Rot at Ghana Water

....OVER 19 MILLION EUR0 GWSC CONTRACT
...KWEKU BOTWE, VEEP’S OFFICE FINGERED

Barely two weeks ago, the government of Ghana was reported to have signed a 19-million-Euro Water Deal with a ‘Sunir’, an Iranian company, to help boost water production for residents of Damongo and its surrounding areas, in the Northern Region. This should normally be a matter for jubilation, but there is more to it, than the ordinary eyes could see.

The Republic newspaper can confirm that, behind this good news, however, is a stinky scandal that rips the nose, but being swum in by top officials of the Ghana Water Company, who have allegedly bent the rules stipulated under the 2003 procurement Act, in their gluttonous favour.

Information gathered from a deep-throat source within the Ghana Water Company indicate that, there are also some powerful, but invisible hands jabbing the deal from the shadows of the exalted Office of the Vice President, H.E. John Dramani Mahama.

The powerful hands from corridors of power, involving in the clear looting of state fund, make it a done-deal that would certainly leave its cutters heavily richer at the expense of the Ghanaian tax payer.

Investigations further revealed that the contract sum has been inflated by close to 4million Euros by the company’s management board, led by Mr. Kweku Botwe (more details follow soon)

The Republic’s investigations sighted Mr. Botwe, the Acting Managing Director of the Water Company, neck-deep in the deal, with his accomplices, said to be some power brokers in the offices of Ghana’s Vice President.

A snippets of correspondence gathered by the paper’s ‘snipers’ on the beat, spilt to effect that the original contract sum for the water project was 15,266,217.00 (fifteen million, two hundred and sixty-six thousand, two hundred and seventeen Euros, only), as against the 19million that was finally signed between Ghana Water Company and Sunir Company of Iran.

What makes the deal more cancerous is that, contrary to procurement requirements, Mr. Kweku Botwe and his cabal that includes Mr. Garbrah and Lawyer Kyere, cooked up the contract and handed it over to the Iranians on a silver-platter.

This is against the fact that the loan facility was sourced from Japan. Sources have it that the Vice President of the Republic of Ghana initiated the project sourcing, through the outgoing Japanese Ambassador to Ghana, H.E. Keiichi Katakami.

Checks at the Public Procurement Authority rebound findings that the project, "Damongo Water Supply Project” was not put through any procurement process, as is obliged by any public institution.

It was expected that the project would be put on an open tender for a competitive bidding, as is the case in project of such magnitude.

Mr. Kweku Botwe and the Ghana Water Company, are confirmed to be currently under investigation by the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) over similar dirty deals, which seem to have escaped in the past.

According to inside sources, Mr. Botwe was going to be confirmed last week as the substantive Managing Director of the Ghana Water Company, when his board’s attention was drawn to the EOCO investigation.

Mr. Garbrah was pencilled to be transferred to Tema by the board to be replaced by Mr. Lokko, but his partner-in-crime, Kweku Botwe has, allegedly ignored the directives from the Board, for reasons best known to him.

Sources within Ghana Water Company, have hinted that if the president of the republic, His Excellency Professor John Evans Atta Mills does not act swiftly to clean up the mess, by dealing ruthlessly with corrupt public officials their sabotage and greed would certainly derail the president’s commitment to fighting corruption from the system.

Kweku Botwe’s 4million Euros Kickback EXPOSED !! (part 2 of Many)

How the shady 19-million-Euro Damongo Fraud was hatched and executed The Damongo water project is very dear to the heart of the Vice President, His Excellency John Dramani Mahama, as it is to the nation. He has played a significant role in getting the Japans government commit funds for its implementation; yet the fraud cabal-mastermind had ulterior motives. The linkman who masterminded the deal said to be in his early forties, known to be a shrewd businessman and a political prostitute, who flirted with former President Kufuor’s domestic Chief of Staff, the once powerful Uncle Kwame Boateng.

