Vehicles conveying parts of Osagyefo Barge impounded

The Attorney General (AG) and Minister of Justice, Mrs. Mariettah Brew Appiah-Opong, has commended the security agencies for their alertness in tracking down some items sold as scraps from the Osagyefo Power Barge at Effasu.

She praised the personnel of the Ghana Police Service and the Bureau of National Investigations for their vigilance.

The AG visited the site at Effasu in the Jomoro District to officially take over the barge from Balkan Energy Ghana, following the recent Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling in the Hague, authorizing Ghana to do so.

Mrs. Appiah-Oppong gave the commendation when she and the Energy and Petroleum Minister, Mr. Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah visited the project site in the Western Region.

The two security agencies on Friday April 4, 2014 impounded two trucks of items being taken away from the Osagyefo Power Barge under the pretext that the items were sold as scraps by one Lonie Peters, an official of Balkan Energy Ghana.

The items included a generating plant, boxes of engine filters, electrical cables, quantities of transformer radiators and generating units.

However, the A-G said those items were not scraps as claimed by the official of Balkan Energy Ghana, but equipment that would be used to upgrade the plant.

Mrs. Appiah-Oppong indicated that the outcome of the investigations would determine the fate of the drivers and vehicles involved in conveying the items.

Mr. Armah-Kofi Buah urged the police to ensure 24-hour surveillance over the plant and equipment to avert any theft.

He said his outfit would keep a close eye on operations of the security there and asked them not to disappoint the nation.

The Jomoro District Police Commander, Superintendent John Ferguson Dzeniku and the Jomoro District Chief Executive, Mr. Sylvester Noumah Daddieh took the officials round the site.

The project was aimed at meeting the country's energy needs but was stalled due to the court litigation between the government and Balkan Energy Ghana.