Staff of the Volta River Authority say they are vehemently opposed to a deal which will see the controversial AMERI deal extended to 15 years.

The Staff Group say the new deal is needless and will bring more hardship to the people of Ghana.

A 17-member committee led by Philip Addison, a lawyer, which investigated the details of the agreement signed in 2015 by the John Mahama administration, among others, advised a review the agreement with Ameri Company.

The new government led under President Nana Akufo-Addo, claims the new deal will save the country a whopping amount of $400 million over a 15-year period.

Read: New Ameri deal to correct 'overpricing' lands in Parliament

Under the new agreement, a new company, Mytilineous International Trading Company, will take over the management of the AMERI power plant for 15 years.

The new company has offered to pay AMERI an amount of $52,160,560, with the government paying the remaining $39 million to the Dubai-based AMERI Energy to wash its hands off the deal entirely.

The agreement covering the new deal was laid before Parliament on Thursday for approval.

However, the VRA Staff Group in a statement expressed surprise at “…the manner in which the Energy Minister [Boakye Agyarko] rushed the Bill to Parliament, pushing for its consideration and approval”.

Read: Ameri review makes no sense; worse than NDC’s agreement- ACEP

Video: Replace Ameri deal with a more enhanced deal that will make Ghanaians benefit: Edward Bawa. 

The workers argument is premised on the fact that in less than two and half years the AMERI plant would become a free asset to the nation under the Build Own Operate and Transfer (BOOT) arrangement, and therefore there is no need for another arrangement that would extend ownership to any other third party interest.

“The proposed new agreement before Parliament would be more expensive than the current arrangement and does not make any financial and economic sense to the nation,” noted the statement jointly signed by National Chairman of the Senior Staff Association, Cephas Duse and the VRA Division Chairman of the Public Services  Workers’ Union of the Trades Union Congress, Frank Adatuu.

The nation has surplus generation capacity and does not require any new long term take or pay arrangement, more so when when it is inimical to the interest of the nation,” it added.

Background

The John Mahama-led administration in 2015 agreed to rent 300MW of emergency power from AMERI at the peak of the country’s power crisis.

As part of the deal, AMERI was to build the power plants and operate them for 5 years before transferring it to the government.

The cost of the deal was $510 million and received parliamentary approval on March 20, 2015.

The approval of the deal was met with stiff opposition but eventually received endorsement by the legislative body.

It later emerged that the government had been shortchanged by AMERI as they presented an overpriced budget.

The reports said the government had paid in excess of $150 million but state officials of the Mahama government disagreed.

The New Patriotic Party government which assumed office said it would look into the matter.

The Energy Minister, Boakye Agyarko later constituted a committee led by lawyer Philip Addison to investigate the matter that that ended in controversy as it emerged that the committee had seemingly entangled itself in a conflict of interest position by accepting sponsorship from AMERI to travel and stay in Dubai for some days as it investigates them [AMERI].

The Adansi Asokwa Member of Parliament, K. T Hammond subsequently filed an urgent motion calling for a cancellation of the deal.