TURF WAR AT STX AS KOREAN, GHANAIAN DIRECTORS FIGHT FOR CONTROL

THE raging controversy surrounding the construction of some 30,000 housing units for the security services under the STX Housing Project has taken a new twist as the Ghanaian and Korean directors engage in a 'turf war'.

While the Korean directors last Thursday said they had relieved their Ghanaian partner, Mr B. K. Asamoah, of his post as Chief Executive of the STX Engineering and Construction Limited, Mr Asamoah, for his part, has issued a statement, saying that the Koreans no longer have a stake in the project.

Mr Asamoah said his Korean partners had no such mandate to sack him and indicated that he was still at post, saying that the partnership arrangement between his company and the Koreans had been dissolved.

In a statement issued in Accra yesterday, Mr Asamoah indicated that the STX Construction (Korea) was no longer an equity partner in STX Engineering and Construction Limited following its exit from the agreement in May, 2011.

It said site works for the affordable housing programme had already begun as promised in July, 2011 under the direction of STX Engineering and Construction Limited with support from the government.

The statement explained that the Korean partners had no locus in the project per their status and as such their decisions were void in the multi-million dollar project.

The officials gave the assurance that the project would progress steadily following new funding arrangements and the adoption of a US technology that would ensure rapid and effective implementation within the terms approved by Parliament.



The latest confusion has seen the Minority Leader in Parliament, Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, joining the fray by reiterating the Minority's stance on the deal and underscoring the need for the agreement to be brought back to Parliament for proper scrutiny.

The Minority Leader explained on an Accra radio station that current developments had clearly shown that the STX deal had fallen out of place and, therefore, needed to be abrogated immediately to save the government and the country further embarrassment.

The latest twist to the housing project comes weeks after the Korean partners, STX Construction had dragged Mr Asamoah to court over alleged falsification of corporate documents and unlawful reconstitution of the board.

The government, in its bid to adequately arrest the depreciation in the country's housing deficit, initiated the STX Housing Project in partnership with STX Engineering and Construction Limited.

The project, which was supposed to have commenced in April, 2011 suffered several setbacks when the Koreans, in a law suit on May 16, 2011, which was against G.K. Airports Company Limited, Bernard Kwabena Asamoah and J. B. Asafo-Boakye, filed a special resolution, claiming to surrender all the stated shares of STX Construction Company Limited to G.K. Airports Company Limited, a move the plaintiffs argued could not stand in law because the Koreans were still part of the company.


Source: Della Russel Ocloo, Daily Graphic, Sat Aug 20, 2011