By Raymond Archer

Crony. Cronies. Cronyism. Politics is indeed exciting, when all the dull beats are edited out. Political business is juicier, when you have access to the men at the top who work by the seaside near Osu, especially, when you have the right names on the roaster.

Welcome to Kufuor’s Modus Operandi Part II - a story of how a cartel of the ex-president’s confidants run the show from beginning to the end. From the coming of Telenor to Ghana, The Divestiture of Ghana Telecom to Vodafone UK and the decision of Kosmos Energy to sell their interest in the Jubilee Field and their insistence to sell only to ExxonMobil.

I hope you remember how Kosmos Energy came into Ghana. Let’s take a quick ride through the ‘truth-to-meter’.

You know also that guy called Nick Amarteifio. He was an integral part of the Kufuor administration, and served on the board of VALCO and Bank of Ghana. Together with his business partner, Dr. Charles Mensah, CEO of VALCO, they are the local reps of Aker, a Norwegian company with a concession in Ghana’s oil fields.

KUFUOR-HERBERT OSEI BAIDOO –VODAFONE

When Vodafone UK wanted to buy 70% stake in Ghana Telecom after they were disqualified by the transaction advisors, they selected their local Rep strategically. He is a Ghanaian Businessman domiciled in Nigeria, who has nurtured a reputation as a big time deal broker. That is when the game gets exciting.

His name is Herbert Osei Baidoo, known widely in the oil industry as H.O.B. He is described by many as a simple, unassuming man. It is rumoured that under the Kufuor Presidency, Herbert cleared the path for the entry of most of the Nigerian banks operating in Ghana today.

There are even speculations that Herbert has shares in some of the banks, and serves on the board of others. But is there anything wrong for a businessman to introduce banks to Ghana, own shares, or represent foreign companies sorting out their business deals? The answer is ‘NO’!

Herbert Osei Baidoo is a confidant of President Agyekum Kufuor. Before the sale of Ghana Telecom, Herbert Osei Baidoo was said to be on the official delegation lists of President Kufuor, on some of his numerous travels out of the country.

During all the five meetings, which led to the sale of Ghana Telecom, Herbert Osei Baidoo sat on the side of Vodafone, whilst President Kufuor, without any traceable experience, represented Ghana Government as a lone ranger.

At the meeting, where the price of $900 million was agreed between President Kufuor and Vodafone, Kwadwo Mpiani, the former Chief of Staff claims no minutes were taken and therefore no one knows what informed the decision by Kufuor to sell Ghana Telecom at that price.

You can imagine how sweet the Vodafone deal was. Kufuor’s confidant sat on the Vodafone side, whilst he himself sat on the Ghana side at a meeting, where no minutes were taken. After the deal, Herbert Osei Baidoo is reported to have taken home, a whopping $30million commission.

When the Kufuor administration abrogated the Telecom Malaysia deal and paid a hefty amount of money after arbitration in Holland, the Kufuor Presidency brought in a Norwegian company called, Telenor.

Telenor, according to insiders, were brought into Ghana by Nick Amartefio, who is the same guy behind Aker, the Norwegian oil company exploring for oil in Ghana. Nick represents Aker, through a string of offshore companies, namely; Chemu Power, which is also owned by another offshore company called Chemu Capital.

The Ministerial Committee, which reviewed the Vodafone-GT deal has recommended a forensic audit of the tenure of Telenor.

According to the committee “GT had been brought to its knees financially by fraudulent practices and mismanagement during the tenure of Telenor and Telecom Management Partners and the Ghanaian Interim Management Committee. Significant financial malpractices have been detected in our investigations. A criminal investigations or probe must be instituted to reveal the full rot of the era and punish wrong doers according to the law”

KUFUOR-HERBERT OSEI BAIDOO-EXXONMOBIL

When George Owusu and Barwuah Edusei introduced Kosmos Energy to President Kufuor, they were given a whopping 3.5% worth $300million under a Ghanaian company, called the EO Group, which has now metamorphosed into an offshore company. Both Edusei and Barwuah were all close the former president Kufour. Edusei was actually one of the President’s trusted confident serving as Ambassador to Switzerland.

When Kosmos and EO Group decided to sell their interest, they, in blatant violation of the petroleum agreement with GNPC, began exclusive negotiations with a US oil giant - ExxonMobil.

Kosmos, before then has illegally given out seismic data to over 20 companies. Guess who is representing ExxonMobil? It’s the same Herbert Osei Baidoo, the Kufuor confidant, who sat at the opposite side Kufuor at the negotiating table to sell Ghana Telecom amidst controversy.

So folks, you see, Kosmos went through two Kufuor confidants to bring in Kosmos. Now they want to sell their interest in the Jubilee Fields to ExxonMobil, represented by another Kufour confidant, whom he dealt with during the sale of Vodafone. Folks, it’s a cartel of Kufuor’s confidants, who started the deal from the beginning. Now, they have met to close the deal, after the man’s Presidency came to an end.

Telenor from Norway was brought in by Nick Amarteifio to manage Ghana Telecom amidst controversy. The Ghanaian taxpayer was made to cough up for them $600,000 for the business plan that got them the job. In the end, they “run down” the company, leaving behind a debt of elephantine proportions. Ghana Telecom has now been sold.

In spite of the criminal mismanagement of Ghana Telecom by Telenor, President Kufuor quietly abrogated their management contract and merely asked them to leave without any explanation. The Internal Auditor, who attempted to blow the whistle on Telenor was dismissed from Ghana Telecom and declared a persona non grata.

According to intelligence, resources of Ghana Telecom were used to build a Transmitter station for a radio station, which belongs to a confidant of President Kufuor, who was also a promoter of Telenor in Ghana.

Nick Amerteifio is now hiding in the oil sector, through his offshore company called Chemu Power. He represents the Norwegian Oil company called Aker.