenue The President encouraged PIAC that as it celebrated its 10-year milestone, the committee must double its steps in engaging the government and relevant stakeholders, and help work towards the economic transformation of the country through the efficient use of hydrocarbon resources. President Akufo-Addo gave an assurance of the government’s considerable interest in all of its activities, expressing the hope that the co-operation between the government and PIAC would be deepened further in the coming years for the goal of a united, progressive and prosperous Ghana. Oversight The Chairman of PIAC, Professor Kwame Adom-Frimpong, said a major achievement of PIAC had been its role in legitimising government commitment to improve governance in the country’s oil and gas sector. Also, the committee had effectively exercised oversight responsibility of managing and evaluating the management of Ghana’s petroleum resources. He said the PIAC had produced two reports each year in line with the legal requirement and raised critical issues of transparency and accountability in Ghana’s oil and gas sector. Graphic Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 0555568093

Read More