Mpiani Causes $1.3 Million Financial Loss To Ghana

From the huge amount of money he splashed in putting
up the so-called Golden Jubilee House to the state’s monies he, together with
Wereko Brobbey shared like confetti to party cronies in the name of the
Ghana@50 celebrations, Mr. Kwadwo Mpiani, Former Chief of Staff has become
synonymous with the causation of financial loss to the state.
As if the financial mess he has plunged Ghana into
is not enough, yet another financial scandal leading to a huge financial loss
to the state has been uncovered again. And once more, Kwadwo Mpaini is the man
behind it!
The latest financial mess makes it mandatory for
Ghana to pay a Spanish company, Isofoton SA, the sum of $1.3million after the
company was awarded the said amount by a court because Kwadwo Mpaini got the
NPP government to abrogate a contract between the company and the Government of
Ghana (GOG).
Already, government has paid $400,000 to Isofoton SA
but this has not stopped the company from going to court to obtain a garnishee
order against the Ministry of Agriculture’s account in order to retrieve the
remaining $850,000.
The garnishee order means therefore that the Ministry
for Agriculture (MFA) has been frozen until it completes defraying the debt.
According to the facts of the matter, in 2005, the MFA
entered into an agreement with Isofoton SA for the company to provide a solar
PV powered water pumping and irrigation system in remote rural areas of Ghana
under the Second Ghana-Spanish Financial Protocol.
However, for reasons known to himself only, Kwadwo
Mpiani wrote to both the Ministers of Agriculture and Energy ordering them to
give the project to Elecnor, another Spanish company to execute .
In a reply to Mr. Mpaini, the MFA said it has never
dealt with Elecnor and thus the company is not known to it. It therefore could
not guarantee that the company can execute the project satisfactorily.
“Throughout
the discussion at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, Hon. Ministers
were made to understand that, for an effective and speedy execution of the
projects under the protocol, Ministers were to identity suitable Spanish
companies with the requisite technical knowledge to execute the projects.

“The MFA after a diligent search, settled on two companies to execute the
projects in the Ministry. The two companies were ISOTOFON SA MADRID” the letter
to Kwadwo Mpian signed by Mr. Clement Eledi the then Deputy Minister for
Agriculture in charge of Crops stated.
The letter
went on to warn that “The Hon. Minister for Food and Agriculture would want to
draw your attention to the fact that, a change of company at this stage could
open up the Ministry and indeed the government to legal actions, especially by
ISOTOFON.” (See
Page 6 of this paper).

The
Spanish government in a letter to the Minister For Finance dated April 21, 2006
protested the illegal abrogation of the contract between the MFA and Isofoton
SA and warned of the legal implications.
In another letter to the Minister for Finance dated
4th June, 2008, the then Attorney-General & Minister for Justice, Joe
Ghartey also warned of the legal implication for taking the project away from
Isofoton SA. He warned that the orders of Mpiani,
if carried out, will lead to “Special Damages, General Damages and interest at
the prevailing bank rate from the time of breach till the day of payment” against
the GOG.
He continues” We advise that any law suit arising
out of this matter would be detrimental to the government. In the consequence,
substantial financial burden could be imposed on the government through this
breach”.
Despite all these warnings, Kwadwo Mpiani insisted
that the project be executed by Elecnor and not Isotofon. This compelled
Isofoton SA to go to court to secure a judgement debt of GH¢1.3million against
the GOG in 2008 when the NPP was still in power. Much needed funds by the government
is therefore going to be paid to the Spanish company thanks to Mpiani’s
foolhardiness.