Government did not sign any new AMERI deal; MP clears air

Member of Parliament for Tarkwa-Nsuaem, who is also the vice chairperson of the committee on Mines and Energy of Parliament, Duker George Mireku, has clarified that the Government of Ghana has not entered into any new agreement with AMERI Energy.

According to the Member of Parliament, the AMERI Novation and Amendment Bill, which seeks to alter the $510 million Ameri deal entered under the John Mahama administration, is still in the consideration stages and should not be misconstrued.

“The whole arrangement coming before parliament is just part of the processes in ensuring that due diligence is done. And let me also put it on record that government did not sign any agreement with any company. We, as a government presented a report or an agreement to the committee to scrutinize” he said on 3FM’s Sunrise.

The comments of the MP comes on the back of ensuing controversy surrounding government’s efforts to renegotiate the original AMERI deal which it had claimed while in opposition that the deal was overpriced to a tuned of $150 million.

However, the proposed renegotiated deal presented to parliament as analysed by civil society groups including IMANI Ghana, Africa Center for Energy Policy (ACEP), Institute of Energy Security (IES) among others has been described as worse than the original deal.

Reports have also emerged suggesting the President, Nana Akufo-Addo, was “misled” into giving an executive approval to the deal for which reason the deal is likely to be recalled from parliament.

While in a statement Ameri denies knowledge of the new agreement, the ministry of energy insists it had engaged the power producers (Ameri) in the renegotiation and that the new deal is in the interest of Ghanaians.

Mr Duker disclosed some concerns were raised at the committee level which required that the Energy ministry took a second look at the deal the deal sent back to the ministry to be reworked on.



“The committee went through it and we asked questions at the committee level. There were some important questions that were asked and the Minister said yes we will go back and do one or two touches and come back that was the arrangement,” he said.



“As I speak with you it appeared before the Mines and Energy Committee and it was referred back to the Energy Ministry to do due diligence and we hoping to see that done”, he added.