Akufo-Addo to meet former presidents today

Read Article

Comments (42)

This article is closed for comments.

Read Comments Comments (42)

Frank Agyena-Karikari 7 years ago

Mahama, don't bring yourself. Where were you when NDC supporters would not allow Kuffour occupy an office in Ga land? What goes around comes around. Were you dead when your supporters were locking assemblies and offices of D ...
read full comment

Mahama, don't bring yourself. Where were you when NDC supporters would not allow Kuffour occupy an office in Ga land? What goes around comes around. Were you dead when your supporters were locking assemblies and offices of DCEs?
kaketonti 7 years ago

ARE YOU SERIOUS?
BLAME THIEF KUFUOR.HE SET THE BALL ROLLING.

ARE YOU SERIOUS?
BLAME THIEF KUFUOR.HE SET THE BALL ROLLING.
OLD SOLDIER 7 years ago

Author:- Aba.....
When you and your President were over inflating projects and stealing our limited resources what do you think Ghanaians were doing. Sleepin g? We were all using our zoom camera in watching you the NDc and ...
read full comment

Author:- Aba.....
When you and your President were over inflating projects and stealing our limited resources what do you think Ghanaians were doing. Sleepin g? We were all using our zoom camera in watching you the NDc and yes disappointed Ghana big tim e. Shut up,
Mensa 7 years ago

HE GOT NO ADVISE TO OFFEER JUST WAIST YOUR TIME ,MR PRESIDENT

HE GOT NO ADVISE TO OFFEER JUST WAIST YOUR TIME ,MR PRESIDENT
THE DON 7 years ago

Yep. He was dead. Have you forgotten the famous ''dead goat''?

Yep. He was dead. Have you forgotten the famous ''dead goat''?
Stormborn 7 years ago

BUSINESS U Should Do Right Away!
Small business you say?.NGN 30k(about $100 min) average daily is possible &more! U do the sum for what is being averaged per month! Most people, even graduates ignore daily income services se ...
read full comment

BUSINESS U Should Do Right Away!
Small business you say?.NGN 30k(about $100 min) average daily is possible &more! U do the sum for what is being averaged per month! Most people, even graduates ignore daily income services sector. All they see is the dirt, presumed indignity on those who do them. An empty pocket from no job or an underpaid job is far more indignifying. Educated? Start small but grow, package it well, employ others, while U supervise.This is guaranteed with depth of skills & acumen in smartphones & Tablets Repairs business.. Visit a good Phones & Tablets Repair centre & open your eyes. You will see what I mean! Get " Mobile Phones & Tablets Repairs : A Complete Guide for Beginners & Professionals " 2day! Visit Amazon, Barnes & Noble, eBay etc
Angelo 7 years ago

Nana please tell Pres Mahama to stop the "holier than thou behaviour" he wants to exhibit and tell us what he was thinking when he increased the NSS salaries by 60% when he had not budgeted for it and also to tell us how 200 ...
read full comment

Nana please tell Pres Mahama to stop the "holier than thou behaviour" he wants to exhibit and tell us what he was thinking when he increased the NSS salaries by 60% when he had not budgeted for it and also to tell us how 200 plus vehicles belonging to the government machinery cannot be accounted for as well as his last minute employments for party functionaries when he should have been handing over. I hope you tell him what he needs to know. Treat him like the a father and son, Hahaha
Kk 7 years ago

Is a good idea and hopefully is a meaningful meeting with some results.

Is a good idea and hopefully is a meaningful meeting with some results.
Paa Joe (UK) 7 years ago

This invitation is a masterpiece of diplomacy and statesmanship. You can tell Mahama's immaturity by his reported comments. Why show your hand so early in the game?
You have been afforded a historic opportunity to contribut ...
read full comment

This invitation is a masterpiece of diplomacy and statesmanship. You can tell Mahama's immaturity by his reported comments. Why show your hand so early in the game?
You have been afforded a historic opportunity to contribute ideas to move the country forward and you want to go and raise hell about historical matters which all ex Presidents are equally guilty of.
Even JJ is untypically quiet and my fear is that Mahama is going to make a fool of himself in front of the other ex Presidents, not even JJ is happy with Mahama and how he left the NDC in what seems like at least 12 years in opposition.
Bravo Nana Akufo-Addo, you are indeed a unifier President.
OMAN BA PA 7 years ago

NANA ADDO GHANA PREZ YOU ARE TOO GOOD AND WISE,GOD BLESS YOU OOO,YOU DO THINGS NO ONE HAS DONE IT BEFORE,GOD BLESS YOU

NANA ADDO GHANA PREZ YOU ARE TOO GOOD AND WISE,GOD BLESS YOU OOO,YOU DO THINGS NO ONE HAS DONE IT BEFORE,GOD BLESS YOU
Shaftesbury 7 years ago

Mr John Mahama also tell him where the other cars are and open up to your inner circle dealings so work can be done fast to help the special prosecutor or (akwesipeter). Ghana needs all the dubious dealings to nail your crook ...
read full comment

Mr John Mahama also tell him where the other cars are and open up to your inner circle dealings so work can be done fast to help the special prosecutor or (akwesipeter). Ghana needs all the dubious dealings to nail your crooked friends and girlfriends .
Shaftesbury 7 years ago

Mr John Mahama also tell him where the other cars are and open up to your inner circle dealings so work can be done fast to help the special prosecutor or (akwesipeter). Ghana needs all the dubious dealings to nail your crook ...
read full comment

