Kwadwo Nsafoah Poku, an energy expert and chairman of Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia Manifesto Committee, has expressed shock at the claim by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) that "the government is deceiving Ghanaians by renaming the AMERI plants K1TPP (Kumasi 1 Thermal Power Plant)."

In an interview with Sir Mike on Asanteman Dawuro, Kwadwo Nsafoah Poku stated that the NDC, under the leadership of John Mahama, ripped the country off $160 million when it overpaid $290 million through an agreement with AMERI to acquire 250 General Electric (GE) plants to support the country's energy sector.

The NDC, he said, should be happy that the government is finally removing the name AMERI. "Let me remind Ghanaians what AMERI is. The full name is Africa and Middle East Resource Investment (AMERI)," he disclosed.

According to him, AMERI signed an agreement to sell ten (10) 25 Mega Watts GE TM2500 gas-fired turbines to Ghana for $510 million, which could have been bought directly from General Electric (GE) company for $220 million in 2015.

He said, "They signed an agreement to sell ten (10) 25 MW GE TM2500 gas-fired turbines to Ghana for USD$510 million. These 10 GE TM2500 turbines could have been bought directly from the company General Electric (GE) for USD$220 million at the time (2015). By going through a middleman and paying over five years, Ghana overpaid USD$290 million. Anyone can verify from all records that it was indeed METKA who operated the gas plants at Takoradi for five years. The company AMERI did nothing in Ghana except rip us off."

"The AMERI company only played a middleman role in the acquisition of the 250 MW GE plants. The company that owned the 10 GE TM2500 turbines was a Greek EPC company called METKA, which is owned by Mytilineos Group," he pointed out.

He, therefore, asked the NDC to rather applaud the government for all the interventions made to sustain the energy sector.

He also stated that on September 17, 2015, METKA, a company owned by Mytilineos Group, mentioned in a press release in Athens ten new gas turbines manufactured by GE that would be provided for the country.

Mr. Poku said AMERI, which served as the ‘middleman’, walked away with $160 million at a transaction cost of $350 million.

He stated, “The ten gas turbines are owned by Ghana and operated by Volta River Authority (VRA), so why should they be called AMERI? AMERI in Ghana stands for fraud, rent-seeking, and corruption. The NDC can keep that name. I believe they should instead express gratitude to VRA for the rebranding. We are still waiting for innovative ideas on why the NDC wants to come back to power.”

Story filed by Barbara Koranten