There have been some speculations on the composition and
credibility of the Ghanaian local consortium holding 51 per cent of the shares
in the Power Distribution Services (PDS) Ghana Limited with some suggesting
that a group of barbers at Osu in Accra are the ones behind it.
The government on Tuesday announced that it has through the Ministry of Finance
and the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) Limited suspended the concession
agreement with PDS with immediate effect.
The government explained that the decision followed the “detection of
fundamental and material breaches of PDS’ obligation in the provision of
Payment Securities (Demand Guarantees) for the transaction which has been
discovered upon further due diligence.”
There have been some suggestions that the government did not do due diligence
on the shareholders and the demand guarantees they presented.
Graphic Online, therefore, set out to find out the names behind PDS and how
they got the concession agreement.
Names behind PDS
Information available to Graphic Online indicates that the Ghanaian local
consortium holding the 51 per cent of the shares in PDS are TG Energy Solutions
Limited (TG), a lead local consortium sponsor with 18 per cent, Santa Baron
Ventures Limited (Santa), a local technical lead with 13 per cent, GTS
Engineering Services Limited (GTS), a local financial lead with 10 per cent and
TBK Ghana Limited (TBK), a local financial sponsor also with 10 per cent.
The remaining 49 per cent shares are for two foreign companies, Manila Electric
Company Limited (Meralco), a Filipino company with 30 per cent shares and
Aenergia, an Angolan company with 19 per cent shares.
The two foreign companies are the Technical Lead for the Consortium and by
extension PDS, Graphic Online understands.
Background
In 2017, after a protracted re-negotiations with the Millennium Challenge
Corporation (MCC), the original arrangements to give 80 per cent of the assets
of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) to foreigners were changed to a 51
per cent ownership by Ghanaians and 49 per cent to foreigners.
This new arrangement required the original foreign bidders to find a local
Ghanaian consortium who was to take up the 51 per cent of their shareholding to
make their bid whole.
Graphic Online gathers that Manila Electric Company Limited (Meralco) who was
one of the original foreign bidders to accept the new arrangements struck an
accord with Mr. Philip Asare Kwame Ayesu, a strategist and a serial
entrepreneur and chairman of TG Energy Solutions to put together a strong local
Ghanaian team in order to create the Meralco Consortium that would present an
unassailable bid to the Millennium Development Authority (MiDA).
Mr. Ayesu is said to have recognised this challenge as a once in a lifetime
opportunity to showcase the Ghanaian entrepreneurial drive and enable him to
leave a lasting legacy that would prove that Ghanaians can do it.
He reportedly took up the challenge to find the Ghanaian team with the right
pedigree of complementary attributes that would provide the requisite technical
and financial credentials for the bid.
This, Graphic Online understands led to the formation of the local Ghanaian
consortium made up of TG Energy Solutions Limited (TG), a Lead Local Consortium
Sponsor with 18 per cent, Santa Baron Ventures Limited (Santa), a Local
Technical Lead with 13 per cent, GTS Engineering Services Limited (GTS), a
Local Financial Lead 10 per cent and TBK Ghana Limited (TBK), a Local Financial
Sponsor with 10 per cent.
Ghanaians behind PDS
TG Energy Solutions Limited according to information available to Graphic
Online has Mr Philip Asare Kwame Ayesu, a strategist and a serial entrepreneur
as its Chairman.
He is also a partner of the Multiple Concepts Group (Charterhouse, Mediaedge
and Multiple Concepts).
Mr Ayesu is also the Cofounder of GH ONE TV which was sold, SAP Investments
Holding, DaddyCare founder and creator of the X MEN brand including other
companies.
Mr Ayesu has over 20 years of experience in Business set ups, integrated
marketing communication and branding.
Barber”
It is his association with the X MEN brand located at East Legon in Accra,
which is a men’s grooming centre which has probably fueled the speculation of
barbers behind PDS.
He has no association with the barbering shop at Osu which has similarities to
what the X Men located at East Legon does.
Mr Ayesu is a member of the International Advertising Association (IAA), and an
associate member of the Global Marketers Network (GMN).
He is also responsible for the creative department and business head of
Multiple Concepts Advertising.
Mr Ayesu according to Graphic Online’s sources has helped set up and structured
some businesses and that he spearheaded campaigns for clients such as World
Bank-IFC, John Hopkins University, Ghana Aids Commission, Interplast, Sikkens,
UT Financial Services, Western Union, National Lottery Authority, GRA, MTN,
Ideal Finance and a host of other companies in Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
Until recently, Mr Ayesu was a permanent speaker at the Annual Young Africa
Leadership Initiative (YALI) programme hosted by the Ghana Institute of
Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), a permanent speaker and mentor at
Catholic Institute of Business and Technology (MBA class), and also the
creator, writer and director of the longest-running award-winning radio ad
project, Atongo.