Mr John Mahama also tell him where the other cars are and open up to your inner circle dealings so work can be done fast to help the special prosecutor or (akwesipeter). Ghana needs all the dubious dealings to nail your crooked friends and girlfriends .
Shaftesbury 7 years ago

Mr John Mahama also tell him where the other cars are and open up to your inner circle dealings so work can be done fast to help the special prosecutor or (akwesipeter). Ghana needs all the dubious dealings to nail your crook ...
read full comment

Mr John Mahama also tell him where the other cars are and open up to your inner circle dealings so work can be done fast to help the special prosecutor or (akwesipeter). Ghana needs all the dubious dealings to nail your crooked friends and girlfriends .
Shaftesbury 7 years ago

Mr John Mahama also tell him where the other cars are and open up to your inner circle dealings so work can be done fast to help the special prosecutor or (akwesipeter). Ghana needs all the dubious dealings to nail your crook ...
read full comment

Mr John Mahama also tell him where the other cars are and open up to your inner circle dealings so work can be done fast to help the special prosecutor or (akwesipeter). Ghana needs all the dubious dealings to nail your crooked friends and girlfriends .
BERNARD 7 years ago

INCREASE YOUR LIBIDO WHILES ENHANCING YOUR SEXUAL PERFORMANCE WITH MORE ENERGY AND STAMINA. USE VITAL 5 WITH MULTI MACA ( save your marriage ).0572174551
(1). USE VITAL 5 WITH MULTI MACA have a special property which enhan ...
read full comment

INCREASE YOUR LIBIDO WHILES ENHANCING YOUR SEXUAL PERFORMANCE WITH MORE ENERGY AND STAMINA. USE VITAL 5 WITH MULTI MACA ( save your marriage ).0572174551
(1). USE VITAL 5 WITH MULTI MACA have a special property which enhances energy and stamina.
(2).It also enhances and increases sexual
desires.0572174551
(3). It has a powerful property that boosts the potency of male libido,its natural property helps to creat an aphrodisiac-like response in men who have suffered from potency,low sex-drive and fertility problems..0572174551
(4). Also improves the quality and quantity of sperms in men who have lower than the normal sperm counts,helping to increase the level of fertility......0572174551
(5). Strengthen endurance and energy level
(6). USE VITAL 5 WITH MULTI MACA is known as a powerful male erectile solution.
(7).It gives you a long lasting power within the bedroom eliminating fatigue
STOP PREMATURE EJACULATION NOW.0572174551
DONT ALLOW YOUR PARTNER TO BE WORRIED ABOUT YOUR INABILITY TO SATISFY HER ON BED.
INCREASE YOUR LIBIDO WHILES ENHANCING YOUR SEXUAL PERFORMANCE WITH MORE ENERGY AND STAMINA. USE USE VITAL 5 WITH MULTI MACA.
AND BE A MAN FOR LIFE
( save your marriage )
Abena 7 years ago

Tell your thieves to send the vehicles back.This is the reply I will like Nana to give to Mahama the thief.

Tell your thieves to send the vehicles back.This is the reply I will like Nana to give to Mahama the thief.
NII agbo 7 years ago

Good idea Nana we are need to do it together

Good idea Nana we are need to do it together
Garmoti 7 years ago

Fmr prez.Kuffour was not a thief,but a notorious state looter; he was second to none when it comes to acquiring wealth illicitly

Fmr prez.Kuffour was not a thief,but a notorious state looter; he was second to none when it comes to acquiring wealth illicitly
aziz 7 years ago

I hope Nana will ask them to contribute towards the development of nation because he the president once said he's the most fortunate President to rule Ghana whiles 3 former President are still kicking well

I hope Nana will ask them to contribute towards the development of nation because he the president once said he's the most fortunate President to rule Ghana whiles 3 former President are still kicking well
Kwame s 7 years ago

Just tell Manama to bring all stolen money back AMERI What a surprise ...after bribing everyone to go on a visit to review the contract ....one minute going to negotiate now no negotiate ........they set the company up to SCR ...
read full comment

Just tell Manama to bring all stolen money back AMERI What a surprise ...after bribing everyone to go on a visit to review the contract ....one minute going to negotiate now no negotiate ........they set the company up to SCREW Ghana the world is laughing at Ghana ...how many other multi million dollar contracts have AMERI ACHIEVED...ZERO how many other contracts has that crook His Royal Highness Sheikh Ahmed Bin Dalmook Al Maktoum, received a deal of $150 million commission ZERO ... why did the witness a known crook UMAR FAROOQ ZAHOOR witness contract then they say no no no he is not the crook he is s different man then a few days later he is removed ftom web site and resigned for personal reasons . Full story on Norwegian newspaper Verdens Gang (VG so corrupt bribery greedy NDC just screwed Ghana so CONTRACT is a FRAUD GET them all arrested for loss to state ...if nothing happens then NPP HAS ACCEPTED A BRIBE TO shut up? Now they have paid the committee hotels expenses and flights to investigate ....conflict of interest!!! (More bribes) apart from all the goings on the executive I trimmer from that EVIL corrupt ex president mahatma (agreeing to a project costing $300million more than any other project in the world EVER) the contract reads if AMERI do not like the government or whatever they can MAKE the government BUY the project ....so that's $300 million more than ANY other similar projects in the world ...TOTAL CORRUPTION TOTAL DISGRACE..100% within a few years they will attempt that clause as the project does not work $900million at one minute 12 cents then 14.5 cents per pkh for power (400mw at $600million oh dear Ghana ....EVERY ONE INVOLVED IN BRIBE-corruption PAST AND PRESENT WATCH THEM TALK RUBBISH TO CLOSE THE CONVERSATION DOWN

(Ofori Atta wildly removes 50,000 ghost names from Ghana's public payroll and it is good news)(still no arrests still no return of money even if $500 a month over 8 Years with NDC (they admitted in 2016 that they removed 27,000 ) so thats $462 million paid out and stolen by whoever withdrew the funds from those ghost accounts .
And not one mother fucker arrested or or 1 Cecilia recovered ...fucks sake ?!!!!