The conman, after the NPP lost power, immediately identified himself as a very close friend of Herbert Mensah. Herbert later on disowned him. The self-styled businessman now prides himself as a special emissary of Vice President Manama and Mr. Ato Ahwoi also throws weight about as business-associate of the two leading members of the current government. It was this conman who approached agents of the Iranian company, that the Ghana’s Vice President has allegedly mandated him to scout for contractors to execute the Damongo project on condition that, the contractors must be willing to ‘play ball’, since his big-men at the Osu-Castle’s seat of government needed cash badly.

Our source has it that, after the local agents of the Iranian company had agreed to the terms of this middleman’s, the Acting Managing Director of the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) Mr. Kweku Botwe was spoken to, by the so-called Castle’s big-men to get the deal through.

The Republic can confirm that the invitation letter that was written by the Ghana Water Company to the Iranian company, signed by Mr. Kweku Botwe was instigated by the middleman.

It is not surprising that the powerbroker, whom Mr. Kweku Botwe occasionally refers to us ‘my overall boss’ sat in all the deliberations, and actively participated in the negotiations leading to the award of the contract. Painstaking investigations by the Republic confirmed that the powerbroker, who has the penchant of name-dropping the Vice President and Ato Ahwoi, was the same person who had tried to swindle some Italians with the pretext he’s been mandated by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to take kickbacks, to facilitate a deal the Italians were pursuing in Ghana.

It took the intervention of some big-men to water down the botched deal, after the Deputy Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, Hon. (Dr.) Hannah Bissiw had reported the case to National Security.

The Republic can vouch that the Damongo’s sakawa contract, was not awarded on merit or competence of the contractors, which we shall prove in our subsequent edition; but by greed and underhand dealings of Mr. Kweku Botwe and his chop-chop brigade.

Despite the fact that contracts of this magnitude require thorough due diligence, as regards to laid down procedures, the Damongo Water Project was hatched and signed within two months due to the purported pressure from the top, according to the middleman.

Value For Money;

Although the initial contract sum was 15,266,217 Euros, the total contract sum suddenly shot up to 19 million Euros, without recourse to value for money by Crown Agents, the mandated agency in Ghana, who are required to undertake the value for money exercise to ascertain the justification for the increase in the contract sum, by Kweke Botwe and his ilk at Water company.

Mr. Botwe has the penchant of ignoring laid down procedures, when it comes to contracts, our source at the Ghana Water Company intimated.

It hinted that, the Ghana Water Company Limited never did any value for money, when the original contract sum was increased from about 178 million dollars to 273 million dollars in respect of the Kpong Water Work’s expansion project. Kweku Botwe’s fire fighting antics and chronic lies The man seems to know no shame, in a sharp rebuttal on the shady Damongo Project deal, Kweku Botwe in his charismatic gesture lied through his teeth on state television that the Ghana Water Company had just signed a memorandum of understanding MOU with Sunir and that discussions are on-going, that was a blatant lie. Our checks at the Ghana water company limited revealed that two agreements have been signed between Ghana water and Sunir, the first initial agreement mandated the Iranian company to prepare a draft final agreement that will be studied and signed between the two parties quite incredible.

According to our source, the final agreement stipulated that the Iranians will receive part of the mobilization for the project within 90 days after the signing of the final agreement which was done about a fortnight ago, how the acting managing director can lie about this.

The republic is daring Kweku Botwe to make public the two agreements between Sunir and Ghana Water Company limited for the good people of Ghana to ascertain the veracity of the contract.

Inside sources within Ghana water told The Republic that initially a memorandum of understanding was going to be signed between Ghana Water Company limited and Sunir, it was later changed into an initial agreement after some house trading, the source intimated.

The ‘Sakawa’ Damongo Water Deal (Part.3 ) Kweku Botwe’s Game Over (part 3 )

As fresh evidence worsens his case - 20% set aside for chop-chop

As strenuous as Mr. Kweku Botwe, the embattled Acting Managing Director of Ghana Water Company clings at straw to lift him out of the official filthy mud, that is swallowing him like the python, the more gravitational forces of impurity draw him in. His troubles are legendry

Fresh evidence scooped by The Republic over the controversial 19-million-euro Damongo Water Project further deepens Mr. Botwe’s troubles, as it makes nonsense of his assertion that no tentative contract has been signed between SUNIR – the Iranian Company and the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL).

