Korean Deal Stinks

Posted: Daily Guide |Wednesday, 30 June 2010

By Charles Takyi-Boadu
THE New Patriotic Party (NPP) has formally registered its displeasure against the $10billion housing deal between the Government of Ghana (GoG) and STX Korea for the construction of some 200,000 housing units for the various security agencies.

Whilst it appreciates the intention of government to put up these buildings, the NPP says the terms and conditions of the deal smacks of insecurity, since according to the National Chairman of the party, Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey, the entire deal is not transparent.

At a press conference in Accra yesterday, he noted that for some strange reason, the financial and implementation details of the deal have been shrouded in secrecy, indicating that not even the agreement, which has been laid before Parliament, answers the most important questions about the transaction.

The NPP National Chairman also noted that the haste with which the Mills Administration wants to push this deal through, before the public is able to discuss its implications on the economy and the country, is most disturbing.

The NPP says it has done independent research into the transaction and that “this particular deal is bad, through and through.”

Mr. Obetsebi-Lamptey said this was evident in the fact that it does not promote the local industry and the economy, since under the terms of the agreement, STX Korea is to borrow an amount of US$1.5 million to finance an initial 30,000 houses out of the 200,000, with government also offering sovereign guarantee to cover the company in the acquisition of that loan.

In the opinion of the NPP and its National Chairman, “what this means is that should STX default in the payment of that loan, Ghanaians would have to pay back the debt,” whilst the company and its expatriate contractors and staff will all enjoy duty exemptions on the things and equipment they import, VAT exemptions on the things they buy locally, and income tax exemptions on their incomes in Ghana.

This is aside the fact that government will be providing free land for the project and an ‘off-taker’ agreement that compels the government of Ghana to buy the houses from STX Korea.

“The New Patriotic Party is of the view that if Government provides guarantee to our local estate developers to secure funding, provides free land, and gives similar goodies and support to our local real estate developers, they can deliver 200,000 houses within the five years at lower unit cost than US$50,000”, Mr. Obetsebi-Lamptey emphasized, noting that “indeed, Ghana Real Estate Developers Association has stated categorically that given the same support, they can deliver at half the cost.”

Furthermore, Mr. Obetsebi-Lamptey said the money to be secured under the guarantee of the Ghanaian tax payer will not be disbursed by any Ghanaian bank because the NDC government has agreed to disburse the funds through the Woori Bank of London, asking rhetorically “why not Ghana Commercial Bank, the National Investment Bank, or any other Ghanaian Bank?”

In addition, the NPP says it is wrong for government to mortgage Ghana’s oil which is yet to be explored. Under the terms of the existing agreement, the entire amount could be converted into crude oil or other petroleum resource trading after the project.

As long as government commits to offering sovereign guarantee to help STX raise funding for the project, the party believes Ghana could still be compelled to use its crude oil resources to pay off the debt if STX fails to pay its lenders, insisting “this part of the deal is dangerous for a country that does not know the real quantities of its oil resources; Especially so when we are still in the process of crafting an oil revenue management policy to guide the use of our petroleum revenue.”
The NPP has asked government to suspend approval for the Supplier’s Credit Facility Agreement for government and Parliament to do due diligence and to explore other options that will ensure greater participation of local real estate industry and better value for money.

Minister Shot! By Unknown Gunmen

Posted: Daily Guide |Wednesday, 30 June 2010

By Charles Takyi-Boadu
Unknown gunmen opened fire on Health Minister Dr Benjamin Kunbuor around midnight on Monday, shattering his car’s windscreen.

A missile suspected to be a bullet ripped through the front passenger’s seat of Dr Kunbuor’s VW Passat with registration number GW 4959-10, near the Labone Secondary School.

The Minister, who was driving home, escaped unhurt but was visibly shaken by the incident.

Dr. Kunbuor told DAILY GUIDE yesterday that immediately he passed by the secondary school, he heard a bang on the windscreen of his vehicle but thought it was a stone or a falling object.

He was therefore compelled by circumstances to veer off the road to assess the situation when he realized there was an opening on the windscreen.

Dr. Kunbuor, who drove home at top speed while gasping for breath, has since reported the incident to the Cantonments Police and the National Security which have begun investigations into the case.

At the time of the incident, the Minister narrated that his police bodyguard had closed and left for his house.

He could not confidently rule out any foul play when asked whether he suspected anybody over the midnight attack.

Though, not too sure whether it was an assassination attempt on his life, the shock-stricken Minister told DAILY GUIDE that he was considering the option of reviewing his entire security set-up since he felt threatened by the incident which could have claimed his life. The Minister had previously been attacked some years back.

