The Board Chairman of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) and former chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Frederick Worsemao Armah Blay (Freddie Blay), has brushed aside the accusations and demands by some 29 Civil Society Organisations calling for his resignation.
This comes after the GNPC’s intention to sell a 50% stake in Jubilee Holdings Limited (JOHL) to PetroSA.
Mr. Blay stated that he had done nothing wrong in the deal to warrant his resignation.
In an interview on Eyewitness News on Citi FM, he insisted that he has a clear conscience regarding the sale of the shares and will only resign if the president, who appointed him, no longer wants to work with him.
“Possibly, I could be fired, but I don’t see any reason why they are saying I should resign about this issue. I have done nothing wrong.
I have observed my conscience and I thought I was protecting the interest of the country, and I am convinced about it and if others think otherwise and if those who appointed me are saying otherwise, then so be it.”
He also revealed that he has had conversations with President Akufo-Addo regarding the issue.
“I have spoken to the president about it, and we haven’t gotten to where he will ask for his job back.
It is not about convincing the president, the law will speak for itself and the law will talk and there are few documents on the agreement.”
He further clarified that he has no bad blood with the Energy Minister, Mathew Opoku Prempeh as reported by a section of the media.
“I don’t think we [he and Mr. Prempeh] have any differences that are so serious that they are detrimental to the interest of Ghana.
You know, NAPO has strong opinions, and I am also a little determined when I am talking about anything that I know of. We met today and we exchanged ideas brightly.”
During a press conference on Tuesday, May 23, the 29 CSOs demanded the removal of the GNPC’s Chief Executive Officer, Opoku Ahweneeh Danquah, and Board Chairman, Freddie Blay.
The CSOs alleged that Mr. Blay, in his capacity as the GNPC Board Chairman, had written to PetroSA, offering an equal split in the interest held by GNPC’s subsidiary, Jubilee Oil Holdings Ltd.Source:myghanamedia.com
Some 29 Civil Society Organisations are demanding the immediate removal of GNPC’s Chief Executive Officer, Opoku Ahweneeh Danquah, and Board Chairman, Freddie Blay.
The CSOs made up of the Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP), Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers Ghana (COPEC), Imani Centre for Policy and Education and 25 others accuse the two men of working against the interest of the state.
The demand for their removal comes in the wake of GNPC’s intention to sell a 50% stake in Jubilee Holdings Limited (JOHL) to PetroSA, despite the substantial revenue potential this interest holds for the state.
Addressing the press on Tuesday, May 23, the Coordinator for the coalition, Abdul Karim Mohammed said the continuous presence of these individuals, closely associated with petroleum operations, poses significant risks to Ghana’s interests.
Mr Mohammed explained that the Energy Minister, Dr Mathew Opoku Prempeh is against a decision by the Board Chairman of GNPC, Mr Blay for offering interest in Ghana’s oil fields to a South African oil company, Petroleum Oil and Gas Corporation of South Africa (PetroSA).
Mr Blay in his capacity as the GNPC Board Chairman is said to have written to PetroSA offering it an equal split in the interest held by GNPC’s subsidiary Jubilee Oil Holdings Ltd.
“It is a viable field, and it is giving us a lot of money if we allow this to go forward. What it means is that PetroSa will be entitled to 50 percent of the earnings from the field, whereas they have not had any role in developing the field to the point where it is now viable.
“The information we have is that the Minister for Energy has objected to this transaction but the Chairman of GNPC Board is pushing this transaction to the extent that the Minister of Energy had written to the Jubilee House over this transaction.”Source:Citinewsroom.com
The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) has concluded the Quarterly Tariff Reviews for the second quarter of 2023 as part of its regulatory mandate.
The review has resulted in the Commission approving tariff increases for natural gas and electricity for the second quarter of 2023.
The Quarterly Tariff Review Mechanism seeks to track and incorporate changes in key factors used in determining natural gas and electricity tariffs.
