Richard Anamoo, the former Director General of the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA), has clarified that former President John Dramani Mahama did not sell the Tema Port to Meridian Ports Services (MPS).

He is urging the general public to dismiss any reports suggesting that the rising prices of imported goods are a result of the sale of GPHA to a foreign company by former President John Dramani Mahama.

Anamoo's statement follows a viral video in which Bernard Antwi Boasiako, the Bono Regional Chairman of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), popularly known as 'Abronye,' was seen giving a studio interview explaining why President Akufo-Addo was unable to reduce taxes and duties paid at the port.

In the video, Mr. Abronye stated that the president's inability was due to Ghana losing control of the port.

However, the former GPHA boss provided an explanation for the increasing cost of products in the country. According to him, the Tema Port was put under a concessional agreement by former President John Agyakum Kufour in 2001 for a duration of 20 years.

"Did President Kufour sell the Tema Port?" he questioned.

He stated that the NDC would no longer tolerate what he referred to as the usual "propaganda from elements within the NPP who spread falsehoods whenever they have the opportunity to speak."

Describing this situation as a "common tactic of NPP members," he pointed out that similar lies were circulated in 2021 but were debunked because former President Mahama did not sell GPHA to MPS.

He clarified that in the early 2000s, then-President Jerry John Rawlings decided to expand the Tema Port facility and secured a Dutch credit facility to begin the first phase.

He continued, "We dredged the port constructed by the first president, Kwame Nkrumah, and the NDC lost power in the process."

"When President John Agyekum Kufour took over in 2001, he disregarded what the NDC had initiated and proceeded to establish a new company to take over from GPHA.

“It was just at a management meeting when we were told that a new company was going to be formed called Meridian Port Services (MPS), and GPHA would only take 30% of the shares.”

“That was the end of the story, there was neither evaluation nor a letter, and the new company would take the investment and everything," he revealed.

“So, would we say that President Kufour sold GPHA to MPS?" he asked.

"If Abronye claims that the Tema Port was sold, then it was sold by President Kufour, not John Dramani Mahama," he further clarified.

He recounted that when Prof. John Evans Atta Mills took over in 2009, the concession was not terminated, and the NDC allowed the contract to continue, demonstrating their commitment to principles.

According to the former D-G, the documentation referred to a concession and not the sale of the entire port. He emphasized that no one, including John Dramani Mahama, sold the Tema Port.

He explained that MPS existed before Professor Mills and John Mahama came into power. The only thing John Mahama did was amend the existing concession. As of 2015, the initial concession had nine years left, and MPS had only constructed the terminal by that time.

He said, "Under the expanded agreement, the new terminals were going to be like a new port, with almost about 4 kilometers of breakwater in open sea, reclaiming over 100 hectares, creating facilities that could accommodate about 17 berths, meaning at full capacity, dredging the harbor to minus 16 or 17 meters, which MPS agreed to construct, along with the motorway."

However, MPS only created 4 berths for their own operations and agreed to operate them for 35 years. The remaining 13 berths were available for other private investors.

He stressed, "MPS does not control the Tema Port. Duties and taxes are imposed by customs and GPHA, so if imported goods are expensive, it is because the duties are too high."

He described the current customs regime as punitive and discouraging for cargoes to be brought to the Tema Port.

"Now, I am told that MPS wants to construct the fifth berth and has applied to GPHA for permission. If it is true that John Mahama sold the Tema Port to MPS, why then did they write to seek permission from GPHA? This means their limitation is with the four berths," the former D-G questioned.

"Also, if it is true that John Mahama sold the Tema Port to MPS, how come MPS is paying substantial dividends to GPHA? In 2021, GPHA received a dividend of $70 million from MPS, and in 2022, GPHA received over $60 million from MPS," he further inquired.

He asked, "Why isn't the money from MPS being used to replace damaged equipment at the Tema Port? Why has the dividend from the Tema Port been diverted into the Boankra Inland Project, a private project? Who owns that project?" he requested answers.

He further queried, "If John Dramani Mahama sold the Tema Port to MPS, how come MPS is paying substantial dividends to GPHA? The Akufo-Addo government had, at the time, diverted $33 million into the Boankra project, even though the government is not a shareholder. As we speak, there is no railway line, even with the $33 million," he lamented.