Officials of the Sahara group indicated during the meeting that they had to break one of their cardinal rules of not engaging the media frequently to enable them comment on some issues that is gaining grounds in the media.

 

The group therefore issued the open letter to explain some issues they want Ghanaians to be aware of.

 

Below is the full letter.

 

 

OPEN LETTER TO THE PEOPLE OF GHANA

 

Dear Citizens of this great republic,

 

It will immediately be obvious to those of you reading this letter who know us that we have broken one of our own cardinal rules of staying away from any public debate but rather letting our actions and deeds speak for themselves. 

 

Nevertheless certain issues have occurred in the most recent past that seem to be gaining ground in the media and airwaves which will necessitate a comment or two from us.

 

It is imperative that we begin by thanking the people of Ghana for hosting us over the past 9 years and the continent for 13 years. 

 

For those who remember historical footnotes, our entry into this great country was with a lot of attention and in a very short period of time, we had become a household debate, worthy of support for some and a poison chalice to many.

 

 A lot of accusations were levied then, too many to recount here and we recollect that many within the government of the day considered us a liability to be avoided at all costs for fear that we will bring an inglorious end to that government. It was a very trying period in our corporate history.

 

It is to the credit of the people of Ghana that the public debate that ensued pitched opinions from both sides of the divide so virtuously and unabashedly candid that each and every individual was able to decipher for themselves which argument to consider. 

 

As a private entity, our business was not to get involved in the politics of the day or any other politics whatsoever but to professionally and honestly carry out the job we had been contracted to do, never failing the mandate we had been given by the people of Ghana through the parastatals and ensuring that come rain, come shine, crude oil products for Ghana would be delivered when required, as requested. It was our firm belief that nothing short of stellar performance in carrying out our duties would repay the people of Ghana for the acceptance they extended to us in doing business here.

 

It may be necessary to expand a bit on this fact. Ghana and its people during the public debate looked beyond the politics and latched on to a fundamental truth that drives us as a company. 

 

They understood early in the game that one of the greatest banes of Africa is the penchant of not believing in the ability of African companies to execute any contract to the level of sophistication that Western companies can and so even in this modern age, foreign firms are by far the leading executors of any big African Government. 

 

The people of Ghana believed that only Africans can really help Africa out of the rut as was the principle of the great Kwame Nkrumah, so they deliberately and willingly broke away from that tradition and resorted to arguing that a fellow African company, Sahara Energy, be given the breathing space to allow them prove their competitiveness and competence against the traditional international traders in delivering crude to Ghana. 

 

We were advised by so many people to use the Tema express way as our case study whereby when it was being built the costing was said to be outrageous but today history has proven otherwise. This remains as one of our principles in Sahara “Quality is Timeless”.

 

On behalf of Sahara Energy, we can’t thank the people of Ghana enough for the confidence that singular act infused in us and the way it revolutionized our industry in and around Sub - Saharan Africa. 

 

The benefits to Ghana and its people of this act will become more evident in a few years now that crude oil has been discovered here and we are certain that as a people, you will look back to this act as one of those that changed the landscape of indigenization in Ghana with many more African companies poised to enter into the oil and gas business and take their expertise internationally as well. 

 

It is no mean feat and by no means should it be taken for granted. We are really excited at this prospect and what it portrays for Ghana’s future and Africa as a whole.

 

It is therefore with the deepest of humility and the greatest of respect to all the professionals we encountered in TOR, VRA,GNPC,BOST,Ministry of Petroleum ,Ministry of Finance, Ghanaian Banks and different Government agencies over the years that we were able to deliver consistently and without fail year after year, barrel after barrel of crude oil such that there was never any disruption to the flow of products and electricity to the people of Ghana over 9 years, while at the same time investing into the Ghanaian economy in first independent bulk tanks, retail stations and distribution networks.

 

Throughout the period Sahara has operated the contract; competing tenders were carried out by TOR and NTB with competitive traders being awarded several contracts to supply various crude and product to Ghana. Although some might argue that our penalties and interest rate charges were high.

 

 It must be stated fully for the record that these charges were based on ensuring our competitiveness in price was protected and sustainable and most importantly undisruptable.It must also be stated that Sahara over the last few years had a maximum of 36% of TOR business but an average of 24% in total.

 

With these facts established in records available for all to verify, we are forced to jump into the public forum this time to fend off unjustified accusations being levied at the current administration over the handling of the crude allocation from Nigeria to Ghana. 

 

It is important to set the records straight that as a legitimately elected government, the administration is mandated to carry out decisions that would protect the interest of the people that put them in power. It is no secret therefore that following all the controversy that heralded our entry into Ghana, one of the early decisions that this government took was to ensure that the crude contract Sahara Energy had was above board, did not constitute a monopoly and was being executed in a transparent and professional manner, an action that necessarily takes time and diligence so the end results are true and above board. 

 

This action was completely welcomed by the entire board and management of Sahara Energy. The emphasis in the party manifestos which stated a “review” of Sahara’s contract was also welcome to allow us be audited and measured accordingly.

 

We wish to assure the people of Ghana that while this review has been ongoing, the Government of President John Atta-Mills has painstakingly worked through several scenarios that would continue to deliver quality service and uninterrupted supply of crude and products to Ghana while upholding the ideology of building strong ties with her West African neighbours. 

 

We have witnessed firsthand the herculean effort the government has made to negotiate an extension of the crude supply from Nigeria, the efforts being made to getting good payment terms and committed supply amongst very stiff competition. 

 

It is dramatically unfair to insinuate as some are that the Government is not doing enough to prevent the hiccups in crude delivery after the completion of repair work at TOR and the attendant fuel queues that are beginning to materialize. Nothing could be further from the truth.

 

Let it also be stated for the record, Sahara is not the only company who has the capacity to provide the services we provide but we do our possible best to ensure we continue to strive to infinite excellence.

As professionals, our singular duty is to perform on the mandate spelt out in any agreement we execute with our counterparties and refrain from politics in any form or manner.

 

 However, we stand behind the decision of the government to seek the best possible solution for the people of Ghana and believe they are working extremely hard at providing it. We call on the fair minded people of Ghana to do the same and trust their duly elected government to have their best interest at heart.

 

We have always been happy to compete in a fully transparent transaction wherever we see symbiotic opportunities and will continue to do so as they arise globally.

Finally, thank you for giving us a home in Ghana. God bless the President of Ghana and God bless the people of Ghana and most of all God bless you who believe in the African dream.

 

On behalf of the board and management of Sahara Energy Resource Ltd.,

 

Wale Ajibade

Director

 

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