Gyamfi refuted her assertion that former President John Dramani Mahama sold the Port to a foreign entity for perpetual management.
Gyamfi clarified that the arrangement made under Mahama's administration was a Build Operate Transfer (B.O.T) agreement. This financial strategy allowed the company to fund the expansion and development of the Port, manage it for 15 years, and then return complete control to the government.
"I recently heard Sarkodie's wife displaying ignorance about why Mahama would sell Tema Port. However, Build, Operate and Transfer (B.O.T) is not equivalent to selling a port. It's a financial strategy for government projects that avoids upfront expenditure. The company in question was initially granted a 20-year concession by Kufuor's administration in 2004," Gyamfi explained in Twi during an interview with Adom T.V.
He further elaborated that Mahama's negotiation allowed the company to use its finances to enhance the Port, with the state regaining full ownership by 2030. "Currently, the state still retains a percentage. It's important to clarify this due to the misinformation circulating," he added in the video below.
Tracy Owusu Addo entered the debate concerning the impounded Global Fund donation of essential health supplies at the Tema Port. Her intervention, which aimed to provide an informal explanation, quickly took on a political dimension.
Tracy highlighted the government's purported 15% stake in Tema Port in her commentary and claimed that a French billionaire exerted significant control over the facility. "Gov.'s stake in the Tema Port is currently only 15%. We do not have a say in what has happened at our Port since 2014. It is owned by French billionaire Bolloré, who owns 17 other ports in West Africa," her post read, citing a 2021 Africa Confidential report.
The responses to Tracy's post were polarised, with some supporting her stance and others criticising it. Sammy Gyamfi's rebuttal aims to set the record straight regarding the nature of the B.O.T. agreement and the ownership of Tema Port, emphasising the importance of accurate information in public discourse.