Responding to questions posed him on the subject, by eloquent and ever-incisive Alhassan Shaibu Suhini, a Host of Radio Gold’s morning current Affairs programme, Newspaper Revie last week Thursday, the Acting Director of Ghana Water, retorted that, the Damongo Water Project was still at the discussion stage and that Ghana Water Company Limited and Sunir have just signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).

Mr. Botwe intimated that the Iranians are expected to source funding to execute the project, a fact that has been found to be palpable false.

Correspondence between the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing and SUNIR, intercepted by The Republic newspaper, further exposes Mr. Kweku Botwe penchant to tell lies, during the interview with Radio Gold.

The fresh evidence The Republic has in its possession point to the fact that, Ghana Water Company has, indeed, signed and sealed a tentative agreement with the Iranian company, without going through the proper tendering process. Investigations further revealed that the Iranians arrived in Ghana in June 2011, and held series of meeting with senior officials of the GWCL including the Acting Managing Director Kweku Botwe, Company Legal Advisor, Lawyer Kyere and Mr. Garbrah, Chief Manager, Projects and Monitoring to devise modalities of the agreement.

The visit by SUNIR officials was the second to Ghana within the last two months. So heated was the negotiations that, the Iranians had to stay for another week, before the agreement Kweku Botwe referring to as an MOU was finally signed. The Republic can also confirm that soon after signing of the agreement, Ghana Water Company wrote a letter signed by the Acting Managing Director, to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (MOFEP) requesting for release of funding, for the Damongo Water Project.

Among highlights of the agreement was the release of the mobilization by the Ghana Water Company limited, to the Iranians within 90 days. This development, contradicts the Acting Managing Director claim that the Iranians are supposed to raise funding for the project.

The Republic has in its possession a correspondence between SUNIR and the so-called Facilitating Consultants, who, allegedly, brokered the deal that entitled them to 20% of the total contract sum which amounts to two million Euros (£2,000.000.00), after the signing of the agreement between the GWCL and SUNIR. This amount, according to our checks was an arrangement that would enrich the pockets of Kweku Botwe and his cabal to award the contract to the Iranians, their reward for circumventing the procurement law in pursuit of their selfish interest.

The Republic also gathered that, per the agreement the Iranians were expected to release 15% of the hot cash to the middlemen after they have succeeded in grabbing the deal for them.

This paper’s special intelligence unit can confirm that, after the signing of the agreement, the Iranians started dragging their feet over the payment of the cash which was meant to pay off the big-men behind the deal.

This latest twist to the Damongo ‘Sakawa’ Water Contract, also confirm our assertion that Kweku Botwe, indeed, collaborated with the Con-man and some power brokers within the office of the Vice President to award the shady contract to the Iranians.

In a genuine transaction, one wonders, if SUNIR, a reputable Company will agree to pay the whopping 20% of the contract sum to a Ghanaian group for ‘facilitating a Contract’, whilst the stipulated all-inclusive consultancy fees approved by the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing was 16.5%. It must be noted that the officially designated consultancy fees include Architectural Drawings, Engineering Services, Quantity Surveying, Project Management Services and Supervision.

Why did SUNIR agree to pay 20% for just facilitation? The answer is simple; the cash was meant for all the key players in the deal.

If the Iranian group were confident in getting the job without any arm-twisting tactics from Kweku Botwe and his gang; and they were going to fund the project as Kweku Botwe claims, why will they sign an agreement with the so-called ‘facilitators of the deal’, who apart from their specific task, would not take part in both pre and post contract stages of the project.

The Republic has it that, the said facilitators of the deal are just kickback-contractors, whose core job was to liaise between the Corny Kweku Botwe and SUNIR to get the deal through.

The Republic can confirm that the deal was rushed through without recourse to any proper laid down procedures, due to the ultimate desire of the promoters of the deal, to take the cash.

Our investigations desk has provided enough evidence to call-off the bluff of the Acting Managing Director of the Ghana Water Company Limited, who deserves the sack to save the image of government and restore some pride to the GWCL. The Damongo Water Project Contract thus smacks of corruption and underhand dealings, which sins against the principles of good and transparent governance, therefore, demands more questions than require of answers: stay tuned.