'Tsatsu Tsikata should be languishing in prison' - K.T Hammond

Former deputy minister of Energy and Member of Parliament for the Adansi-Asokwa constituency, K.T Hammond says former Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), Mr Tsatsu Tsikata should be languishing in prison over the payment of GH¢1 million as ex-gratia and some senior officials.

According to him, Tsikata and the senior officials are not entitled to the ex-gratia.

His outburst comes at the back of GNPC confirming the payment of end of service benefits to some senior management personnel who were removed from office in 2001.

He alleged that Mr Tsatsu Tsikata, who left the corporation 15 years ago had been paid GhȻ1 million as compensation for work done during his tenure as head of the organization. Mr Tsikata was removed as Chief Executive of GNPC in 2000 by former President J.J. Rawlings.

According to Mr Hammond, another former Chief Executive, Mr Asafu Adjaye, as well as a former staff member of the corporation, Ms Esther Cobbah who headed public affairs, received almost GhȻ1 million and about GhȻ600,000 respectively.

These monies, according to Mr Hammond, were meant for specific projects. He explained that out of the $342 million which accrued to Ghana from the sale of oil this year, $98.3 million was set aside for the GNPC to use for some specific projects.

K.T Hammond said "What we need to know, investigate, and indeed the probe is the basis for the payment for these individuals."

"You don’t turn round 15 years down the line to pay this kind of money to these people. There is everything wrong with that. They don’t deserve it. They run GNPC down," he said in an interview on Citi FM.

He said, "I suspect that at the time that Rawlings sacked him he might have paid him something… It’s criminal. Legally, there is what we call Limitation Act and per contractual relationship six years down the line those rights would have elapsed… so who in their insanity decided this should be done. Why 15 years?"

"Somebody is taking the country for a ride… we need to find out the basis for the payment, how much was paid and who took the decision? Tsikata just run down the old GNPC… there is some amount of morality in this because he is not entitled to this anyway. Tsikata and Asafu-Adjaye should be languishing in prison by now.

"There is no doubt in my mind at all that [we should go for the money]. They want the law to encroach me and I want the law to encapsulate them because there are criminal acts and negligence in here and this is criminal liability on the part of the GNPC chief executive and the board including the recipients. They should have known that this money is not due them. Tsikata is receiving stolen goods and the President when he comes it should be the first thing that he will tackle," he added.

K.T Hammond, however, called on President John Mahama to probe the payment.