These factors are the Chana Cedi/US Dollar exchange rate, inflation, electricity generation mix and the weighted average cost of natural gas (WACOG).
This review has become necessary to maintain the real value of cost of supply of the utility services and to ensure that the utility companies do not under or over recover costs. While under recovery has negative implications for the ability of the companies to supply service to consumers, and has the potential of causing outages of electricity, over-recovery unnecessarily overburdens consumers of electricity. The Quarterly Tariff Review Mechanism is meant to address the above.
Since the announcement of the first quarter tariff decision in January 2023, the key variables underlying the rate setting have changed. The weighted average Ghana Cedi/US Dollar exchange rate used for the first quarter tariff review was GHC10.5421 to the US Dollar. Since then, the Ghana Cedi has depreciated against the US Dollar.
The first quarter tariff decision resulted in a 25% under-recovery of the exchange rate. This has to be recovered in order to ensure that the country does not add to the already mounting debt in the energy sector. The projected exchange rate for the second quarter plus the first quarter under-recovery is GHC12.7118 to the US Dollar.
The Weighted Average Cost of Gas (WACOG) used for the first quarter of 2023 was USD6.0952/MMBtu.
For the second quarter, as a result of an increase in price of Nigeria-Gas (N-Gas) and other factors, the applicable WACOG is USD6.5165/MMBtu.
With respect to electricity generation mix, the hydrothermal mix used for the second quarter is 29.01% for hydro and 70.99% for thermal, as against 26.11% for hydro and 73.89% for thermal used for first quarter of 2023. Hydro allocation of 29.01% helped to reduce the impact of changes in the macroeconomic variables and the WACOG on the tariff.
The net effect of the Ghana Cedi/US Dollar exchange rate, inflation, WACOG and electricity generation mix is that the utility companies are under-recovering and require an upward adjustment of their rates in order to keep the lights on.
The PURC is very mindful of the current economic circumstances, but notes that the potential for outages (dumsor) is high and this could have strong adverse impact on citizens and businesses.
This has to be avoided. The PURC therefore sought to balance prevention of extended power outages and its adverse implications on jobs and livelihoods, while minimising the impact of rate increases on consumers. The Commission will continue to monitor quality of service to ensure consumers get value for money.
The Commission therefore decided, after extensive deliberations and analysis, to increase the average end-user tariff for electricity by 18.36% across board for all customer groups.Source:Peacefonline.com
GOVERNMENT MUST COME CLEAN ON THE CURRENT LOAD SHEDDING.
The Minority in Parliament has observed with serious concern, the recent persistent power outages (Dumsor) being witnessed across the country, particularly during peak hours.
This appears to be worsening with many parts of the country experiencing long hours of darkness without prior notice to consumers.
While most Ghanaians have been witnessing intermittent power outages, others have been experiencing low currents and occasional high voltage leading to damages of their electrical gadgets and equipment in some cases.
It is a well known fact especially, amongst energy sector players that the current outages the country is experiencing is due to gas shortages coupled with serious challenges with the procurement of alternative fuels due the precarious financial state of the Energy sector SOEs.
Most of the Energy sector SOEs have continued to witness worsening financial positions since the assumption of office of President Akufo-Addo and Dr Bawumia, despite their administration receiving over 20 billion cedis in ESLA revenues and about 40 billion cedis in petroleum revenues.
More disturbing is the deliberate decision by Government communicators and Energy Sector SOEs to keep mute whilst the ordinary Ghanaian is made to experience this avoidable state of load shedding.
We therefore call on Government and responsible government agencies to come clean on the current state of power outages as a matter of urgency and provide a schedule if need be to enable the ordinary consumer and industry to plan and avoid damages of their electrical equipment.
Thank you.
John Abdulai Jinapor-(MP)
(Ranking Member, Mines and Energy Committee).
