Re: How Kuffour’s friends got hold of Ghana’s oil

Dr. Kwesi Mensah Wilson

The vindictive and devilish persecution of the EO group orchestrated by the Tsatsu Tsikata controlled NDC is not only an assault on Ghana’s entrepreneurial spirit but also a slap in the face of Ghanaians in the Diaspora. The ongoing political persecution of the EO group is poisoning the investment climate of the country and it must cease forthwith.

After spending decades and money on wild goose chase - turning the GNPC into a SALT winning corporation, now Tsikata is back trying to reap where he has not sown. Through the services of a half-baked, obscure, and almost bankrupt lawyer in California, one Amaniampong, who is receiving $25,000 per month of taxpayers money, Tsatsu Tsikata seeks to malign and criminalize two Ghanaian diasporans who have endured tremendous sacrifices to bring wealth to their country.

H.E. Bawuah Edusei is one of the best Ghana’s ambassadors to the USA in our modern times. Most Ghanaians in the USA, both friends and foes will attest to this fact. He worked hard to raise Ghana’s image as an ambassador to the USA. But what is clear is that everything to do with the signing of the Kosmos agreement was completed at least two months before he became a government official. This is a fact the NDC cannot deny because agreements are dated as are appointment letters.

From available records, H.E Bawuah Edusei contracted the oil business as a private citizen before he was appointed as an Ambassador. As a medical practitioner, Dr. Bawuah Edusei embarked on several humanitarian projects to benefit the poor in Ghana. He has contributed immensely to the Ghanaian community in the Washington metro areas prior to being appointed as an ambassador. Why is the Rawlings/Tsikata-controlled NDC trying to criminalize this hard working Ghanaian and a true patriot?

George Owusu is also a hardworking gentleman who sacrificed his good job and went to prospect oil in Ghana. George sacrificed his family and employment to pursue his dream of finding oil in Ghana at a time when the NDC Parliament hooted at the prospect of oil discovery on our shores. These men brought a credible group, KOSMOS to prospect at a time when Ghana was considered a “graveyard” in the oil industry, and no one wanted to come and waste their time and resources there. Ghanaians hailed them for their effort at the time.

The KOSMOS group won the contract legitimately on merit. All applicable bodies including GNPC, Cabinet, Council of State, and the Parliament, which included a substantial NDC representation evaluated and approved this deal. At this time, neither Edusei nor Owusu was in government. The trumped up charge of conflict of interest will not stand. Ironically, the same doubting NDC is back in power and persecuting those who made the oil discovery possible.

What beats my understanding of this devilish persecution is the lopsided logic engulfing the whole scenario. First, it is not the government that chooses the site to be prospected, it is the foreign geologist. Therefore, I do not see how the government could influence the find in favor of its friends. Two, how could people who sacrificed their jobs, time and money to travel to Ghana to prospect for oil be charged for causing financial loss to the country? Three, where is the conflict of interest when two private citizens contract business on behalf of a company they have formed? Is the Mills government telling us that citizens cannot serve their country after they have established business concern? Is Dr. Edusei being accused of conflict of interest because he accepted an ambassadorial position AFTER the KOSMOS deal?

Why are Kwesi Eshon, a Fanti, and others who brought in Hess to prospect in Ghana under a more lucrative deal than the Kosmos deal not being prosecuted in a similar fashion? Is it because Edusei and Owusu in the EO group are Ashantis? Is this another form of ethnic cleansing through the courts? Why leave the Hess agreement uninvestigated even though it is more advantageous to Hess, but take EO through such unthinkable harassment? Does one have to be of the “right tribe” in order to avoid extensive investigation under this NDC administration?

It appears the Tsikata-controlled NDC would have been satisfied if no Ghanaian benefited from the KOSMOS deal. If a couple of Ghanaians benefit from the amount of money KOSMOS is getting from the oil exploration what is wrong with this? The EO group could establish businesses and employ Ghanaians from what they get from KOSMOS whereas KOSMOS will return its investment to the USA. Does it mean anybody can benefit from Ghana’s oil but Ghanaians? If the government thought the Kosmos/EO/Ghana deal was flawed, why exempt Kosmos from the investigation? The fact that only EO is being investigated smacks of political and even tribal witch hunting.

Does President Mills’ better Ghana means Ghanaians in the Diaspora will be persecuted for bringing gainful enterprise to Ghana? We are watching and we are mad as hell because we see a replay of Tsatsu Tsikata, masked behind AFRC sentencing innocent Ghanaians to death. Today, unmasked Tsikata is behind NDC persecuting innocent Ghanaians with entrepreneurial spirit. God save Ghana.

Dr. Kwesi Mensah Wilson