Government sole-sourced contract for relocation of Ameri Power Plant to Kumasi for $71m – ACEP boss alleges

The Executive Director of the Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP), Benjamin Boakye, has asserted that but for the intervention of his outfit and other civil society organisations, the relocation of the Ameri Power Plant to Kumasi would have cost Ghana about $71 million.

According to him, the Ministry of Energy signed a $71 million sole-sourced agreement with Mytilineos, a private entity, which was approved by the Public Procurement Authority (PPA).

The ACEP boss, who made these claims in a series of posts shared on X on April 13, 2024, said that all attempts to get details of the $71 billion contract proved futile, with the government giving the excuse the Volta River Authority (VRA) does not have personnel with the competencies to move the Ameri Plant.

He added that officials of the VRA have now, on the quiet, been able to move the plant to Kumasi.

“The Ministry of Energy signed a sole-sourced relocation and operation contract to move the Ameri Power Plant to Kumasi for $71m, which PPA approved. When we exposed it, the ministry said there was no contract.

“We were told VRA engineers were not capable of managing the plant. It would have cost us $71M if Mytilineos had proceeded with the relocation and management contract,” he wrote.

Boakye added, “Now, VRA has relocated the plant using its engineers, with support from Manning Group”.

The energy policy expert also called on the government to be transparent about the cost involved in the relocation of the Ameri Plant, which is expected to be commissioned on April 17, 2024.

View the posts below:

2/ We requested information under the RTI from the PPA on the justification for the sole-sourced contract. The PAA wrote to us to pay 1000 cedis for the info. We challenged the payment of 1000 cedis because we thought it was inconsistent with the RTI and the Fees and Charges Act.

— Benjamin Boakye (@benboakye) April 13, 2024

2/ We requested information under the RTI from the PPA on the justification for the sole-sourced contract. The PAA wrote to us to pay 1000 cedis for the info. We challenged the payment of 1000 cedis because we thought it was inconsistent with the RTI and the Fees and Charges Act.

— Benjamin Boakye (@benboakye) April 13, 2024

3/Interestingly, The PPA wrote back to say the information was exempt from disclosure.

Now, VRA has relocated the plant using its engineers, with support from Manning Group. It’ll still be relevant to know how much was spent on the relocation, particularly that;

— Benjamin Boakye (@benboakye) April 13, 2024