Source imani-
Friends, do not take the silence of AMERI’s supporters on this platform and in the open media to mean aloofness or nonchalance.
They have been hard at work, especially on WhatsApp and in private briefings, doing all they can to discredit IMANI’s campaign to persuade the public to view the deal as the “greatest swindle of the Ghanaian state in at least two decades”.
Since our responses have been fragmented across different posts, discussion threads, and ripostes across multiple platforms, we have been advised to assemble them all in one place in order to vindicate our campaign. We now have the pleasure and duty to proceed to do so.
Let us take just the main arguments that are being canvassed by pro-AMERI activists.
They have said that IMANI’s analysis of the financial terms of the deal is shallow because it assumes that such a deal can only be assessed in one way, when in fact different methods can show that it is a very fair deal.
IMANI is underestimating the cost of installing the turbines and exaggerating the profits made by the middle-men (brokers) because it does not understand IRR, NPV, and Discount Rate analysis, they insist.
How do we plead to this charge? Firstly, no one, at least, disputes the cost of the TM2500+ mobile aeroderivative gas turbines that were bought (in actual fact, the TM2500+ is the composite ‘power plant in the box’; the turbine itself in that box is the LM2500 aeroderivative engine).
And that is because no one can. Right there in Annex A to the agreement, its supplier and specifications are fully provided. The machine was acquired from APR, a recommended supplier of GE, by the brokers. APR openly lists the price of these machines. There is thus no dispute that the machines together cost $220 Million, and most likely less if bought in bulk.
As to why Ghana had to go to AMERI for AMERI to go to METKA for METKA to go to APR in order to acquire GE equipment, let’s leave that aside for now. Anybody with the most basic training knows that if something costs $22 million each and you want to acquire ten of them you would normally be entitled to a discount.
You can prove the point by walking to Kingdom Stationery and ordering 10 workstations at a go. I assure you a 15% discount off the catalogue price would be yours, but let’s even assume that the original procurers were obtuse enough to pay $220 million.
(Indeed in the World Energy Outlook database, per MW capital cost for gas turbine power is $500,000, so the $900,000 implied by the catalog price is precisely what you expect to see at catalogue price level, but let’s not over-flog the point.)
The $220 million is the engineering cost. Everyone knows that even if a machine, such as this one, has been designed as turnkey (literally, buy today, turn the key, and voila it starts working) one still need specialists to install, test and then commission it.
One also needs to plug it into whatever network is supposed to receive the output the machine generates. Also if somebody buys something on your behalf they deserve to be paid what in Ghana is called T&T.
Note however that in this case, unlike the case in a normal power plant, all that was needed was to integrate the turbines with the national grid equipment.
In fact, GE offers to install the machines for you in eleven days or even three days if as a user you don’t need a test run! You don’t have to have more than a JHS education to understand that what we are talking about here is not the building of Akosombo dam and township.
It is literally assembling a bunch of gizmos for cooling, firing up, and transmission of the generated power into the national grid.
As far as the transformers, civil works, utilities and sewers/tubing/tunnelling are concerned, Government of Ghana was responsible for bearing that cost. Supposing you bought a generator plant for installing in your factory for $22,000.
How much will you pay to install it? In Ghana’s case, continuing this analogy, we paid $14,000 because somehow we felt that even that part of the project should be handled by someone else and be billed as additional. But that is not even the main quarrel here.
Many anti-AMERI activists are not even taking the deal makers to task for paying $140 million on top of the $220 million to install a plant that from our analysis of several deals involving a EPC contractor cost of procurement, installation and commissioning almost never cross 10% of the total cost.
We are tearing our hair out because the government then went ahead and paid AN ADDITIONAL $150 million on top of things, citing something called ‘NPV analysis’ and ‘Balance of Plant’.
Yet, all one has to do is take a look at Annex E of the agreement and it is clear that the main core of this ‘balance’ that needs to be added to the turbines for the system to be complete and operational comprises merely of the exhaust module, the air intake nozzles and the data logging platform in the control room, all of these being assembly units clearly stated as standard and pre-packaged with the turbines!
All that is required, external to the weatherproof package and its trailer mounts, and in lieu of a complex structure, is the piping for coolant and fuel filtration and transmission.
So the “balance of plant” essentially refers to the fuel and coolant (‘demineralised water’) storage and dispensing system/controls that can be acquired for a few hundreds of thousands of dollars; and the earthing and electrical cabling works.
We are not talking here about giant buildings; or treatment systems; fire control was provided; ventilation is integrated, as is instrumentation; and security and fuel logistics handling is minimal because the plant is housed at the existing Takoradi Thermal Power station and shares its facilities.
And at any rate, the government of Ghana was billed separately for civil works, drainage and sewerage etc! So what serious ‘balance of plant’ are we talking about here exactly?
For a project that the manufacturer of the system says can take between 3 and eleven days from start to finish, we decided that for the work done in acquiring the plants and installing them (EPC), we will pay the brokers 65% of the total equipment cost due to our unwillingness to procure our own financing and then hire any EPC contractor for a few hundreds of thousands of dollars to commission the plants.
Anti-AMERI activists are willing to accept this $140 million dollar charge as pure financing costs (since the engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning activities in this project are hardly of serious note).
And had we left things there, the NPV analysis using an 8% discounting rate would have netted a decent aggregate profit of $72 million cool profit for the dealmakers, showing a 32% return in 5 years. Indeed, readers are welcome to take a look at how reasonable this rate of return is in a period of serious constraint in the energy plant financing industry. It is important to bear in mind when reviewing these calculations that cashflow from the investment is assured on a monthly basis; a graduated interest rate structure is required to fully appreciate the fixed cashflow; AMERI sought and secured exemptions from ALL domestic taxes in relation to the project; we are in a period of unprecedented low global interest rates; and there is a standby letter of credit to cover any defaults under every conceivable scenario in the one-sided agreement that was foisted on the Government of Ghana. AMERI enjoyed all of this PLUS a Performance Bond too (yes).
In fact, under the agreement, AMERI gets paid whether or not fuel from the government to produce electricity is forthcoming, and regardless of faults in the national grid.
It is easy to see how generous the deal at this level would have been when one benchmark against reference data globally.
The discount rate in Turkey itself is 5.25%. But the Ghanaian dealmakers felt that such prudence would not earn them any applause for being spectacular. So they upped the ante, and agreed to an additional $150 million on top of this for AMERI.
The party that did not procure the equipment, install a pipe, or turn even a valve on, but rode on the back of METKA and APR to secure the equipment and on PPL and Engineers & Planners to install and turn it on, gets a cool $122 million in NPV terms just for having swag! Frankly, that is where NPV analysis leads us.
And it sure as night follows day exonerates no one. In fact if we use as the discounting rate the cost of borrowing in the local USD credit market and compute the NPV of the margin for AMERI on the deal (relying on our generous EPC project value of $250 million), we get exactly $150 million! That is precisely the amount we overpaid if we measure against the alternative of borrowing from a consortium of local banks to buy the plant outright and getting the authorised supplier, APR, to install and commission. Any which way pro-AMERI analysts dice this, a $150 million loss cannot be argued away. For further clarity, see below a table providing comparative lending rates for various projects in the energy sector. But pro-AMERI analysts seem to believe that they have one ace up their sleeves. In some of the briefings, we have seen the argument appears to be that AMERI is producing cheap power and that cannot be the case if the capital cost of the plant is bloated (though as you can see from the other table attached, the capital cost is indeed the highest in Ghana). Fair point: how can an exorbitantly priced machine produce cheap trinkets? When some of us first heard this argument, frankly, we thought it was a joke. On top of selling the machines to Ghana at an exorbitant price and compelling us to provide fuel to power it, AMERI then went ahead and inserted a cool 0.5 US cents per kilowatt hour charge for the power that we shall be producing from equipment that we are paying for using fuel that we are supplying, netting them a neat $16.6 million a year! And though the agreement says that the plant gets handed over to the Government of Ghana if we keep up with all our payments, they still managed lock the power tariffs in the post-transfer period in an obvious ploy to ensure that even after handing the plant over to us they can still run the show (hence the efforts to get another plant at the Takoradi Power Station handed over to them). The combined tariff of 62 pesewas per kilowatt-hour that AMERI itself discloses in the agreement may be compared with the 2016 August Bulk Generation Charge that PURC has allowed other power plants in Ghana to charge on average: 35.97 pesewas! AMERI is thus, in fact, nearly 75% more expensive than the average power plant in Ghana. And we haven’t even factored in the cost of fuel. Consider that without a revision of the agreement, AMERI will be operating what is, in essence, a separate price-gouging regime in the country, in defiance of the PURC, that shall see Ghanaians paying almost twice for its power if we don’t act soon to shave off some of the $102 million a year it has managed to squeeze out of our diffident State. In view of all the foregoing analysis, IMANI’s simple view is that the Government of Ghana should not relent until it has managed to shave off two million dollars from each monthly payment. Duty calls on every Ghanaian to join this campaign
Kwame s 7 years ago

