Petrosa-GNPC deal: I'd rather be fired than quit - Freddie Blay Answers
Freddie Blay, the Chairman of the Board of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) has responded to the call by someCivil Society Organizations (CSOs) for the immediate sacking of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
Blay, a former chairman of theNew Patriotic Party (NPP), saidin an interview with Citi FM that he would rather be oustedby his constituents than resign. He also revealed that he discussed with President Akufo-Addo the power letter from Energy Minister Matthew Opoku Prempeh on May 16 for the proposed sale of 50% of the government in the field. South African oil company, Pétro SA.
"Maybe I could be fired, but I don't see why they say I should quit because of this issue. I didn't do anything wrong. I looked at my conscience and thought that I was protecting the interests of the country, and I firmly believe that if others think differently, and if those who elected me say something else, it will be. "I spoke to the president about it, and we have not reached the point where he will ask to return to his job, not to convince the president, the law will speak for him, and the law will speak. and there are few documents in the agreement.
Concerns of CSOs
A group of 29 CSOs and politicians called on May 23, 2023 for the immediate dismissal of Freddie Blay and the director of the agency,Opoku Ahweneeh Danquah. The call comes following recent reports and documents indicating GNPC's intention to sell 50% of Jubilee Holdings Limited (JOHL) as part of itsdeal with South Africa's oil company, PetroSA, despite the huge revenue and interest the state is represented. .
The coordinator of the economic governance platform,Abdul Karim Mohammed, told reporters that the participationof such people involved in such transactions poses a seriousrisk to the contribution and interests of Ghana and oil field. "We demand the immediate removal of GNPC CEO Opoku Ahweneeh Danquah and Chairman of the Board Freddie W. Blay from their respective positions because they have become a threat to Ghana's interests in the petroleum sector," he said. he said. Abdul Mohammed went on to say that the Minister of Electricity, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, against the strong decision of the chairman of the Board of GNPC [Freddie Blay] to giveinterest in the plant from Ghana to PetroSA, which is based in South Africa.
“It's a potential area, it's giving us a lot of money if we let it go. This means that PetroSA will receive 50% of the revenuefrom the field, as they have norole in developing the field to its current potential,” he explained.
"The information we have is that the Minister of Energy has opposed this transaction, but the chairman of GNPC is pushing this transaction to the extent that the Minister of Energy has written to Jubilee House about this transaction,"the organizer added. . Meanwhile, media reports indicate that Freddie Blay, in his capacity as the chairman of GNPC, may have written to PetroSA offering him an equity stake in GNPC subsidiaryJubilee Oil Holdings. Limited.
The move has raised thebacklash from CSOs that include the African Center for Energy Policy (ACEP), the Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers of Ghana (COPEC), from the Imani Center for Politics and Education and 25 others again.
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