Mr. Gabriel Quaye
A Finance Manager and Leading Member of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Awutu Senya West Constituency, Mr Gabriel Quaye has indicated that the dismissal of the Energy Minister, Mr Boakye Agyarko is a sacrifice by President Akuffo Addo to cover up the rots in the renegotiated Ameri deal.
A press statement signed and issued by Mr Eugene Arhin, Director of Communications at the Presidency on Monday evening, August 6, said President Akufo-Addo by a letter dated August 6, 2018, “relieved the Minister of Energy, Mr Boakye Agyarko, of his position, with immediate effect.”
“President Akufo-Addo has asked Mr Boakye Agyarko to hand over his office to the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Mr John Peter Amewu, who will act temporarily as Minister of Energy until a substantive appointment is made,” the statement said.
The action comes after a pro-government newspaper the Statesman reported the President was misled when he okayed the agreement for parliamentary consideration. Mr. Agyarko has been under growing public pressure to resign with workers of the Volta River Authority being the latest to call for his dismissal.
The renegotiation of the AMERI deal was to hand over the Ameri plant to a new company Mytilineos for 15 years. The ministry claimed the reviewed deal will save the taxpayer $405m, a claim which the Africa Center for Energy Policy has called misleading.
But reacting to the dismissal of Mr Boakye Agyarko in a Facebook post, Mr Gabriel Quaye downplayed the assertion that President Akuffo Addo was misled in giving the executive approval to the renegotiated deal. He said a lawyer of the caliber of President Akuffo Addo could not have just endorsed such a deal without thoroughly perusing it.
Gabby as he is affectionately called, requested that proper investigations are done to expose all other officials who are complicit in this scandal since Mr Boakye Agyarko did not work in isolation.
He further described the exposee as “Thievery Gone bad”, stressing that but for the vigilance of the Minority in Parliament and Civil society organizations, some individuals in government would have used the renegotiation of the Ameri deal to siphon state resources.