THE EXECUTIVE Director of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Dr. Henry Kwabena Kokofu has appealed to the National Chief Imam to lead the crusade for a clean and responsible environmental activities in the country.
Dr. Kwabena Kokofu noted that the country faces several environmental challenges as a result of both internal and external factors which threaten the lives of its people.
He was therefore of the view that the involvement of civil society groups, more especially the venerable Office of the National Chief Imam will go a long way to assist in shaping the minds and attitudes of Ghanaians in becoming environmentally conscious.
The EPA Executive Director made the appeal when he led a delegation made up of directors of the agency to pay a courtesy call on the National Chief Imam last Friday.
He noted that environmental degradation as a result of human activities is a source of worry to the country, adding that though government is doing it’s best to address these challenges, it would require the expressed support and commitment from all stakeholders, including the religious community.
The National Chief Imam has meanwhile affirmed his support towards the crusade for environmental safety in the country.
The National Chief Imam made references to the Holy Book, The Qur’an where Allah The Almighty stresses the diverse reasons for creating man and enjoining man to be each other’s keepers.
He noted that every Ghanaian has a collective responsibility to ensure that out environments are safe since our very existence depends on it.
Speaking through his Spokesperson Sheikh Aremeyaw Shaibu,The National Chief Imam noted “I am appealing to every Ghanaian to understand the importance of the environment; that is where we all survive. Collectively owe it to ourselves as a duty to make our environments clean of all poisonous substances that affect our health”
Meanwhile, the EPA Executive Director and his team made a handsome donations of items including 100 bags of rice, 100 cartons of canned fish and 100 cartons of cooking oil.
The National Communications Officer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has described the Jubilee House as a crime scene.
According to Sammy Gyamfi, the seat of government, is a place for illegalities in the country.
Mr Gyamfi said Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng’s galamsey report is a testament to his claim.
Speaking on Metro TV on Thursday, April 27, he lambasted President Akufo-Addo for not acting on the report of Professor Frimpong-Boateng, written in 2021.
“Professor Frimpong-Boateng is not an ordinary person talking but this was the man who was in charge of the fight and he has not just written a report and kept under his bed but submitted it to the Presidency and indicated that he is ready to substantiate those allegations.
“In fact, in some of the instances, he has even given us evidences including videos, pictures and messages and so we must get to the bottom of these issues.
“Then he talks about the former NPP MP for Manso Nkwanta who under the guise of community mining also acquired a lot of concessions. So you see, the Jubilee House today is a crime scene,” he said.
Prof Frimpong-Boateng, the former Chairman of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM) has submitted names of people in government who he accuses of frustrating his effort to fight what is locally called ‘galamsey’ when he was Environment Minister.
In the said document, the renowned surgeon mentioned some individuals he claims frustrated his effort and the committee he chaired from addressing the canker.
“Throughout our struggle with illegalities in the small-scale mining sector, what baffled me was the total disregard of the President’s commitment to protecting the environment.
“I can state without any equivocation that many party officials from the national to the unit committee level had their friends, PAs, agents, relatives, financiers, or relatives engaged in illegal mining. Most of them engaged Chinese working for them.
“I am not referring to party people who had their legitimate concession and were mining sustainably as they were instructed to do.
“There are appointees in the Jubilee House that are doing or supporting illegal mining or interfering with the fight against the menace,” excerpts of the document said.
Professor Frimpong-Boateng also accused a former NPP MP in the Ashanti Region of selling illegally acquired concessions at GH¢200,000 each.
According to him, this “infuriated the party in the constituency so during the 2020 primaries to select a candidate the electorate voted against NPP MP, the then sitting MP, who was more resourced than other candidates.
However, some of the persons mentioned in the report have denied same.
For instance, President Akufo-Addo’s cousin, Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko has rejected the allegations.
According to the NPP stalwart, he only called the renowned medical doctor to seek information on his client – a company that had the permits to mine in the country.
