The New Patriotic Party has disclosed what it
terms a dangerous agreement President Mahama and his government is seeking to
secure with China.Revealing some aspects of this intended agreement
between Ghana and China at a Press Conference in Accra today, NPP’s Policy
advisor Mr. Boakye Agyarko said, “the Mahama Cabinet has recently given approval
to a proposal which they hope will entice the China Development Bank to
re-activate the remaining $2 billion of the $3 billion loan which the Chinese
discontinued after disbursing $1 billion of it to Ghana.”
In the original
Master Facility Agreement, he said, President Mahama committed Ghana to
supplying, as collateral security, 13,000 barrels per day of crude oil up to
2027 to service the CDB facility.
“The Chinese eventually considered
this as insufficient because of the slump in oil prices, refusing to release the
remaining tranches,” he said.
Mr. Boakye Agyarko said, in the new
offer to CDB, the Mahama government is proposing to export to the Chinese, all
the Natural Gas Liquids (NGLs) to be processed by the Ghana Gas processing plant
at Atuabo from 2018, estimated at the value of $1.5 billion.
Quoting from
the ‘Decisions Memorandum’ on the facility drafted by the Mahama administration
this year, Mr. Boakye Agyarko said, the Mahama administration intends to
“release up to US$450 million from the revenue accruing from the sale of Lean
Gas over 2016 to 2018 for purposes of resolving shortfalls in GoG payment
obligations under the MFA for 2016 to 2021”.
“This means that the gas
that we are hoping will power our industries, offices, hospitals and homes, will
rather be used to service a commercial loan of highly questionable
prudence,” he stated.
The NPP’s Policy Advisor also revealed how the
NDC is looking up to the Chinese to find an additional US$1.9 billion for the
Ghana Gas Processing Plant to build the export infrastructure to make it
possible to export all the NLGs to the Chinese.
“To cap it all, the
NDC brains, if I may stress, big brains putting this deal together, led by Ato
Ahwoi and Deputy Minister of Finance, Cassiel Ato Forson, are demanding US$6
million to fund the work of the Task Force, which the President set up to unlock
this wonderful ‘gift’ from China. And, that money is coming from the Ghana
Infrastructure Investment Fund – funds that Finance Minister Seth Terpker went
to the international money market to borrow at a very expensive rate,” he
said. |
| |
|
|
|
