Osagyefo Barge ripped apart by suspected gangsters
The Jomoro District Police Command has intercepted large quantities of equipment and accessories meant for the upgrade of the Osagyefo Power Barge.
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An official of Balkan Energy Ghana, Lonie Peters, is alleged to have sold the equipment and accessories as scrap.
Items & Arrest
A power generator, many boxes of new filters, electrical cables, large numbers of transformer radiators and other generating units, as well as other fittings, were intercepted last Friday in two articulated trucks by the police.
Three suspects, Paul Gyimah, Ahmedu Iddrisu and Emmanuel Eshun, have also been arrested to assist in investigations for carting the items out of a restricted area.
Tribunal
The incident came barely three days after the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague had ordered that Ghana take over the power plant annulling the restriction of government access to the facility at Effasu.
In its ruling, Ghana is to compensate Balkan Energy for expenditures that were directly linked to the PPA.
Police stunned
Speaking to the Daily Graphic, the District Commander, Superintendent of Police John F. Dzineku, said Paul Gyimah, a state auctioneer, claimed that he had bought the items from an official of Balkan Energy Ghana.
The district commander said Gyimah told the police that the items were taken away from the plant site on Mr Peter’s authority.
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According to him, Gyimah claimed he was granted access to the barge to cart the items after he made payments of GH¢2,500 to Mr Peters and that Mr Peters had since left Ghana for the United States.
How they were arrested
Mr Dzineku said the police spotted two articulated trucks with registration numbers AW 673 – 11 and WR 761 C fully loaded with items.
He said when the police decided to probe where the items were being carted to and why, “Gyimah came boldly to say they bought the items from Balkan officials and that they were moving the items to Takoradi.”
Mr Dzineku said Gyimah and the two others were accosted and redirected to the district command where the command realised that the items were from the plant site. He said the two drivers were, however, granted bail.
No Manifest
He said there was no document covering the items except the claim of the verbal authorisation that was allegedly given by Mr Peters for the items to be taken away from the plant site.
The police, he said, has asked Gyimah and his team to provide an official document authorising the release of the items to them but they could not.
Security at the barge
Daily Graphic enquiries indicated that security at the plant and the gate to the facility was non-existent, as the plant had been left unattended after it was returned to the state.
The officials, without waiting to hand over the plant to the Ghanaian authorities, left the place unannounced. However, Mr Dzineku has detailed some officers to ensure constant security at the facility.
The area has a very tall fence and there is enough illumination at night to enhance security of the facility.
Govt delegation
The Minister of Energy and Petroleum, Mr Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, has visited the district command where the suspects and the equipment are being kept on receiving the information about the alleged theft.
He was accompanied by the Deputy Western Regional Minister, Mr Alfred Ekow Gyan, and the Regional Security Co-ordinator, Col. Kaku Kosah (retd).
They commended the police for being proactive in their quest to protect state assets and defend the interest of the nation.
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Mr Buah said the issue would be investigated to establish how the auctioneer managed to have access to the facility.
The barge
The US$110 million plant was purchased in 1999 and was supposed to add 125 megawatts of power to the national grid but work on the barge was halted due to a dispute relating to the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) entered into between Ghana and Balkan on July 27, 2007.