$2m paid to investor should be refunded – Vice Chair of Transport Committee

The Vice Chair of the Roads and Transport Committee of Parliament Alex Tetteh Djornobuah has said the $ 2 million paid to Africa Investor Holdings for the construction of a Sky Train should be refunded. He said the money is needed to develop other sectors of the economy.

Speaking on News 360 on TV3 Monday, July 17, the Sefwi Akontombra lawmaker said ‘I think Ghanaians deserve better and we need our money to develop other sectors, so I support the call of the Minority that they should refund the money.

Asked who should lead the process to get the cash refunded, he said “We as members of the Roads and Transport Committee, we have the responsibility as representatives of the people so we can actually call for a probe of this particular payment.” The Minority in Parliament is demanding answers from the government regarding the $2 million investment with.

It is recalled that the report of the Auditor-General on the Public Accounts of Ghana- Public Boards, Corporations and other Statutory Institutions for 2021 stated that the Ai Sky Train Consortium Holdings which is the special purpose vehicle was yet to obtain a license in the country. Feasibility studies had equally not been undertaken yet the payment was made, according to the Minority.

Addressing the press in Parliament on Monday, July 17, Member of Parliament for Adaklu Kwame Agbodza said “In 2019, we all saw this picture from South Africa where the President, the Finance Minister the Minister for Railways, Honourable Joe Ghartey. The first time we heard it was when they issued a statement that Accra to get Sky Train and they called a huge amount of money even before Parliament was aware.

“When they returned to Ghana they started adding the pieces together and it turned out that the Government of Ghana encouraged an investor from South Africa to set up a Special Purpose Vehicle in Mauritius and before the company actually even starts to do feasibility studies someone in the government has decided to pay 2million dollars to this entity.

“Then this year January, the former Minister for Railway Honorable Joe Gharty gave an interview where he suggested that he never said that the Skytrain project was going to be funded by the government.

“If the government was not the one funding the Sky Train, what was the 2 million Dollars meant for? But the important question is this, when you have a situation where the Minister says in 2023 that he always believes that before the project takes off there should be a cabinet approval, there should be a parliamentary approval, PPA approval, since none of these things, in fact, the Auditor General report suggested that the company did not even have the license to operate this system they wanted to operate, so the question is, what was the reason for the government to act in the way to give out 2 million dollars? Who actually took the decision to pay this entity in Mauritius?

Was Dr Bawumia, the chairman of the economic management team aware that without any recourse to the Public Procurement Act, it was wrong for any government entity to pay that kind of amount? Who authorized the payment of the 2 million Dollars in terms of the so-called feasibility? Which normal decision-maker pays out 2 million Dollars for feasibility to determine whether the project is bankable? This thing will only happen when it is an organized crime., when people are careless.”

By: Laud Nartey