ECG Board Chair Confirms, He’s In Conflict Of Interest

By Nana Akua Tweneboah-Koduah

Barely about two weeks ago, the Founder and Managing Director of Tropical Cables & Conductor Company Limited, Mr Tony Oteng Gyasi was appointed and sworn in as the new Board Chairman of the Electricity Corporation of Ghana (ECG).

Naturally, there is nothing untoward about this appointment except that Tony Oteng Gyasi’s company, Tropical Cables & Conductor Company Limited, is a major competitive supplier of electrical cables and accessories to both the Electricity Corporation of Ghana (ECG) and the Ministry of Energy.

And since there are two other companies, Nexans Kabelmetal (GH) Limited and Reroy Cables Limited, in major competition with Tropical Cables & Conductor Company Limited as far as ECG and Ministry of Energy are concerned, it gives unfair and undue advantage to Tony Oteng Gyasi’s company with him being the Board Chairman of the ECG.

But when Tony Oteng Gyasi’s attention was drawn to the fact that he is seriously in conflict of interest and must therefore resign to save his image, he has rather confirmed that he is indeed in conflict of interest but it’s no big deal. Below is the full text and statement that Mr Tony Oteng Gyasi sent to my inbox. This is being published unedited.

Dear Nakua

Please find below my respond to the issues you so raise in your article. I hope my explanations explain my position clearly.

If there are other concerns you wish to raise, I will be glad to call you if you mail or text me your phone number. You may also reach me on my cell phone no: 0244 --- ----. Kindly send a text message if there is no response and I will call you back ASAP.

I will consider it a favor if you can arrange to have my response published on Ghanaweb. I am receiving calls from all over, and this would help calm some nerves.

I have tried sending copies to joy FM, GNA etc, but many keep bouncing back.

Much obliged,

Tony Oteng-Gyasi

Sent from Tony's iPad

Statement by Tony Oteng-Gyasi, newly appointed board chair of ECG on possible conflict of interest issues.

My attention had been drawn to a couple of write ups and a few commentaries in the press about a potential conflict of interest in my newly assigned role as board chair of ECG.

This potential conflict is due to my other role as managing director of tropical cable (TCCL) a local manufacturer and supplier of cables to ECG.

I wish to comment as follows.

TCCL has been dealing with ECG for nearly 15 years. Over that period, all supply contracts have been through a well structured and transparent tendering system. The robust system is operated by the relevant departments within ECG and only comes to the ECG board for approval. At that stage, as is appropriate in good corporate governance practise globally, any ECG board member with an interest in any of the suppliers is required to declare his interest and recuse himself from taking part in that final decision making. It is in this vein that I will recuse myself from all decisions which will affect TCCL.

It is my belief that this mode of conduct is appropriate and has worked well for ECG in the past that made me accept to chair the board.

It is the same belief in this mode of conduct that made it possible for me to accept the fact that the MD of ECG is also the board chairman of another local cable manufacturer, namely Nexans Kabelmetal. Whoever is made MD of ECG has also served as board chairman of Nexans Kabelmetal for the entire 30 years plus that this respected multinational cable manufacturer had operated in our country. In fact ECG is a shareholder in Nexans. As long as the MD of ECG recuses himself when matters concerning Nexans Kabelmetal come up before the board of ECG, no conflict of interest situation arises.

I will thus be following accepted precedence and more importantly, good corporate governance principles, if I also recuse myself.

The purchase of locally manufactured cable is a fraction of the procurement expenditure of ECG. I am confident that my colleague board members will make the correct decisions in my absence.

Finally, I did not seek or pursue this appointment. However having been thus appointed, I owe it to my country, the appointing authority and my own conscience to contribute my quota to the best of my ability. That has always been my highest principle, and will continue to be.

Sent from Tony's iPad

First off, I would like Mr Tony Oteng Gyasi to know that I do not have any personal vendetta against him, but I only feel strongly that what we are dealing here is a matter of principle.

Perhaps Mr Tony Oteng Gyasi may be the best qualified person for the job at this point in time which is why the President gave him the nod, but the gaping conflict of interest which he has thrust himself into puts his integrity into serious question.

In a matter of principle you make the situation worse when you try to justify bad issues. Tony Oteng Gyasi claims that when issues of his company, Tropical Cables, come before the ECG Board he will recuse himself and allow other members of the board to make the determination or decisions.

Such lame-duck explanation or excuse does not help matters. What makes Tony Oteng Gyasi think that his presence alone on the board will not make his colleague board members sympathetic to him when issues concerning his company come to the attention of the ECG Board?

Mr Tony Oteng Gyasi reference that the ECG Managing Director (MD) is the board chairman of Nexans Kabelmetal is very unfortunate and does not hold water. He himself has stated that ECG is a shareholder of Nexans Kabelmetal so what has that got to do with him owing a company which deals with an institution that has him as Board Chairman? After all the ECG MD does not owe the ECG as he owes Tropical Cables.

I remember the Chief Justice, Mrs. Georgina Wood, being given a parcel of land belonging to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs during the Kufuor regime. But when the issue came out and people started talking about it, Georgina Wood as a matter of principle gave up the land. This is what I would like to see Tony Oteng Gyasi do.

I still think he must resign as ECG Board Chairman and if he refuses to resign I call on President Mahama to re-assign him to another institution. Presently, Tony Oteng Gyasi may be good for the ECG must his dual role with ECG and Tropical Cables puts him at the wrong place at the wrong time. He must go to save his image since this issue will not go away any time sooner.

nakuakoduah@yahoo.com