The Executive Director of CDD-Ghana has charged the Attorney General's Department to draft a model agreement that represents the country’s preferred positions when entering into contracts.

Prof H. Kwasi Prempeh said an acceptable model which publicly states the basics terms will serve as a framework and place the country in an advantageous position during such transactions.

Speaking on Joy FM’s Newsfile Show Saturday, he said, “A lot of the time people who come in to transact contract [with Ghana], bring the draft they want to sign with us and we react to it.

“And any transactional lawyer who has been in this business will tell you that whoever drafts the agreement mostly has the advantage [to the one who reacts],” he stated.

He added, “But when we have a frame or structure of the agreement, people will come to us with their proposals, and we fit it into our model of agreement. However, we [Ghana] should be willing to negotiate with the contracting party.”

His comment comes after the U.S Security and Exchange Commission charged the former Managing Director of Tema Oil Refinery for arranging at least $2.5 million in bribes to be paid to Ghana government officials to gain approval for a power plant project.

The bribes were allegedly arranged by Mr Berko when he was an executive director with the US bank, Goldman Sachs. He was appointed Managing Director of the Tema Oil Refinery in January 2020, replacing Isaac Osei, who resigned.

Prof Prempeh was also surprised that Ghana, since it gained independence, has not drafted an agreement model which is a purposeful act to rob the public purse and propel bribery and corruption.

“We [Ghana] must go into these transactions with our own drafts not based on the drafts by people and in some cases we may not even understand and we won’t consult the ‘experts’.

“Therefore, we have set ourselves up to fail intentionally because there is private profit to be made at the public’s expense,” he stated.

Prof Prempeh who said he is saddened by the way of transacting deals in the country was hopeful that should the Attorney General draft a model, the corrupt methods of securing projects in this country will come to a stop.