The National Communications Officer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Sammy Gyamfi, has disclosed that the next NDC government is ready to probe Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia’s role in the Power Distribution Service (PDS) scandal.
In July 2019, PDS was found to have presented invalid insurance security for the takeover of ECG assets.
The company was initially supposed to furnish the ECG with payment securities in the form of either a demand guarantee or a letter of credit issued by a bank.
In his remarks on Dr Bawumia’s Address to the Nation on Wednesday, February 7, Sammy Gyamfi asserted that the flagbearer of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) will be held liable and accountable by the next NDC government.
He accused the NPP flagbearer of diluting the requirement of a bank guarantee to an insurance guarantee in the contract.
“Bawumia’s role in the stinking PDS scandal, in which he personally watered down the requirement of a bank guarantee to an insurance guarantee, and changed it from a condition precedent to a condition subsequent shows he is corrupt.”
The NDC Communications Officer dismissed Dr Bawumia’s assertion of being incorruptible.
“The claim by Bawumia that he is not corrupt must be treated with contempt. Bawumia’s role in the stinking PDS scandal, in which he personally watered down the requirement of a bank guarantee to an insurance guarantee, and changed it from a condition precedent to a condition subsequent shows he is corrupt. All this was done by him to aid his cronies, some of whom are mere barbers, to expropriate the over GHS20 billion worth of assets of the ECG for themselves.”
“Ghana lost $2 billion dollars as a result of this scandal according to the IEA. What is even sad is that till date, electricity bills totaling GHS1.5 billion that Ghanaians paid to PDS has not been refunded to the state. Bawumia must understand that unlike President Akufo-Addo, Bawumia has no immunity after leaving office and as such, he will be held liable and accountable by the government of President Mahama in 2025, for his role in the PDS scandal.”
Why the deal was terminated
PDS was found in July 2019 to have presented invalid insurance security for the takeover of ECG assets.
The company was initially supposed to furnish the ECG with payment securities in the form of either a demand guarantee or a letter of credit issued by a bank.
The insurance guarantee came about because of difficulties experienced in raising a bank guarantee.
PDS appealed to use a demand guarantee issued by an A-rated insurance company.
PDS thus submitted the Payment Securities in the form of demand guarantees issued by a Qatari insurance firm, Al Koot Insurance and Reinsurance, which eventually became the source of fraud after it was discovered that there were fabricated letters and forged signatures.
The government also noted that Al Koot did not have the capacity to engage in such a transaction based on its net worth.
The company was also not authorized to issue demand guarantees.
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