Experts and other eyewitnesses who saw the damage on the vehicle said only a bullet could have caused that massive damage.

They suspected it might still be lodged in the Minister’s vehicle or may have passed through the windscreen, escaping through an open window.

It could not be immediately ascertained if the missile was shot by an assailant attempting to kill the Minister or a stray bullet shot by unknown persons.

However, the trajectory of the missile gave strong indications that it might have been an assassination attempt as it was shot directly in front of his moving vehicle.

Meanwhile, National Security Coordinator Lt. Col. Larry Gbevlo-Lartey (Rtd) has received the gunshot report and his outfit has started investigations into the matter.

He has however refused to make any further comments on the issue until investigations are completed since it involves ballistics.

Coming close on the heels of publications that former President Rawlings was under surveillance because he was the target of a potential assassination attack, questions are being asked about why a close confidante in the person of Dr Kunbour may have narrowly missed a possible gunshot.

The Minister is close to the former President and was a confidante until he was appointed Deputy Minister and later the substantive Minister of Health.

It is however not clear where the Minister was coming from at that time of the night.

Ghanaian Detained In Belize Hospital

Posted: Daily Guide |Tuesday, 29 June 2010

A 47-year-old Ghanaian national, John Owusu, is currently being detained at the National Referral Hospital of the Central American Republic of Belize.

He was admitted at the hospital on April 26, 2010 when the condition of his left foot, which got swollen as a result of diabetes, was degenerating from bad to worse.

Since then, his medical bills, which he is unable to pay, keep rising as the days go by; and his benefactor, another Ghanaian, Freddy Mansu who happens to work at the same facility as a Senior Radiographer, is becoming frustrated by the cost he is incurring each day.

This is partly because the Ghana Mission in Washington, which has oversight responsibility over Ghanaian nationals Belize, has not responded to any of the correspondences Mansu sent to them so they come to the rescue of the patient, and if possible make arrangements for John Owusu, who is believed to be a native of Effian, a village in the Western region, to be brought back home to Ghana.

Though Owusu has been dully discharged from the hospital, Mr. Mansu narrated that he is still languishing at the hospital since he does not have a place to live as the apartment in which he used to live has been rented out due to his inability to pay.

Meanwhile, he is expected to pay an amount of US $25.00 each day that Owusu spends at the hospital.

He said he was considering the option of renting a place for Owusu to go and stay with some people but then he appears to be growing feeble as the Ghanaian authorities on whom he banked his hopes on to help him to fly the victim back home have developed cold feet.

As of the last week, Mr. Mansu said he had expended almost US $3,000 on Owusu’s medical bills, including the cost for the surgery, medication, stay and laboratory test.

Mr. Mansu narrated that he was in Ghana on holidays when he received a call that a Ghanaian had been brought to the hospital where he works and that though he was in a critical condition, he did not have the needed resources to cater for his bills.

Obviously touched by the plight of a fellow countryman, Mansu said he could not but order for him to be admitted and agreed to bear the cost on humanitarian grounds since “on arrival at the hospital, they realized that he had a gangrain left foot which had infested up to the knee and the best they could do was to amputate the left leg above the knee.”

Apart from that, he said, Owusu also had an abscess in the left hand which needed to be drained and an incision performed.

Initially, Mansu said he made several calls to the Ghanaian Mission in Washington, pleading for assistance on the victim’s behalf and was later asked to write and send a formal letter which he obliged and attached pictures of Owusu on his hospital bed to it, using an express mailing service with a tracking number to confirm receipt but said since then, “nothing more has been heard from them.”

Back home in Ghana, DAILY GUIDE has been following Foreign Affairs Minister Alhaji Muhammed Mumuni to see how best the issue can be resolved but two weeks down the line, nothing productive and encouraging seem to be coming out.

Initially, he asked for time to establish contact with his officials (Consular) at Washington but later said he could not get them and that he should be given ample time to follow up and see how best he can help the situation.

He has however refused to pick his calls ever since; and when he occasionally picks the calls, he claims to be in a meeting and promises to call back but to no avail, and sometimes, he fails to answer the phone.

It is therefore not clear whether the Ghanaian authorities are ready to go to the rescue of this single Ghanaian among a number of other unheard and unknown Ghanaians who may be going through similar ordeals elsewhere.

John Owusu is said to have left the shores of Ghana some 15years ago to neighbouring Nigeria and then to Libya.

He was later said to have left for Egypt, through to Lebanon and to Cuba and finally settled in Belize three years ago, all in search of greener pastures.

In Belize, he worked with a security company until he was diagnosed of diabetes which eventually led to the amputation of his left leg.