The National Democratic Congress (NDC) government signed a $510 million AMERI contract in 2015 to secure a 300MW emergency power at the peak of the country’s power crisis.

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) while in opposition accused the John Mahama-led administration of fraud over the deal and vowed to review or abrogate the agreement if it wins power.

True to their words, few months into office, it formed a 17-member committee to investigate the issue which was fraught with some controversies but later upheld the party’s earlier position.
Subsequently, Mr Hammond moved that Parliament withdraws the AMERI agreement due to what he called “misrepresentations” by the company when the deal was presented to the House under the Mahama-led administration.

A committee was set up by Parliament to investigate the issue and make recommendations; however, a year down the line, its report has not yet been released.

Meanwhile, there are reports that the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice had cleared the AMERI deal stating that the Mahama-led administration did not “err” in signing the agreement because it was “valid.”

But Mr Hammond indicated that Parliament’s investigative committee had a different take on the matter, but insisted it had to be brought before Parliament first.

The Minority in Parliament are demanding an express apology from President Nana Akufo-Addo for what they describe as ‘unwarranted attacks’ on former President Mahama in the run-up to the 2016 general election over the controversial AMERI power deal.
Their call is premised on the supposed Attorney General’s report on the contract which seemed to have exonerated the previous government.

According to the Minority, the report from the Attorney-General’s department vindicated former President Mahama.
“I never made the point that the NDC government and the Minister of Power or whoever was responsible at the time did something fishy, there can’t be an apology,” K.T. Hammond stressed.