Between 1996 and 2002, he worked as a salesperson at the radio station, Joy FM
in Accra and has always had the objective of running a business to offer
solutions and not to make money with the belief of offering the right solutions
and satisfying the consumer as the art of making money, Graphic Online gathers.
GTS Engineering Services Limited GTS Power Limited
On the part of GTS Engineering Services Limited (GTS), which holds 13 per cent
shares in PDS, Graphic Online understands it is a wholly-owned Ghanaian
engineering services company that is active in the development and maintenance
of energy sector infrastructure in Ghana and the West Africa sub-region.
GTS is the 100 per cent owner of GTS Power Limited, a special purpose vehicle
incorporated for the MiDA bid.
GTS Engineering Services Limited and it’s associate companies have been
operating in Ghana and West Africa since 1984 and have provided leadership in
the execution and management of various energy infrastructure projects in power
generation, transmission and distribution
Santa Baron Ventures Limited /Santa Power Limited
On the part of Santa Baron with 10 per cent shares in PDS, Mr Kwabena Boateng
Aidoo, said to belong to the top brass of successful millionaires in Ghana is
the main principal, according to Graphic Online’s sources.
Santa Power Limited is 100 per cent owned by SBV and was incorporated as a
special purpose vehicle for the MiDA bid.
Mr Aidoo is said to have been doing business for over three decades mainly in
the security and real estate sector.
His companies reportedly command staff strength of over 800 across the world
and he is the Chief Executive Officer of Santa Baron Ventures Limited, and also
owns Amalgamated Properties Limited, Apex Consulting Services Limited, PTL
Solar Ghana Limited as part of his portfolio of investments.
His company, Santa Baron Ventures Limited, is said to have an estimated value
of $50 million and a yearly turnover of about $6 million and has been a
long-standing member of the British Chamber of Commerce.
In addition, two of Mr Aidoo’s companies, PTL Solar Ghana Limited and Apex
Consulting Services Limited are said to have a combined value of over $10
million.
In the housing industry, his real estate company, Amalgamated Properties
Limited is said to have an estimated value of $18 million.
He reportedly owns plush properties in prime areas of Accra, Wisconsin Avenue
in Washington County, Maryland and other parts of the USA and in Saint Leonard
Hill, Windsor in the United Kingdom.
In South Africa, Mr Aidoo is said to be the owner of Shani Boutique Hotel,
which is located opposite the University of Pretoria, which serves high-end
customers such as University Lecturers and other customers who visit the
University.
He reportedly also owns several millions worth of commercial properties in
South Africa, some of which are said to have been leased to various High
Commissions and Embassies of foreign countries.
Mr Kwabena Boateng Aidoo engages in various social responsibility projects and
benevolence but is said to have shied away from publicity in the press. He is
said to be a member of the International Counter-Terrorism Group and Lions Club
International.
TBK World Plus
Mr. Kwame Ofosu Bamfo [Sikkens] and Mr Mike Twum Barimah are said to be the
main principals of TBK World Plus Limited, a special purpose vehicle set up for
the MiDA bid with 10 per cent shares.
From his humble beginning as a school dropout, Mr. Ofosu Bamfo defied the odds
to earn the reputation as one of the most respected business moguls in Ghana.
He boasts of over thirty (30) years’ experience in a variety of business
undertakings in Ghana, with his companies employing over 600 people worldwide.
He founded Bamson Ghana Limited, a market leader in the paint industry in Ghana
as well as Alisa Hotel, a 4-star hotel with 14 conference rooms situated in a
plush part of Accra, Ghana.
As an astute Ghanaian business mogul, Mr. Ofosu Bamfo currently controls about
85 per cent (which is estimated at $8 million) of the car paint industry in
Ghana and 40 per cent (valued at about $2 million) of paints for buildings.
Additionally, Bamson Company Limited (with an estimated value of about $20
million) have been over the past 33 years been the local Representatives of
Akzo Nobel Sikkens of Netherlands as well as the local representatives of Crown
Paint Limited and Glostal Aluminum Systems Ltd in the UK.
Through his contacts globally, his 4-star hotel – Alisa (estimated to value about
$40 million) is the only Ghanaian hotel holding a franchise from Swiss Spirit.
He owns over $20 million of real estate in Ghana, Europe and USA.
Mr. Ofosu Bamfo’s accomplishments have been duly noted in Ghana and
internationally. He was adjudged the Small and Medium Scale Enterprise (SME)
Business Personality of the year Award in 2016. The Award was in recognition of
his contribution to the field of commerce as well as growth of the economy.
