Audio By Carbonatix
In what appears to be conflicting information emanating from the oil drill ship sale saga, Adansi-Asokwa Member of Parliament, Kobina T. Hammond has said the former Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), Tsatsu Tsikata, gave a-48-hour promise to sell the controversial oil drill ship in 1998.
He said apart from that promise to Societe General, Tsikata also planned to sell the ship to another company-Credit Suite.
Speaking on Asempa FM's Ekosii-Sen programme, Tuesday, Hammond expressed surprise that Tsikata will now turn around to castigate the Kufuor administration for selling the same ship, he Tsikata promised and attempted to sell.
Tsikata criticized the Kufuor administration for selling the oil drill ship.
He told the Judgment Debt Commission that the drill ship was making lots of money for the country at the time and found it imprudent that the Kufuor administration sold the ship.
But Hammond has challenged that claim. He said there is documentary evidence that Tsikata had plans to sell the ship, adding that he had made that document available to the Judgment Debt Commission.
KT Hammond also promised to fully disclose the content of a mysterious envelope he submitted to the Commission, detailing the disbursement of the remaining 3.5 million dollars from a-24-million dollar sale of the oil drill ship.
Prior to that full disclosure however, the embattled MP hinted, officials of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation, who claimed they had no idea how the remaining 3.5 million dollars was disbursed actually withdrew money from the same account into which the 3.5 million dollars was deposited.
KT Hammond made an emotional appearance before the Judgment Debt Commission to assist with investigation on how a judgment debt owed to Societe General by the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation came about and how it was paid.
The French Bank was paid an amount of 19.5 million dollars in a negotiated settlement, following the sale of an oil drill ship owned by GNPC at a cost of 24 million dollars.
KT Hammond and his boss, Kan Dapaah, who was then the Energy Minister during the controversial sale, both told the Commission that 1 million dollars had been paid as legal fees and other expenses incurred in running the drill ship.
They said the remaining 3.5 million dollars was deposited in government of Ghana account in the UK. That claim had largely been contested.
KT Hammond claimed that there is available an envelope containing a-65-page document, which contained details of how the 3.5 million dollars was disbursed but did not disclose the content of the envelope.
On Asempa FM's Ekosii-Sen, Tuesday, KT Hammond said contrary to claims that nobody knew what had happened to the remaining amount, it was clear from the document that officials of GNPC withdrew money from the account.
He also mentioned one KB Amissah Arthur, who he alleged withdrew money from the account. He said he could not tell who really Amissah Arthur was.
He therefore indicated that he will soon disclose all the details on how the account had been dissipated.
An official of GNPC, later called into the show with an admission that KB Amissah Arthur is an employee of GNPC, who withdrew the money to pay the crew members of the oil drill ship.
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