“Heritage had a mining exploration permit issued in July 2019, a forest entry permit issued in November 2018, and also an EPA permit yet the soldiers went and seized the equipment of Heritage and so I called the soldiers and was told that it was the Minister who had sanctioned them and so I asked the Minister what the issue was with the equipment seizures and the Minister said they were prospecting and not exploring and that was the conversation that we had.
“My intervention was to understand why a legitimate company with all the requisite permits was stopped from doing their work and that is what lawyers do,” he said in an interview with Accra-based Citi FM on Thursday, April 20.
He added that Prof Frimpong-Boateng deliberately twisted his mediation to cause public disaffection for him.
“The Minister deliberately twisted the inquiry by a lawyer of a client’s issue to be an interference and the thing is, it was even a phone call that lasted not more than four minutes, and he ended by saying Heritage shouldn’t have been issued with the license,” Mr Otchere-Darko explained.Source: MyJoyOnline.com
A LETTER FROM ABDUL MALIK KWEKU BAAKO TO PROFESSOR KWABENA FRIMPONG BOATENG
Good day Prof,
Forgive me for ‘distracting’ you with yet another presentation to you despite your busy schedule as you indicated to me in one of your responses to my earlier reactions.
This particular presentation has been triggered by my reading of your Report to the Chief of Staff (CoS) in full and the portions concerning me and The New Crusading GUIDE’s publications about you which you consider as part of the “consistent and long-standing attacks on you” by me and the newspaper.
On page 16 of your Report; you articulated that “The IMCIM organized its task force and a complex operation to dislodge Donald Entsuah and his C&G Aleska from Diaso forest. The jubilation in the communities around the concession was ecstatic. Naturally, Donald Entsuah and his friend were not happy with what the IMCIM did”.
You continued: “I, IN PARTICULAR, CAME UNDER SEVERE ATTACK. A FIERCE ATTACKER WAS MR. KWEKU BAAKO, A JOURNALIST WHO PERSONALLY CALLED TO INFORM ME THAT THE MANAGERS OF C&G WERE HIS FRIENDS, MR. KWEKU BAAKO PUBLISHED UNSAVOURY THINGS ABOUT ME AT THE TIME” (Emphasis mine).
You would recall that in my second Whatsapp communication (19th April, 2023) with you, I indicated that because I had not accessed a copy of your Report addressed to the Chief of Staff (CoS), “I would not argue issues with you, at least for now”.
Fortunately, a ‘good Samaritan’ sent me a copy of the FULL REPORT yesterday, and I am now inclined to call your attention to the obvious flaws inherent in your references and/or observations about me in the IMCIM’s fight against galamsey and illegal mining.
The following are my “verifiable facts” relative to my interations/encounter with you upon your assumption of office as the Chairman of the IMCIM.
*(1): I made two (2) telephone calls to you on 20th October, 2017 (official MTN call chart available for verification and auhentication) the purpose of which was to arrange an appointment for the Canadian owner of C&G Aleska Company, Simon Adyin and Donald Entsuah, the Ghanaian General Manager of the company, to see you.
*(2): The two (2) telephone calls which lasted 4 minutes, 25 seconds (combined) resulted in you kindly agreeing to meet the two gentlemen representing the company under reference at 4pm, in your office.
*(3): During my second call to you (same day; 20th October, 2017), I explained to you the purpose of the meeting you had scheduled for them in your office at 4pm that day. I told you that the two gentlemen (one of whom Donald was a personal friend) intended to brief you on the consistent invasion of the Company’s concessions by galamseyers since October 2016. I also informed you about their claims that you were trying to get Cabinet to suspend or cancel their legitimate lease for large scale mining without due process, and to dispel rumours that their concession actually belonged to Ibrahim Mahama. I remember telling you that they would be presenting relevant and authentic documentation to defend their case. I also promised to send you reports and documents I had gathered on galamsey operations since August 2016 as a result of an investigative project undertaken by The New Crusading GUIDE.
