Who Got What Out Of $16 Million Deal?

Unedited story of petitioner to CHRAJ on alleged $2m ‘aye fe notse’ kickback scheme
DETAILS PROVIDED to the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) by Mr. Fred Kofi-Lagbo, the petitioner in the Commission’s investigations into the $16 million Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) contract to a Chinese company, ZPMC, suggests that a number of people either benefited or were expected to benefit from the alleged scheme to reap Ghanaian taxpayers off.

According to the petitioner, who is a former alternate director of Kf94, a Ghanaian company located off the Spintex Road in Accra that represented the Chinese company in the award of the contract, the variation in the contract sum from $14.7 million to over $16 million was to inure to the benefit of the Chinese company and host of Ghanaians, including some top public officials.

The Chinese company allegedly kept $700,000 of the funds and according to the then Director of Kf94, declined to pay commission on that amount to them because it claimed it came in by way of kickback.

Mr Ben Owusu-Mensah, Director-General of the GPHA, allegedly demanded $500,000 as the share of the amount to be used to reportedly influence “top government officials”, according to Kofi-Lagbo

Below is an unedited copy of excerpts of an address by Kofi-Lagbo on Radio Gold almost two years ago which he tendered to CHRAJ, among other things, to back his allegations of corruption and conflict of interest against the DG of GPHA, Mr Ben Owusu-Mensah, during CHRAJ’s preliminary investigations into the allegations.

CHRAJ said recently that it would open full scale investigations into the allegations of corruption and conflict of interest against Ben Owusu-Mensah, DG of GPHA, in due course following conclusion of its preliminary probe.

Read below the unedited text of the statement on Radio Gold, which formed part of documentation and audio recordings and transcripts made to CHRAJ during it preliminary investigations by Kofi-Lagbo.

“EXCERPTS OF STATEMENT BY MR FRED KOFI LAGBO ON RADIO GOLD’s “ALHAJI AND ALHAJI” PROGRAMME ON DECEMBER 9, 2006 PRESENTED TO THE CHRAJ TO AID PROBE INTO $16. MILLION CONTRACT AT GPHA BY HIS REPRESENTATIVE ALFRED OGBAMEY THROUGH LAWYER EGBERT FAIBILLE.

Radio Gold: Good morning Fred Kofi Lagbo

Fred Kofi Lagbo: Good morning

Radio Gold: How are you sir?

Fred Kofi Lagbo: I’m fine, thank you. And you?

Radio Gold: You say you have a story to tell to the people of Ghana. We’re listening to you now on Radio Gold in Accra, Ghana, to be precise.

Fred Kofi Lagbo: Okay. Good morning the good people of Ghana. Sometime err in the past we executed a contract on behalf of a Chinese company, ZPMC, to supply container terminal cranes. But in executing that transaction we built in a $2 million deal which was to be shared among certain top government officials and the Chinese company itself. That was very interesting.

I was a Director of KF94 Limited, with Christian Kweku Eshun as the Managing Director. Now the $2 million issue was hatched actually by Christian Kweku Eshun with the assistance of the GPHA boss, Ben Owusu Mensah, who is normally called Flash, and the Chief Engineer, Richard Anamoo. Now, what actually was the case was that two competitors bided for this very contract. That was ZPMC, the Chinese company and an Italian company, FANTUZI.

FANTUZI quoted a sum of over $17 million and the Chinese was $14.7 million. Now, during the technical evaluation of their proposals, ZPMC was found to be better. Now, it was at this stage that Mr. Kweku Eshun, who was then not representing ZPMC [and] who got to know that this was the case, wrote to the Chinese company, to see to the deal for them because at that material moment Dr. Richard Anane was behind the FANTUZI people with Kwame Poku as the agent for FANTUZI over here. Now, Kweku [Eshun] got to know the bid value for ZPMC and he suggested to them after he had been given the agency that they should increase their bid proposal by $2 million, and if they did that it was not going to measure up to that FANTUZI had quoted and this was acceptable. Now, to entice them, he suggested to them that they will retain $700 [$700,000] and $1.3 million will be what he would use to entice the top government officials of Ghana who would see to it that the deal goes through.

