Ibrahim Mahama's company reacts to NPP allegations

Engineers and Planners, the company owned by Mr Ibrahim Mahama has reacted to claims by main opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) that the company’s loans are being defrayed by the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) on the orders of the President John Mahama, his brother.

The company says it remains committed to paying off the loans it contracted from the Merchant Bank explaining that measures have been put in place to ensure that the company remains a viable Ghanaian company.

Mr. Ibrahim Mahama’s company issued a statement signed by the Chief Finance Officer, Sulemana Ahmed Amidu on Wednesday in a reaction to accusations that his brother, the president, forced SSNIT to defray a loan that he failed to repay.

Last Tuesday, a Deputy Communications Director of the NPP, Yaw Buabeng Asamoah, alleged at a press conference that the SSNIT, has been forced by the president to use funds belonging to Ghanaian workers to retire a GH¢57.2 million debt owed by his brother.

This, according to the NPP, brought the struggling Ghanaian bank, Merchant Bank very close to insolvency. The bank at the time was being owed a total of GH¢330 million debt, with Ibrahim Mahama being the largest debtor, making up 19.2% of total debt.

The NPP further alleged that the SSNIT, which held a 98% stake in the Merchant, in August this year had to sell 75% of its stake to South African Bank, First Rand.

But the company in the statement confirmed that it “contracted the financing from two local banks during the previous NPP administration as a five year term loan. Subsequently, for some unknown reason, the banks in 2007 suddenly converted the financing into a three-year loan. Naturally this created debt repayment difficulties for Engineers and Planners.”

The company which is the largest indigenous contract mining company and employs over 1,500 Ghanaians has operations in Ghana and Liberia.

The company said “under previous and current administration, arrangements have been made to refinance the loan through a multilateral funding agency. Engineers & Planners is mindful of its confidentiality obligations to third parties regarding the steps that are being taken to re-finance the debt, and therefore is unable to reveal the details of the funding, save to say that is has been approved after due diligence, which proves that Engineers and Planners is a strong and viable company which has robust cash flows to support a well structured financing.”

The company said “the finance documents have been signed, stamp duty and other fees in excess of GH? 2 million have been paid on all documents and collateral registered here in Ghana.”

The company assured Ghanaians of its commitment to the repayment of the loans.