*(4): I personally was not present at the meeting in your office. Neither did I ever plead with you to assist them (C&G Aleska) to engage in any illegality relative to their mining operations or anything else. And you must know I speak the truth, and nothing but the truth, in this context!
*(5): One very crucial and significant observation I have made relative to the sequence of your narration in your Report to the CoS, is that you sought to suggest that my purported attacks on you were occasioned by the execution of a “complex operation to dislodge Donald Entsuah and his C&G Aleska from Diaso Forest ….” And that because “Naturally, Donald Enstuah and his friend were not happy with what the IMCIM did”, I personally called you to inform you that “the managers of C&G were his friends. Kweku Baako published unsavory things about me at the time”.
*(6): Nothing could be further from the truth relative to the proceeding paragraph. In the first place, my telephone calls to you were on 20th October, 2017 while your IMCIM’s “Complex Operations to dislodge Donald Entsuah and his C&G Aleska from Diaso forest” was conducted on 9th February, 2019, almost 1 year, 5 months after the two telephone calls I made to you. Please note that those two telephone calls on 20th October, 2017, were the ONLY calls I made to you while you were in office as a Minister and Chairman of the IMCIM from 2017 to 2021!
*(7): Interestingly, the issue of these two telephone calls became part of the proceedings at the High Court in the case of defamation I filed against Mr. Kennedy Agyapong who had submitted before the court that you had given him documents which ‘indicted’ me of involvement in illegal mining and galamsey. Unfortunately, Mr, Agyapong chose not to exercise his declared intention to subpoena you on the grounds that you were afraid to come to court to testify for him because of alleged threats and intimidations you had suffered from me!
*(8): Finally, I have taken judicious notice of your reference(s) to some “unsavoury things” published by The New Crusading GUIDE in December 2019’s publications which you captured in your Report. As a matter of principle and professionalism, I, in my capacity as a Co-Publisher of the newspaper, accept ultimate responsibility for those publications even though I had no direct editorial and/or operational involvement with the production of those editions of the newspaper. I also note that the two publications under reference had NO relationship with the “Complex Operation to dislodge Donald Entsuah and his C&G Aleska from Diaso Forest”.
*(9): However, I appreciate your concern(s). And I am ready and willing to render an appropriate apology for any reputational harm caused to you. Alternatively, as the Fundamental Law of the Land (Constitution) has prescribed; a rejoinder; a compliant to the National Media Commission or even a recourse to the Court of Law, are still open to you for redress, if need be.
I remain your good old friend,
ABDUL MALIK KWEKU BAAKO
(20th APRIL, 2023, ACCRA, GHANA)
*PS:
My first Whatsapp message to you, seeking to verify the veracity or otherwise of some attributions made to you about me on social media including Facebook, was meant to be personal and private. However, your response to me via Whatsapp found its way into the public space; Facebook and other social media networks within 24 hours.
Inspite of that development, I continued a series of exchanges with you via Whatsapp; same on a private and personal mode. However, after accessing a copy of your Report addressed to the Chief of Staff, and with particular focus on the things you said about me; and against the backdrop of the widespread circulation of innuendos, insinuations and outright defamatory interpretations of your Report relative to me and my character, I have opted to go public with this reaction of mine, for good reasons!
*God bless our homeland Ghana, and rid her of all traces of “Environmental Terrorism and Terrorists”, Ameen!
Press Statement On Prof. Frimpong-Boateng’s “Report”
Press Releases 21 April 2023
The attention of the Office of the President has been drawn to a publication in the media ostensibly quoting from a document authored by the former Minister for Environment, Science,
Technology and Innovation, and Chairperson of the erstwhile Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM), Prof. Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, which, allegedly, imputes wrongdoing on the part of some government appointees in the fight against Galamsey.
At the outset, it must be pointed out that the document being discussed was not an official report formally delivered to the Office of the President. On the contrary, it can only be rightly referred to as a catalogue of personal grievances and claims made by Prof. Frimpong-Boateng, intended to respond to some issues he faced as Chairperson of the IMCIM.