Just tell Manama to bring all stolen money back AMERI What a surprise ...after bribing everyone to go on a visit to review the contract ....one minute going to negotiate now no negotiate ........they set the company up to SCR ...
read full comment

Just tell Manama to bring all stolen money back AMERI What a surprise ...after bribing everyone to go on a visit to review the contract ....one minute going to negotiate now no negotiate ........they set the company up to SCREW Ghana the world is laughing at Ghana ...how many other multi million dollar contracts have AMERI ACHIEVED...ZERO how many other contracts has that crook His Royal Highness Sheikh Ahmed Bin Dalmook Al Maktoum, received a deal of $150 million commission ZERO ... why did the witness a known crook UMAR FAROOQ ZAHOOR witness contract then they say no no no he is not the crook he is s different man then a few days later he is removed ftom web site and resigned for personal reasons . Full story on Norwegian newspaper Verdens Gang (VG so corrupt bribery greedy NDC just screwed Ghana so CONTRACT is a FRAUD GET them all arrested for loss to state ...if nothing happens then NPP HAS ACCEPTED A BRIBE TO shut up? Now they have paid the committee hotels expenses and flights to investigate ....conflict of interest!!! (More bribes) apart from all the goings on the executive I trimmer from that EVIL corrupt ex president mahatma (agreeing to a project costing $300million more than any other project in the world EVER) the contract reads if AMERI do not like the government or whatever they can MAKE the government BUY the project ....so that's $300 million more than ANY other similar projects in the world ...TOTAL CORRUPTION TOTAL DISGRACE..100% within a few years they will attempt that clause as the project does not work $900million at one minute 12 cents then 14.5 cents per pkh for power (400mw at $600million oh dear Ghana ....EVERY ONE INVOLVED IN BRIBE-corruption PAST AND PRESENT WATCH THEM TALK RUBBISH TO CLOSE THE CONVERSATION DOWN

(Ofori Atta wildly removes 50,000 ghost names from Ghana's public payroll and it is good news)(still no arrests still no return of money even if $500 a month over 8 Years with NDC (they admitted in 2016 that they removed 27,000 ) so thats $462 million paid out and stolen by whoever withdrew the funds from those ghost accounts .
And not one mother fucker arrested or or 1 Cecilia recovered ...fucks sake ?!!!!

