General News of Friday, 10 June 2016

Source: peacefmonline.com

NPP MP: Mahama linked to companies named in prepaid metres deal

Hon. Justice Joe Appiah, Member of Parliament for Ablekuma North Hon. Justice Joe Appiah, Member of Parliament for Ablekuma North

Hon. Justice Joe Appiah, Member of Parliament for Ablekuma North Constituency has alleged that the five (5) companies which are responsible for bringing in the new prepaid metres have a linkage with President John Dramani Mahama.

According to him, the ongoing investigations into the new prepaid metres had shown that the five companies, which he declined to mention, didn’t have engineers and expertise to ascertain the metres were without any form of blemish before the procurement was made.

Speaking on Okay FM’s Ade Akye Abia Morning Show, Hon. Joe Appiah pointed out that Parliament is finding out more about details of the agreement, and how the five companies through sole-sourcing, got the contract to supply the country with the new prepaid metres which many believe is a contributing factor to the unbearable hike in electricity bills recently.

“Five companies were mentioned in bringing the new prepaid metres, and they are linked to the President and so we are finding out and we will make Ghanaians know the outcome of it because this work should have been given to engineers who are experts in the prepaid metres and not to some ordinary sole-sourcing or used his political power to accord contracts to just anybody,” he asserted.

He emphasised that the Procurement Act of the country must work effectively, maintaining that the billing software is absolutely beyond the bounds of human reasoning.

“We don’t agree with the billing software; in a nutshell, it is a very bad energy policy on behalf of government because the government wants to sell ECG but we won’t allow it. Selling part of ECG to a private company will not help us. In conclusion, they lack planning and focus," Hon Joe Appiah maintained.