The document was handed to the Chief of Staff at the Office of the President on March 19th 2021, in an informal meeting, where Prof. Frimpong-Boateng complained about public attacks and criticisms made about his tenure as Chairperson of the IMCIM.
This was after Prof. Frimpong-Boateng’s tenure as Minister had not been renewed by the President of the Republic in his second term. The document did not have a transmittal or cover letter nor, indeed, an addressee, such as to suggest that it was submitted to the Chief of Staff for action.
It is noteworthy that the IMCIM was a creature of the Cabinet, and any formal report on its activities would, normally, be submitted to Cabinet through the Cabinet Secretary, or directly to the President of the Republic as Chairperson of Cabinet. Till date, Prof. Frimpong-Boateng has done neither.
It is important also to point out that, whilst Prof. Frimpong-Boateng makes serious allegations against some government appointees, as having been involved in, supporting or interfering with the fight against illegal mining, not a single piece of evidence was adduced or presented to enable the claims to be properly investigated.
Indeed, the allegations contained in the document are at best hearsay. It is instructive that since Prof. Frimpong-Boateng’s meeting with the Chief of Staff in March 2021, he has taken no step nor acted in furtherance of the matters contained in the document.
The President’s commitment to fighting illegal mining is unassailable, and the Office of the President welcomes any information on illegal mining activities which provides a credible basis for investigations to be conducted by the Criminal Investigations Department of the Ghana Police Service.
We continue to count on the co-operation of the general public.
The Director of Operations at the Presidency, Lord Commey, has refuted some allegations levelled against him in a leaked report authored by former Minister for Environment, Science and Technology, Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng.
According to Mr Commey, he has never participated in illegal mining, locally termed galamsey.
In a statement issued on Friday, April 21, he stressed that, “For purposes of setting the records straight, I wish to state without shred of doubt that I have never engaged in or supported illegal mining as contained in the said report.”
Mr Commey’s denial comes after the former Minister for Science and Technology, Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng in a report, named him as one of the people supporting and participating in the illegal mining of gold.
As inherent in the 37-page report, the former Minister, who doubled as Chairman of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM) disclosed that, “There are appointees in the Jubilee House who are doing or supporting illegal mining or interfering with the fight against the menace. Examples are Lord Commey, Charles Nii Teiko, and Frank Asiedu Bekoe (Protozoa).”
Nonetheless, Mr Commey stated in his response to the report that he had never engaged in illegal mining, nor had he sought favour with anyone in that regard.
He challenged Prof Frimpong-Boateng to provide evidence to support his allegations or face legal action.
The report, submitted to the Chief of Staff by Prof Frimpong-Boateng in 2021, detailed the work of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM).
It called for more inter-agency collaboration and proposed the establishment of a national task force to coordinate the government’s efforts.
In addition, the report stressed the need to increase efforts to combat illegal mining, as it has caused significant environmental damage in Source: Myjoyonline.com
I wish to address recent media reports attempting to link me to illegal small-scale mining activities, popularly known as galamsey. These reports are based on a statement made by Prof. Frimpong-Boateng, the former Chairman of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining.
Let me state categorically that I have no involvement in galamsey. In 2019, I spoke to Prof. Frimpong-Boateng regarding an excavator being transported on a low-bed vehicle on a highway. He requested details, and I provided the information.
However, I did not follow up on the request, and I have no knowledge of what happened with the excavator.
It is unfortunate that Prof. Frimpong-Boateng would make comments about me in his report. I want to make it clear that I have nothing to do with illegal mining. I urge the media and the public to disregard the portions of the report that pertain to me and treat it with the contempt it deserves.
I believe in the rule of law, and I am committed to supporting efforts to clamp down on illegal mining activities in the country. I remain committed to the development of Ghana and the well-being of its citizens.