Source imani-
Friends, do not take the silence of AMERI’s supporters on this platform and in the open media to mean aloofness or nonchalance.
They have been hard at work, especially on WhatsApp and in private briefings, doing all they can to discredit IMANI’s campaign to persuade the public to view the deal as the “greatest swindle of the Ghanaian state in at least two decades”.
Since our responses have been fragmented across different posts, discussion threads, and ripostes across multiple platforms, we have been advised to assemble them all in one place in order to vindicate our campaign. We now have the pleasure and duty to proceed to do so.
Let us take just the main arguments that are being canvassed by pro-AMERI activists.
They have said that IMANI’s analysis of the financial terms of the deal is shallow because it assumes that such a deal can only be assessed in one way, when in fact different methods can show that it is a very fair deal.
IMANI is underestimating the cost of installing the turbines and exaggerating the profits made by the middle-men (brokers) because it does not understand IRR, NPV, and Discount Rate analysis, they insist.
How do we plead to this charge? Firstly, no one, at least, disputes the cost of the TM2500+ mobile aeroderivative gas turbines that were bought (in actual fact, the TM2500+ is the composite ‘power plant in the box’; the turbine itself in that box is the LM2500 aeroderivative engine).
And that is because no one can. Right there in Annex A to the agreement, its supplier and specifications are fully provided. The machine was acquired from APR, a recommended supplier of GE, by the brokers. APR openly lists the price of these machines. There is thus no dispute that the machines together cost $220 Million, and most likely less if bought in bulk.
As to why Ghana had to go to AMERI for AMERI to go to METKA for METKA to go to APR in order to acquire GE equipment, let’s leave that aside for now. Anybody with the most basic training knows that if something costs $22 million each and you want to acquire ten of them you would normally be entitled to a discount.
You can prove the point by walking to Kingdom Stationery and ordering 10 workstations at a go. I assure you a 15% discount off the catalogue price would be yours, but let’s even assume that the original procurers were obtuse enough to pay $220 million.
(Indeed in the World Energy Outlook database, per MW capital cost for gas turbine power is $500,000, so the $900,000 implied by the catalog price is precisely what you expect to see at catalogue price level, but let’s not over-flog the point.)
The $220 million is the engineering cost. Everyone knows that even if a machine, such as this one, has been designed as turnkey (literally, buy today, turn the key, and voila it starts working) one still need specialists to install, test and then commission it.
One also needs to plug it into whatever network is supposed to receive the output the machine generates. Also if somebody buys something on your behalf they deserve to be paid what in Ghana is called T&T.
Note however that in this case, unlike the case in a normal power plant, all that was needed was to integrate the turbines with the national grid equipment.
In fact, GE offers to install the machines for you in eleven days or even three days if as a user you don’t need a test run! You don’t have to have more than a JHS education to understand that what we are talking about here is not the building of Akosombo dam and township.
It is literally assembling a bunch of gizmos for cooling, firing up, and transmission of the generated power into the national grid.
As far as the transformers, civil works, utilities and sewers/tubing/tunnelling are concerned, Government of Ghana was responsible for bearing that cost. Supposing you bought a generator plant for installing in your factory for $22,000.
How much will you pay to install it? In Ghana’s case, continuing this analogy, we paid $14,000 because somehow we felt that even that part of the project should be handled by someone else and be billed as additional. But that is not even the main quarrel here.
Many anti-AMERI activists are not even taking the deal makers to task for paying $140 million on top of the $220 million to install a plant that from our analysis of several deals involving a EPC contractor cost of procurement, installation and commissioning almost never cross 10% of the total cost.
We are tearing our hair out because the government then went ahead and paid AN ADDITIONAL $150 million on top of things, citing something called ‘NPV analysis’ and ‘Balance of Plant’.
Yet, all one has to do is take a look at Annex E of the agreement and it is clear that the main core of this ‘balance’ that needs to be added to the turbines for the system to be complete and operational comprises merely of the exhaust module, the air intake nozzles and the data logging platform in the control room, all of these being assembly units clearly stated as standard and pre-packaged with the turbines!
All that is required, external to the weatherproof package and its trailer mounts, and in lieu of a complex structure, is the piping for coolant and fuel filtration and transmission.
So the “balance of plant” essentially refers to the fuel and coolant (‘demineralised water’) storage and dispensing system/controls that can be acquired for a few hundreds of thousands of dollars; and the earthing and electrical cabling works.
We are not talking here about giant buildings; or treatment systems; fire control was provided; ventilation is integrated, as is instrumentation; and security and fuel logistics handling is minimal because the plant is housed at the existing Takoradi Thermal Power station and shares its facilities.
