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Managing Editor of The aL-hAJJ newspaper, Alhaji Bature Iddrisu, has described as “senseless”, calls by the New Patriotic Party Members of Parliament for business mogul and Chief Executive of Engineers and Planners, Ibrahim Mahama, to pay the full cost of some government-owned heavy duty equipment his company used in dredging the heavily silted Odaw River at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle.

Describing the country as lacking a serious opposition party, Alhaji Bature could not fathom why the minority MPs, instead of lauding the president’s younger brother for his generosity, had rather chosen to vilify him for offering his services to the country without demanding any payment.

Reacting to the minority’s press conference on Neat Fm, The aL-hAJJ’s Managing Editor opined “We don’t have a minority in Ghana today, we don’t have any opposition party... because before any minority will criticize government, ‘you must be a serious party.., you must do your homework’. If not people will not take you serious. They must take their time to research and analyze issues. NPP does not feature in Ghana’s politics,”

At a press conference on Thursday, October 01, 2015, addressed by Kwesi Ameyaw Kyeremeh, Minority spokesperson on local government, the Minority Caucus said since the machines were acquired with the taxpayers’ money, their release to a private company for use was improper, thus, E & P must be made to pay the full cost of their acquisition, and the money used to procure fresh equipment.
According to the Minority, the efficiency and sanctity of the state-owned dredging equipment used by E&P cannot be guaranteed, thus, their call for the acquisition of fresh equipment.

The fleet of heavy-duty equipment was acquired by the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development to be put into a pool to be used by the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies across the country.

This is the second time the Minority has raised concerns about the release of the equipment to E&P.

The first time was in July this year, when the MPs raised red flags about whether or not there existed any contract between the President’s brother’s company and the Government, to justify the release of the equipment to E&P to undertake the dredging.

It prompted a response from Mr Ibrahim Mahama, who told journalists during a tour of the Channel site, together with Chief of Staff Julius Debrah; Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Alhaji Collins Dauda; and his deputy, Mr Nii Lante Vanderpuye, that: “I don’t have a contract with the government. There is no contract. If it is a contract, it will be tendered, and everybody will see that it is tendered. I don’t have a contract, and I don’t need a contract to do this job.”

He said E&P was dredging the Odaw Channel for free, and was doing the work in partnership with the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD)

Mr Ibrahim explained that the government was supplying the needed equipment as well as fuel for the work, while his company was providing the technical expertise and personnel needed for the job at no cost.

Addressing concerns by the Minority as to why E&P had brandished its name on the state-owned equipment, Mr Mahama said the branding was done for accountability purposes.

He added that all the vehicles in use had also been insured “so that if it kills anybody, gets burnt, gets stolen, we are covered. That is why we need to put our stickers on them. Stickers don’t mean ownership. Stickers just mean who is using it and that is why we put them on the equipment.”

Explaining why government engaged E&P to dredge the Odaw River, Local Government Minister, Alhaji Collins Dauda, told journalists at the time the minority first raised the issue that after the June 3 fuel station explosion, the government “made an appeal to individuals, corporate bodies and everybody to assist the government to address the situation”

“As a result of the appeal we made, Engineers and Planners responded to assist the government in clearing the debris and also assisting the government to desilt the channel behind us.

“As far as the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development is concerned, we don’t have any contract with Ibrahim,” Alhaji Dauda said in July, adding that there were other collaborators such as the Environmental Service Providers Association (ESPA), who helped in clearing the debris after the June 3 floods.

“But in the case of Engineers and Planners because of the expertise they have in this kind of job they accepted to partner us in desilting the Odaw River and so as far as I am concerned we only provide fuel for Engineers and Planners.”

Reacting to the Minority’s latest concerns, Deputy Minister Nii Lante Vanderpuye told Joy News on Thursday October 1, 2015 that indeed his Ministry released the equipment to E&P to help open up the Odaw Channel for water to flow freely into the Korle Lagoon on purely “benevolent and sacrificial basis.”

This latest call by the minority, Alhaji Bature said could best be coming from “jokers” who, instead of focusing on mending the deep seated cracks in their party, are obsessed with hounding a patriotic Ghana who had offered his services to the nation without demanding any payment.

He said “What is really the sense in what they [the minority] are saying? Can someone tell me the sense in that? What is really their motive? They think we don’t know what they are up to in this country. Jokers!”

“All were asked to help by the president to dredge the river after the disaster, so if one Ghanaian took up the offer and aided in carrying out the exercise with the use of state machinery, what is wrong with that?”…There are allegations of corruption in the NPP which is affecting their flag bearer [Nana Addo]. They should talk about that or Ghanaians will not take them serious,” he advised.