Asante Berko case: Parliament failed in its oversight role - Samuel Bekoe

Samuel Bekoe, Executive Director of the Centre for Extractives and Development Africa, criticized Parliament for failing to properly exercise its oversight responsibility in the procurement of the Kpong power plant during Ghana's power crisis. He stated, "The key issue has exposed the fact that most times we base ourselves on an emergency to undertake certain procurement that is really sometimes dangerous. You ask about Parliament, which is supposed to be the gatekeeper, did not play a very good gatekeeping role. And the conviction in the US has exposed it about some of the payments made to facilitate approval and selection of the AKSA's power plant, which is the Kpong power plant we have."

Mr. Bekoe said the circumstances surrounding the project, including allegations of payments made to facilitate its approval and selection, exposed weaknesses in the country's procurement and governance systems. He explained that the use of emergency procurement procedures during the power crisis created room for critical checks and balances to be bypassed. The conviction of former Goldman Sachs banker and former Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) Managing Director Asante Kwaku Berko in the United States brought renewed attention to allegations of payments linked to the approval and selection of the AKSA power plant, also known as the Kpong power plant. Mr. Bekoe called on Parliament and other state institutions to strengthen their oversight mechanisms.