And at any rate, the government of Ghana was billed separately for civil works, drainage and sewerage etc! So what serious ‘balance of plant’ are we talking about here exactly?
For a project that the manufacturer of the system says can take between 3 and eleven days from start to finish, we decided that for the work done in acquiring the plants and installing them (EPC), we will pay the brokers 65% of the total equipment cost due to our unwillingness to procure our own financing and then hire any EPC contractor for a few hundreds of thousands of dollars to commission the plants.
Anti-AMERI activists are willing to accept this $140 million dollar charge as pure financing costs (since the engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning activities in this project are hardly of serious note).
And had we left things there, the NPV analysis using an 8% discounting rate would have netted a decent aggregate profit of $72 million cool profit for the dealmakers, showing a 32% return in 5 years. Indeed, readers are welcome to take a look at how reasonable this rate of return is in a period of serious constraint in the energy plant financing industry. It is important to bear in mind when reviewing these calculations that cashflow from the investment is assured on a monthly basis; a graduated interest rate structure is required to fully appreciate the fixed cashflow; AMERI sought and secured exemptions from ALL domestic taxes in relation to the project; we are in a period of unprecedented low global interest rates; and there is a standby letter of credit to cover any defaults under every conceivable scenario in the one-sided agreement that was foisted on the Government of Ghana. AMERI enjoyed all of this PLUS a Performance Bond too (yes).
In fact, under the agreement, AMERI gets paid whether or not fuel from the government to produce electricity is forthcoming, and regardless of faults in the national grid.
It is easy to see how generous the deal at this level would have been when one benchmark against reference data globally.
The discount rate in Turkey itself is 5.25%. But the Ghanaian dealmakers felt that such prudence would not earn them any applause for being spectacular. So they upped the ante, and agreed to an additional $150 million on top of this for AMERI.
The party that did not procure the equipment, install a pipe, or turn even a valve on, but rode on the back of METKA and APR to secure the equipment and on PPL and Engineers & Planners to install and turn it on, gets a cool $122 million in NPV terms just for having swag! Frankly, that is where NPV analysis leads us.
And it sure as night follows day exonerates no one. In fact if we use as the discounting rate the cost of borrowing in the local USD credit market and compute the NPV of the margin for AMERI on the deal (relying on our generous EPC project value of $250 million), we get exactly $150 million! That is precisely the amount we overpaid if we measure against the alternative of borrowing from a consortium of local banks to buy the plant outright and getting the authorised supplier, APR, to install and commission. Any which way pro-AMERI analysts dice this, a $150 million loss cannot be argued away. For further clarity, see below a table providing comparative lending rates for various projects in the energy sector. But pro-AMERI analysts seem to believe that they have one ace up their sleeves. In some of the briefings, we have seen the argument appears to be that AMERI is producing cheap power and that cannot be the case if the capital cost of the plant is bloated (though as you can see from the other table attached, the capital cost is indeed the highest in Ghana). Fair point: how can an exorbitantly priced machine produce cheap trinkets? When some of us first heard this argument, frankly, we thought it was a joke. On top of selling the machines to Ghana at an exorbitant price and compelling us to provide fuel to power it, AMERI then went ahead and inserted a cool 0.5 US cents per kilowatt hour charge for the power that we shall be producing from equipment that we are paying for using fuel that we are supplying, netting them a neat $16.6 million a year! And though the agreement says that the plant gets handed over to the Government of Ghana if we keep up with all our payments, they still managed lock the power tariffs in the post-transfer period in an obvious ploy to ensure that even after handing the plant over to us they can still run the show (hence the efforts to get another plant at the Takoradi Power Station handed over to them). The combined tariff of 62 pesewas per kilowatt-hour that AMERI itself discloses in the agreement may be compared with the 2016 August Bulk Generation Charge that PURC has allowed other power plants in Ghana to charge on average: 35.97 pesewas! AMERI is thus, in fact, nearly 75% more expensive than the average power plant in Ghana. And we haven’t even factored in the cost of fuel. Consider that without a revision of the agreement, AMERI will be operating what is, in essence, a separate price-gouging regime in the country, in defiance of the PURC, that shall see Ghanaians paying almost twice for its power if we don’t act soon to shave off some of the $102 million a year it has managed to squeeze out of our diffident State. In view of all the foregoing analysis, IMANI’s simple view is that the Government of Ghana should not relent until it has managed to shave off two million dollars from each monthly payment. Duty calls on every Ghanaian to join this campaign
HONEST MAN 7 years ago

Mahama made this b4 the meeting or at which grounds, our media is nothing but a bunch of liars including Kweku Baako

Mahama made this b4 the meeting or at which grounds, our media is nothing but a bunch of liars including Kweku Baako
KENNEDIEN 7 years ago

