If E&P Had Paid Its Debt On Time, Merchant Would Not Have Been Sold To Fortiz

The Member of Parliament for Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abrem Constituency, in the Central Region has stated that there is nothing to be joyous of regarding the payment of a $28 million debt owed by Engineers and Planners (E&P) Company Limited, to Merchant Bank. Though the honouring of its financial obligation to the bank was what the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) had been calling for, Hon. Nana Ato Arthur believes that the news should not be greeted with jubilation because the �it is robbing Peter to pay Paul�. To him, the deal to sell Merchant Bank to Fortiz is fraudulent and a move to write of Ibrahim Mahama�s debt, because the money that has paid to Merchant Bank�s chest, will more or less go back into his (Ibrahim�s) pocket. Hon. Ato Arthur made this assertion while making a submission on the Merchant Bank and Fortiz Equity Holdings in the Studios of NEAT 100.9 FM. Engineers & Planners and its new investment partners, African Export Import Bank on Tuesday, January 14, 2014, transferred USD 28m into E & P�s account with Merchant bank, which Fortiz now has a controlling majority. However, Dr. Nana Ato Arthur is of the view that the payment was deliberately delayed in order for the deal to go through. He thus called on Ghanaians not be content that E&P has honoured its side of the bargain saying had the debt been paid earlier, the bank would have not been sold to Fortiz.