Somewhere along the line, Ben Owusu Mensah called Kweku, according to Kweku, and told him that things were a little bit tight so he should move and contact at least two members of the GPHA Board who could work things out in his favour. It was at this stage that I was very instrumental, and very helpful. We went to Nana Boakye Asafo Adjei and Mr. Quartey who are board members of GPHA. It was Kweku, who spoke to them, but I was with Kweku; I knew why we were there. But I took Kweku to a non-board member, a very good friend of mine, Mr. Maison Osei Kufuor, whose cousin is Gabby Nketiah, a special aide, a special assistant of President Kufuor, who said he could also help us. So we arranged a meeting and we went and saw Gabby [Nketiah]. We spoke to Gabby and we had some transaction and Gabby was able to help us with the transaction. Now, Ben Owusu Mensah had asked for $500,000 which he was going to use to influence the top government officials. Richard Anamoo, the Chief Engineer, we had promised him $50,000. That was what Kweku told me. I say we because I was a Director at that company and whatever happened to that company since we were only two Directors we both take responsibility of any action, whether it was executed by Kweku alone or the two of us jointly. Now, Ishaak is a friend of Ben Owusu Mensah who had transactions with Kweku on behalf of Ben Owusu Mensah. He was to have $150,000. Arnold Privy, the deputy of Kweku: $60,000. ZPMC itself was to retain $700,000 of Ghanaian taxpayers’ money. We promised Gabby and Maison $50,000 each. I myself, Kweku told me he was going to give me $100,000 as my package, and the package for the two board members was $20,000 each and Kweku himself was going to keep $300,000.

Now, when things got hot and we had to go to these very people, in one of our meetings Kweku and I left Gabby and Maison to take a decision as to whether we should let Maison and Gabby know about the $500,000 that Ben Owusu Mensah had asked for. I told him that, that was not the best but well, he won, because he was the boss and we had to tell them. Now, the reason was that Kweku was of the view that since he [Ben Owusu Mensah] was taking that chunk of money, he should be able to settle Mr Quartey and Nana Boakye Asafo Adjei. I told him that we could absolve it but he said no, Flash [Ben Owusu Mensah] was being too greedy. It was at this stage that we told Maison and Gabby that Ben had asked for $500,000. They didn’t also like it because they felt that, that was on the high side. Okay. All this while they didn’t know that the contract sum had been what, bloated. When we left, Mr Maison being my friend called me to know the nitty-gritty’s. It was at that stage that I told him that in actual fact there was this component, do you see it, the $2 million that was being jacked up, because he was trying to find out how we were going to be able to pay these things and the way we had been he wanted to actually know whether there were some other things they did not know because he was of the view that we should come up with a bigger package for them because in the course of our meeting it was said that Gabby, whatever he gets he would be sharing with President Kufuor, and as such $50,000 was on the low side. It was not good at all. I came back and told Kweku that we should increase the component of Maison and Gabby and that this was the feeling of Maison. He said no, we should think of ourselves and that that will not work out.

Now, not knowing, when Mr. Maison needed some money, he was broke; he needed $10,000 for his rent, he owns Galibon Guest House just behind Koala [Osu], he went to Kweku and then told him that I have made mention of the $2 million issue to him. It was at this stage that they decided that I was like a mole and as such I should be marginalized. At that meeting according to Kweku, Kweku told me about a year-plus, later on, that this was what Maison told him, that he should retain our friendship, he should continue to pay me my director salary but he should not involve me in any other major transaction of his.

So Kweku’s relationship with me, with time, was not the best.

Now, l got to know; Kweku showed me the $2 million contract between him and ZPMC. Flash and co did know that it was $1 million and $1 million on the other side. I was the only one who knew with Kweku that $1.3 million was coming here, and also what was the case was that when with time they had discussed this issue, they wrote a letter revoking that contract. Kweku showed me a letter that the GPHA boss had written revoking that contract. What he told me was that the Chief Engineer, Richard Anamoo, has been sacked and he felt that it was not safe. He is an NDC loyalist , he might go and tell people what they had done, so they had reversed the contract sum to its original value and as such the $2 million was no longer on top so we were only going to share the commission value.

The cranes were delivered sometime last year, maybe February or thereabout, and l was shocked when TV3 carried the news, to know that the contract sum was still what l knew. That was $16.7 million, which means there was no reversal. It was at this stage that l decided to call my friend. First l called him to congratulate him that we had done well. He said yes, the cranes had arrived. And l said ah, but how come the value is still what it was. He tried explaining to me that during the execution of, during the manufacturing of the cranes, they had to change some specifications for it to re-align itself with what pertains in the sub-region here. I said no, why? And if this was the case, should it come to the same $2 million that l knew about? Can you give me papers to show what actually went on and so on as Director? He said no, he has spoken to me sometime ago that l should cease to be his Director. I kept pestering him and one particular day, he told me that no, there were issues he had wanted to take up with me in 30 years time but that day he was going to tell me. It was at that point that he told me what Maison had told him; about me revealing the $2 million component to him and that even Maison he had been paid. Maison and Gabby he had paid them about 7 months earlier. I said what? You have paid them seven months earlier and you have not paid me yet? He said this is what l am telling you, but what l paid them is not what l told them much earlier. I paid them a total of $45,000. So l called Maison and l said look, Kweku says he has paid you people. He said no, Kweku has not paid them anything. I called Kweku back, Kweku calls, and says yes l have documentary proof of all that l do, the transfers that l made into his account and so on, for him and Gabby. So l decided to actually find out if the $2 million deal actually came through, hence l started my own discreet investigation. In a nutshell, this is my story.”