MAHAMA don't go there. 3 npp presidents against 1ndc president

MAHAMA don't go there. 3 npp presidents against 1ndc president
Osono 7 years ago

After sabotaging Mahama,making him unpopular in the eyes of the people, he now wants to meet him.He used propaganda and lies to discredit Mahama, making the presidency look like his bonafide property.He never attended any soc ...
read full comment

After sabotaging Mahama,making him unpopular in the eyes of the people, he now wants to meet him.He used propaganda and lies to discredit Mahama, making the presidency look like his bonafide property.He never attended any social function and even when Kuffuor did,npp appologetics branded him Mahama Ally.He gave Mahama no breathing space.In fact,from Kumepreko,dimepreko,wiemepreko and other useless and stupid demonstrations spearheaded by nana addo,he has ascended the throne through violence. Thinking Mahama will turn the heat on him,he is calling for dialogue.When Bahamia mentioned abolishing of kayayei levy as one of the accomplishments of npp,i felt sorry for Ghana.
kaya 7 years ago

It's not necessary meeting this sleeping president, Mahama allow those two idiots to go and meet it.

It's not necessary meeting this sleeping president, Mahama allow those two idiots to go and meet it.
Kakum 7 years ago

Is the president just not about to justfy what ex presiden Mahama said?
The President is availing himself for counselling & to be corrected where he has not performed to expectation.
However l have not heard that a meetin ...
read full comment

Is the president just not about to justfy what ex presiden Mahama said?
The President is availing himself for counselling & to be corrected where he has not performed to expectation.
However l have not heard that a meeting such as this has ever happened in the UK or the US before.
So has the president run out of ideas?
When the Ndc govt invited the Npp to the Senkyi Conference to brainstorm on home grown policies for the country NaNa Addo & his party boycotted it. Now he is luring formet 2 Ndc presidents to come & give him ideas?
Rawlings & Mahama must not honour this Kweku Ananse meeting pls.
Has NaNa gone bunkrupt on ideas alrrady this soon?
DR RED HOT 7 years ago

Mahama should apologize to ghanaians for unashamedly trying to steal a government building or forever shut up !!

Mahama should apologize to ghanaians for unashamedly trying to steal a government building or forever shut up !!
Kwaku 7 years ago

Rawlings Killed our Former head of States. Kutu Acheampong, Akufo and others to enrich himself and family. Today he will walk there and sit amount non-Killers. Rawlings is a disgrace to Ghana. He wasted 20 years alone for hi ...
read full comment

Rawlings Killed our Former head of States. Kutu Acheampong, Akufo and others to enrich himself and family. Today he will walk there and sit amount non-Killers. Rawlings is a disgrace to Ghana. He wasted 20 years alone for himself and family
21st century boy 7 years ago

YES, IF THAT MEANS GHANA IS UNITING THE BETTER. MAHAMA HAS NEGLECTED HIS IWN PARTY FOUNDER. HMM HE IS NOW UNDERSTANDING EVERYTHING.

YES, IF THAT MEANS GHANA IS UNITING THE BETTER. MAHAMA HAS NEGLECTED HIS IWN PARTY FOUNDER. HMM HE IS NOW UNDERSTANDING EVERYTHING.
VOICE 7 years ago

VERY BAD IDEA MAHAMA HAS LOOTED GHANA AND HIDING IT IN DUBAI AND MALAYSIA.JJ KILLED LOT OF GHANAIANS WITHOUT ANY APOLOGIES K4 IS INNOCENT JJ INCERTED IDEMINITY CLAUSE TO COVER HIS ARSE NANA DNOT MEET THEM BAD IDEA.

VERY BAD IDEA MAHAMA HAS LOOTED GHANA AND HIDING IT IN DUBAI AND MALAYSIA.JJ KILLED LOT OF GHANAIANS WITHOUT ANY APOLOGIES K4 IS INNOCENT JJ INCERTED IDEMINITY CLAUSE TO COVER HIS ARSE NANA DNOT MEET THEM BAD IDEA.
Kofi 7 years ago

He has forgotten,he is a Ghanaians

He has forgotten,he is a Ghanaians
Kaaji TX 7 years ago

Mahama should not go to the presidency with his stupidity and absurdity rather a changed sensible youth and learn from the three mature presidents:Kufuor, Nana and JJ. What do you have to say, kwasea? All that are going on ...
read full comment

Mahama should not go to the presidency with his stupidity and absurdity rather a changed sensible youth and learn from the three mature presidents:Kufuor, Nana and JJ. What do you have to say, kwasea? All that are going on are all precedents of Nana's stewardship. Seizure of cars, have you forgotten ndc forced Madam Kufuor and Nana Addo out from their cars and seized them?Have you for gotten stupid Portuphey went to the hospital bed of the former NADMO boss to collect keys of the nadmo whilst recuperating from his illness and forced him to write a resignation letter? Have you forgotten the Azorka boys, besieging the government institutions replacing the NPP civil servants with ndc members? Think about the school feeding program owners, did you terminate their contract or not?Remember you are dealing with sensible Akans and Northerners. If the IQ of Barwumia is divided into 1 million you cannot match yourself with even 1,dummy!
TIME WILL TELL 7 years ago

IT IS PERIOD! MAHAMA HAS NIT REGRET ANYTHING BY NOW, BECAUSE IS JUST 100 DAY, HE HAS 4 YEARS TO SIT IN OPPOSITION AND THINK.

