Another gargantuan NPP lie

KUFUOR: NDC DID NOT ACCOUNT FOR AGC MONEY!
GYAN-BAFFUOR: NDC ACCOUNTED FOR AGC MONEY!!

President John Agyekum Kufuor has been caught in yet another gargantuan lie. At Ejisu on Thursday August 14, 2003, President Kufuor challenged the NDC to account for the proceeds of the sale of shares in the then Ashanti Goldfields Company, now Anglo Gold-Ashanti Limited. The President put the sale figure at $600 million and challenged the NDC to tell Ghanaians how the huge amount was utilised.

On Wednesday 24th October 2007, Hon. Edward M. Ennin, NPP MP for Obuasi, asked the following Parliamentary question of the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning:

“How much did the Government receive from the sale of Anglo Gold Ashanti shares and how were the proceeds utilised?”

The written answer given by the Deputy Minister of Finance and Economic Planning was explicit – “The total amount from the sale of AGC shares was US$478 million. The amount was paid into the Consolidated Fund”.

The simple question is: How could the President have told such a blatant lie when the answer was within easy reach – from his own Minister?

We reproduce below the report of the Daily Graphic of Saturday, August 16, 2003, filed by Nehemia Owusu-Achiaw and headlined “President challenges NDC over $600m” and Answer Number 944 published in the Parliamentary Order Paper of Wednesday, 24th October 2007 to the question posed by Hon. Edward M. Ennin.

We leave readers to make their own judgement——

“President challenges NDC over $600m

Story: Nehemia Owusu-Achiaw President J.A. Kufuor has challenged the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to account for $600 million derived by the state from the divestiture of its interest in Ashanti Goldfields Company (AGC).

Speaking at a durbar of chiefs and people of Ejisu as part of his tour of the Ashanti Region at Ejisu on Thursday, President Kufuor further challenged the NDC to tell Ghanaians how the huge amount was utilised.

Earlier, the President had addressed similar durbars at Obogu, Konongo, Asankare, Agogo and Juaso where he and his entourage were given a tumultuous welcome by party faithful and people in the area.

President Kufuor said the NDC should be able to show whether the money was used for roads, hospitals, electricity or water facilities”. (Culled from ‘Daily Graphic’, Saturday, August 16, 2003, page 11)

PARLIAMENTARY ORDER PAPER “944.

Mr. Speaker, the previous government sold government’s shares in the then “AGC” to the public in 1994 in three batches as follows:

· The International Offer, which was made on the 14/03/1994 to institutional and other investors in the world’s major investment markets,

· The Ghanaian Offer, which was also made on the 14/03/1994 to institutions and individuals resident in Ghana and in other ECOWAS countries and to Ghanaian citizens resident in a limited number of other countries, and lastly

· The Ghanaian Fixed Price Offer. This was made on the 17/05/1994 to individuals resident in Ghana and to Ghanaian citizens resident in a limited number of other countries.

Mr. Speaker, under the International Offer, the Government sold 15.6 million shares and the Company also sold 3.9 million shares. In total Mr. Speaker, 19.5 million shares were sold internationally at an offer price of US$20 per share. These were sold in the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Canada etc.

Mr. Speaker, the total proceeds from the International offer amounted to US$390,000,000.00.

The Ghanaian Offer, which was the second offer, involved the sale of 3.2 million shares by the Government to institutions and individuals resident in Ghana and in other ECOWAS countries and to Ghanaian citizens resident in A limited number of other countries. The price per share was US$20.

The total sales from the Ghanaian offer amounted to US$64,000,000.00.

Mr. Speaker, the third in the series was the Ghanaian Fixed Price Offer, where government offered for sale additional 1.2 million shares at ¢18,700.00 per share (an equivalent of US$20) to individuals resident in Ghana and at US$20 per share to Ghanaians resident in a limited number of other countries. This, Mr. Speaker this also yielded US$24,000,000.00.

Cumulatively, Mr. Speaker, the overall sales amounted to US$478,000,000.00.

Mr. Speaker, this amount was paid into the consolidated fund.