Osagyefo Barge: Ghana ‘not down and out’ - Attorney-General

Mary Mensah Apr - 04 - 2014 , 07:20

The Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mrs Marietta Brew Appiah Opong, has assured Ghanaians that the country is “not down and out”, as reported by sections of the media Thursday.

She said the Osagyefo Barge belonged to Ghana and still remained the property of Ghana.

At an emergency press briefing in Accra Thursday, the minister reacted to a publication by a private newspaper that the government of Ghana had been asked to pay $12 million to Balkan Energy Company (BEC) for abrogating the disputed Osagyefo Barge contract.

Although she confirmed the ruling by the Court of Arbitration in The Hague, she indicated that the Crusading Guide’s report was misleading and did not accurately reflect the true details of the judgement.

According to Mrs Appiah Opong, her outfit was bound by the rules of arbitration and she could not disclose the full details of what actually happened.

She, however, gave an assurance that currently the details of the said judgement were being studied and that they would be made known to the Ghanaian public soon.

The minister explained that on July 27, 2007 the government signed an agreement with the BEC to equip, refurbish and commission the barge, as well as its associated facilities, within a 90-day period.

The contract was part of policy options pursued by the government to stem the power shortages in the country at the time and the barge was purchased by the government in 1999 and was brought into the country in 2002.