IT IS PERIOD! MAHAMA HAS NIT REGRET ANYTHING BY NOW, BECAUSE IS JUST 100 DAY, HE HAS 4 YEARS TO SIT IN OPPOSITION AND THINK.
King 7 years ago

Ghana why former Presidents act like they're still in power?They've done their part so leave them ALONE to relax and think about their families.Unnecessary consultation is waste of time.Do what ya gotta do Mr.President and le ...
read full comment

Ghana why former Presidents act like they're still in power?They've done their part so leave them ALONE to relax and think about their families.Unnecessary consultation is waste of time.Do what ya gotta do Mr.President and leave out the ex-presidents alone to think about themselves.????
King 7 years ago

Ghana why former Presidents act like they're still in power?They've done their part so leave them ALONE to relax and think about their families.Unnecessary consultation is waste of time.Do what ya gotta do Mr.President and le ...
read full comment

Ghana why former Presidents act like they're still in power?They've done their part so leave them ALONE to relax and think about their families.Unnecessary consultation is waste of time.Do what ya gotta do Mr.President and leave out the ex-presidents alone to think about themselves.????
Yaa Asantewa 7 years ago

In the days of President Mahama the kingdom of Ghana suffereth violence and violent taketh it by force. This is the real picture of Ghana today. Invicible and delta forces are turning Ghana into a violent country. God help mo ...
read full comment

In the days of President Mahama the kingdom of Ghana suffereth violence and violent taketh it by force. This is the real picture of Ghana today. Invicible and delta forces are turning Ghana into a violent country. God help mother Ghana before things completely get out of hand
you too 7 years ago

don't be stupid. these fools are only going to eat pork and drink whisky. Idiots, do you think they think about you and I. they know Ghanaians are now knowing their looting plans so they are only going to restrategise. period ...
read full comment

don't be stupid. these fools are only going to eat pork and drink whisky. Idiots, do you think they think about you and I. they know Ghanaians are now knowing their looting plans so they are only going to restrategise. period.
pocket lawyer 7 years ago

Nana is bringing in a strategy to help find solutions from former leaders as how best to tackle problems that seems to getting out of hands,I thought Nana Ado had acquired wisdom to lead the country long time ago before he b ...
read full comment

Nana is bringing in a strategy to help find solutions from former leaders as how best to tackle problems that seems to getting out of hands,I thought Nana Ado had acquired wisdom to lead the country long time ago before he became the president but the way things are going it is clear he is finding it hard to go it alone without the advice from former head of states . Mr kufour,JJ Rawlings and JD Mahama never consulted each other when they became leaders of the country and managed to rule by their own experience I think Nana needs helping hands anyway it is not a bad idea to meet former leaders but I think Nana Ado must use his appointed advisers to go it solo because if he fails to deliver his many campaign promises,he will blame past leaders for giving him bad advice,remember that the three past leaders two are from NDC and is only Mr Kufour who is from NPP.
BNQ? 7 years ago

Please we need result now and not meetings

Please we need result now and not meetings
Kwaku Gideon 7 years ago

Why on earth will nana addo meet john mahama. What kind of advice can mahama give to nana addo? This is a former president who failed to lead.who sold the country to chinese and failed to protect ghanaians from fulani murdere ...
read full comment

Why on earth will nana addo meet john mahama. What kind of advice can mahama give to nana addo? This is a former president who failed to lead.who sold the country to chinese and failed to protect ghanaians from fulani murderers. Nana should snorb him and move on. He can talk to Rawlings and kuffour. Mahama is a disgrace to civilize world.
Daladam 7 years ago

THAT STOLE SO MUCH OF GHANA TRESURY AND CARS

THAT STOLE SO MUCH OF GHANA TRESURY AND CARS
KWAMPONG, TEMA 7 years ago

I'm confused as to what ex-president referred to as 'thuggery'. I think the best he can offer Ghanaians is to ask his appointees and confidants to return ALL the state vehicles they have 'stolen' from the pool of gov't vehicl ...
read full comment

I'm confused as to what ex-president referred to as 'thuggery'. I think the best he can offer Ghanaians is to ask his appointees and confidants to return ALL the state vehicles they have 'stolen' from the pool of gov't vehicles. Mahama should also return the 5 Jaguar luxury cars he has allegedly taken from Fairlop. These was part of the consignment Fairlop imported for the Kuffour gov't for the celebration of the country's 50th Annivesary. These cars were returned to Fairlop to be sold to the public to recoup the monies spent on its purchase by the gov't. It is alleged that Mahama took 5 of the vehicles and as today because of this nefarious act Fairlop has also not paid a dime for the rest of the vehicles sold. Mahama who could not implement his decision not to sell any gov't property (vehicle) to his appointees must come out today with a call to his NDC appointees and functionaries who have gov't vehicles in their possession. In short Mahama should return the 5 Jaguar cars and a call to his Party men to return ALL the state vehicles 'stole'.

Akufo-Addo to meet former presidents today

Read Comments .st0{display:none;fill:#14BDD3;} .st1{display:none;} .st2{display:inline;fill:#FC0F0F;} .st3{display:inline;fill:#FFFFFF;} .st4{display:inline;fill:none;stroke:#000000;stroke-width:6;stroke-miterlimit:10;} Comments (42)

Read Comments Comments (42)