The opposition party in Parliament is requesting the reimbursement of approximately $2 million that was paid in 2019 as a premium for the acquisition of ordinary shares in the Accra Sky Train Project. The Auditor General’s 2021 report classified this transaction as a net liability. The Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund purchased 10 ordinary shares in the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), Ai Sky Train Consortium Holdings, at the mentioned amount.
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Governs Kwame Agbodza, the Minority Chief Whip and Ranking Member on the Roads and Transport Committee, addressed journalists in Parliament and demanded that the funds be returned to the government’s treasury. He questioned the decision-making process behind paying the entity in Mauritius without following proper procedures such as obtaining cabinet approval, parliamentary approval, and approval from the Public Procurement Authority (PPA). Additionally, Agbodza highlighted the Auditor General’s report, which suggested that the company did not possess the necessary license to operate the intended system.
The ambitious Accra Sky Train Project, initially announced by President Akufo-Addo in 2017, has faced various challenges. Risk management issues within the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund indicate that the project is still in the draft stage. Africa Investor Holdings Limited established a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) in Mauritius in 2018, named Ghana Sky Train Limited, to develop the Accra Sky Train Project through a Design, Build, Finance, and Operate arrangement.
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The Minister for Railways Development, John Peter Amewu, has recently hinted that the current government will not be able to deliver sky trains to Ghanaians as previously indicated. He cited the significant capital required for the project and the government’s lack of fiscal capacity to accommodate such a facility. Prior to Amewu’s remarks, Transport Minister Kwaku Ofori Asiamah mentioned during his ministerial vetting process that the government is still in the process of establishing the necessary procedures for constructing the sky train project as a means of transportation in the country.
