New Voter Forum, a group sympathetic to the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has called on the Presidency and the Minister of Energy and Green Transition to carry out a forensic audit of the procurement activities of Ghana's power mainstay, Volta River Authority (VRA), for the past six years. 

The group said there were anomalies that required an urgent value-for-money audit to unmask saboteurs of the operations of the authority.

Addressing a news conference in Accra last Tuesday, the Convenor of the group, Conqueror Mawudzokoto Korto, said the acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of VRA was not the voice of the majority of employees of the authority, and that a lot of goings-on in the outfit required that he stepped aside.

"We urge the President to immediately initiate an investigation into the procurement of spare parts and contracts involving the following companies within the VRA over the past six years: IDC Energy Ltd, Fosap Logistics, and Syhno Hydro. We believe the findings will be shocking," Mr Korto said.

He also highlighted concerns over the procurement of a condenser for the steam turbine, noting that it would not be needed for the next decade.

"We’ve recently received intelligence indicating that the cost of the proposed repowering of the T3 plant in Takoradi has been inflated to $70 million, up from an initial estimate of under $15 million, even with some Ameri plants being used.

Procurement

"Ongoing is the procurement of capital spares for a major inspection at Kpong Thermal Power Station (KTPS),” Mr Korto said.

He stated that instead of the contract going to OEM, it had been outsourced to IDC Energy at a cost of $19 million, although it could “be obtained in the open market for less than $10 million".

The group described itself as an interventionist pressure group, and said its members included staunch members of the ruling NDC.

Mr Korto said some appointments, especially in the energy sector, could threaten President John Dramani Mahama’s reset agenda.

“Therefore, when their parties are in power, they exhibit their political colours brazenly without recourse to professionalism or the national interest and for such they should have no place in leading the organizations they work for.”

Mr Korto said a case in point is the purported appointment of Edward Ekow Obeng Kenzo, a known New Patriotic Party (NPP) member and an appointee of Akufo-Addo/Bawumia Administration as the Deputy Chief Executive in charge of Engineering and Operations of the VRA as acting CEO by the current administration.

“This is as shocking and disappointing as it is unimaginable and regrettable; the position of Deputy CEO is appointed, not a position Mr Kenzo was promoted to,” he said.

The group accused Mr Kenzo of working in close collaboration with the previous CEO, Antwi Darkwa, to advance a political agenda which was at variance with the NDC ideology.

It claimed that this created a hostile environment for VRA staff perceived to be NDC supporters, making it difficult for them to thrive.

The convener argued that there was no way Mr Kenzo could have served as Deputy CEO at VRA under the previous government unless he was a card-carrying member of the NPP.

Mr Korto asked: "The fact is this election was fought bravely and won with the toil of dedicated and progressive citizens. Our question, therefore, to Mr President is, what is the purpose of appointing a known leading member of the NPP at the expense of qualified and unapologetic NDC members?”

Improper recruitment

Mr Korto accused the previous leadership of the VRA of acting partisan in the recruitment of NPP loyalists at the authority in November and December 2024, saying the processes bypassed proper procedures.

"It is widely known that he was actively involved in the late recruitment of NPP supporters into the authority during those months without following the necessary protocols," he stated of Mr Kenzo.

"In light of these concerns, we urgently appeal to President Mahama to halt the appointment process for Mr Kenzo as CEO of the VRA. Additionally, we call for a forensic audit of VRA’s procurement activities over the past six years, including a value-for-money audit," he added.