VRA project faces closure

A three-man delegation from General Electric (G.E.) Rentals has arrived in the country from the United States to collect rental arrears for the strategic Reserve Plant (SRP), or in default, the project faces a shutdown. Those in the country are Joseph Dumakoski, site engineer, Larry Parker and one other.

The Chronicle’s findings are that Dumakoski landed in the country on Sunday, last week and the following day, which was Easter Monday, he went straight to the site and went through every document. Report was that his presence and mission to collect some millions of dollars the Volta River Authority (VRA) had defaulted in payment sent shockwaves to the very livewire of the authority.

Immediately, Chronicle learnt, meetings were convened between Accra and Akuse, all in a bid to find a solution to the headache and also to prevent the public from having a wind of it. The General Electric delegation reportedly gave last Saturday as the deadline for either payment of the arrears or the project be shutdown. As a result of this presently, there is lukewarm attitude on the part of workers at the project site. Both G.E. representatives and VRA have agreed for the latter to honour payment between now and early next month or the last resort would be the closure of the project.

Information gathered by the “Chronicle” has it that a few weeks ago, as a result of this revelations, the board members of the project trooped to the site of the SRP at Tema to acquaint themselves with happenings. Details from the visit were not made public, but sources hinted that the board members were not satisfied with what they learnt. Another issue at stake was the acquisition of the land on which the SRP is sited, a place already developed by a power generation company, CUMMINS, in 1998, when the country witnessed energy crisis.

There are calls that allegation that VRA acquired the place by paying over 200m cedis be investigated. Meanwhile, “Chronicle” gathered that the Public Affairs Department is gathering debris from a “bomb” that landed. Reports are that Ms Bellona Gerad, the PR “specialist” who guarded the VRA from public information, is in serious trouble. According to our intelligence source, Wereko-Brobbey, wants the woman to be sent to the north to train some people for an area she has no knowledge.

“Chronicle” was told she reportedly cited health reason that it would not be conducive for her to go to the north, and the next time she was made to face the medical board at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital. Even though result from the board was yet to come out, a letter was delivered to her to either proceed to the north or consider herself sacked.

Again, no one from the public affairs department was prepared to comment on these issues, but information that “Chronicle” gathered has it that about 99.9 percent of the entire VRA workforce would like their CEO to leave. Inside sources have it that those supposed to be saying, “hosanna” are right behind, singing “crucify him” with deafening chorus.