He was also honoured by PriceWaterhouse Coopers (PwC) among his peers as the
Eight Most Respected CEO (Ghana) in the year 2007/2008. In 1991, at the age of
36 he won the Marketing Personality of the Year Award by the Chartered
Institute of Marketing (Ghana) and his Company, Bamson Co. Ltd. was adjudged
the Marketing Oriented Organization for the same year by the Institute.
In 1996, Bamson won the Head of State National Good Corporate Citizen Award in
General Trading, and in 1999 he was honoured with the Millennium Excellence
Award in Industrial Development.
In the same year he was honoured by Akzo Nobel Sikkens B.V. of Holland for
outstanding Sales Performance in the Africa Region. He is also a Member of the
Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) and a Fellow of the Kwame Nkrumah
University of Science and Technology (KNUST).
He has a passion for philanthropy as a way of giving back to society led him to
establish the Sikkens Education Trust since 2002 to offer scholarships to needy
children in the Kwahu and Afram Plains Districts of Ghana. In addition, he
contributes meaningfully to other social causes to better the lot of the needy.
Mr. Kwame Ofosu Bamfo has also contributed immensely to the development of
sports in Ghana. He is the past Chairman of Okwahu United Football Club, a
local football club located in the Eastern Region of Ghana. He had been a Board
Member for the club for the past 15 years.
Currently, he is a Patron of the Sports Writers Association of Ghana (SWAG), an
Honorary Life Member of the Ghana Olympic Committee. He was also a member of
the Local Organizing Committee of the 2008 African Cup of Nations which was
hosted by Ghana. Since 2011, Mr. Kwame Ofosu Bamfo has been a member of the
Black Stars Management Committee of Ghana.
Mike Twum Barimah
Mr. Mike Twum Barimah on his part also a principal of TBK World according to
the information available to Graphic Online is a respected business magnate
with over three decades of experience in establishing and successfully managing
several businesses in Ghana and abroad.
His company, Midwest Company Limited, is a leading name in the steel business
in Ghana, with a reported annual turnover ranging between $40,000,000.00 and
$50,000,000.00, and holds a market share of between 35 per cent and 40 per cent
in the industry.
Under the leadership of Mr Twum Barimah, the reputation of Midwest Company
Limited in the steel industry in Ghana has grown steadily over time in Ghana
and abroad, culminating in a total asset of over $80 million.
Further, through his international contacts, Midwest Company Limited has existing
international agreements with major steel and metal manufacturing companies, SM
Export of Germany, Steel Force and Eurometal Services in Belgium and Hebai
Metal in China.
Additionally, Midwest Company Limited has over the years leveraged its established
reputation and success in the steel industry in Ghana to engage in the supply
and installation of sanitary wares supplied by its foreign partner, Armitage
Shanks of the United Kingdom for a wide range of its clients in Ghana.
Over time, the company has attracted several prominent clients, including the
Parliament of Ghana, which engaged the company to supply and install sanitary
wares for the use of Parliament. He employs over 80 people in Ghana.
Mr. Mike Twum has also made a significant mark in the real estate business with
over 70 houses and apartments estimated to be worth about $41,000,000.00 in
prime areas of Accra.
Additionally, he reportedly owns real estates valued at about £4,000,000.00 in
prime areas in London like Saint George Wharf in the United Kingdom. He is said
to be making over $1 million as annual turnover from his real estate business.
As a person with a keen interest in the development of sports in Ghana, Mr Twum
has served as director of Kumasi Asante Kotoko Sporting Club and Okwawu United
Football Club.
Further, he has over the years made several donations to various social causes
by donating money and other items to charitable organizations. Recently, he
donated two incubators to a Ghanaian-based charitable organisation established
to provide incubators to meet an acute need in the children’s’ ward of a public
hospital in Ghana.
PDS Demand guarantees
Before signing the concession agreement with the government, the Demand
Guarantees were key prerequisites for the lease of assets on March 1, 2019, to
secure the assets that were transferred to the concessionaire [PDS].
The government has since initiated a full enquiry into the matter, and the
outcome will inform the next course of action in the next 30 days.
The vision of PDS is to be the best power utility in Africa backed by the
strongest distribution network and powered by a world-class, customer-focused
workforce with the motto, “Here to Serve.”
The vision and motto elucidated above is the brainchild of Mr Philip Ayesu, an astute
and undisputed serial entrepreneur and globally respected figure in the world
of business, energy, branding, advertising, media, oil and gas who is the
chairman of TG Energy Solutions Limited (TG), the lead local consortium sponsor
with 18 per cent shares.
Graphic
