Osafo-Marfo, Pushes Ghana to Brink of US$ 350 million Judgment Debt

Whatsup News has gathered from reliable sources that the attempt of Senior Minister Yaw Osafo Marfo and the Akufo Addo administration to illegally abrogate the port management contract of the Ghana Community Network Services Limited (GCNet), would likely set Ghana back by over US$ 350million in judgment debt from the displeased contract holders.

The government is pressuring GCNET to vacate its contract for another company operating a competing system called UNI-PASS, even though GCNET’s 10-year contract ends in 2023 while the contract of West Blue, GCNET’s partner ends by the close of this year.

Despite the existing contract with GCNET, the Akufo Addo administration in March 2018, sole-sourced a US$ 40 million port management contract with UNI-PASS to trespass that of GCNET.

 UNI-PASS is operated by a company called Ghana Link Network which is owned by one Nick Danso Adjei who is believed to be particularly close to the Jubilee House bigwigs and Senior Minister Yaw Osafo Marfo. UNI-PASS is operated in collaboration with Korean Customs system (CUPIA).

Conservative estimates have it that the curious rush to cancel GCNET’s contract will attract a whopping US$ 350 million judgment debt against Ghana. The breakdown of the possible costs include the US$ 120 million Mr. Osafo Marfo promised GCNET snatching their infrastructure for UNI-PASS. Also, GCNET which is likely to ask for another US$ 120 million in damages for abrogating their contract three years ahead of the contract’s tenure.

Already, West Blue has dragged the Ghanaian government to court to protest the proposal to cancel their contract. Estimates puts potential damages and judgment debt likely to be demanded by West Blue at some US$ 100 million.

Finally, in the March 29, 2018 sole-sourced contract signed with UNI-PASS and Ghana Link Network, the Akufo Addo administration strangely assured that UNI-PASS will get US$93 million if their phantom contract is abrogated within the first year of it coming into effect.

Cumulatively, these amounts sum up in excess of US$350 million as potential losses to Ghanaian taxpayers.

On Tuesday, February 25, 2020, Mr. Osafo Marfo reportedly urged UNI-PASS to call off a scheduled meeting with Vice President Bawumia where UNI-PASS would have had the opportunity to prove that it can deliver better than GCNET. This meeting was organised after UNI-PASS failed an earlier demonstration in Takoradi on Friday, February 21, 2020.

For two years since the contract was signed, UNI-PASS has consistently failed to prove itself worthy of the contract by being unable to demonstrate that its own port management system is superior to what the GCNET is already operating

Interestingly, the UNI-PASS contract requires that GCNET gives them their entire infrastructure build over the span of 18 years. This includes a fibre-optic network connecting all ports and revenue nodes in the country. UNI-PASS is virtually going to rely on the systems of its competitors.

“The present arrangement looks like the government is handing over the contract ‘on a silver platter’, at no evident cost, to the contractor herein, and then also grants them generous terms and wide latitude to operate, without proving either their capability or producing proof upfront of what they bring in terms of investment and other resources. This will, no doubt, attract suspicions of undue influence” said policy think-tank IMANI in a statement released a few days ago.

According to IMANI, Ghana Link and its overseas partner, CUPIA Korea, gave the impression that it had the capacity to deliver better than GCNET made the government believe that they had a superior system to the current vendors, GCNET and West Blue, arguing rather that after almost two years of getting the sole-sourced contract, Ghana Link had not been able to deliver on its promise to build a superior system to deploy.