By Amb. Emmanuel Mwamba
SCANDAL; $35million Advance Payment against Future Power Purchase Agreement at ZESCO
Lusaka- Monday, 16th September, 2024
A company from Dubai, Petrodex Trading, is seeking a bulk supplier agreement with ZESCO to evacuate power to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
ZESCO has already granted it 30 megawatts and it is already trading the power using some named local energy company.
But the deal to buy power and export power to the DRC, has failed both the security clearance and legal basis as both the national security and Attorney General, Mulilo Kabesha have rejected the deal.
Proprietor of Petrodex, french-lebanese national, Rami Ghaziri, is a convict and has been indicted in various jurisdictions for money-laundering and fraud.
Petrodex, says that it strives to become a leading distributor, operator, and trading company for energy products and raw and processed material.
The company says above the 30 megawatts its exporting to the DRC, it seeks more 90 megawatts, by December 2024.
Petrodex has offered ZESCO cash advance of $35 million, provided ZESCO could commit and sign another 90 megawatts, and the company is seeking concessional tariff rates.
“Following our meeting on 22 August 2024 regarding the same subject, where ZESCO highlighted the challenges to agree on our proposal dated 19 August 2024 (proposal attached), we have revised the structure
that aligns better with ZESCO’s vision and its urgent requirement for additional funds to sustain its cash flow.”
“We are willing and ready to advance a pre-payment of $35 million, provided ZESCO can commit to dispatch a total additional capacity of 90MW, over and above our current off-take of 30MW, to be evacuated to the
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)”.
“This commitment follows the principles outlined below:
1. Ramp-Up of Power Capacity: Taking into account our current offtake capacity of 30MW into DRC, the power capacity will be gradually increased, from January to May 2025 as follows:
● Till end of December 2024: 30MW (current offtake)
● January 2025: 80MW
● February 2025:90MW
● March 2025:100MW
● April 2025: 110MW
● May 2025:120MW
2. Temporary Discount: Until ZESCO reaches the dispatching of the full additional 90MW capacity for export to DRC to which Petrodex would have already advance $35 million, we request a temporary discount on the ongoing power flow.
The proposed discount structure is as follows:
● $0.02 per kWh discount
● September 2024- April 2025:
● May 2025 onwards: No discount applicable as long as ZESCO would be dispatching the full additional capacity of 90MW
However the Attorney General Mulilo Kabesha has rejected the term sheet submitted by ZESCO and Petrodex, citing various irregularities and informing the Managing Director, Victor Mapani of the urgent need to involve the Minister of Finance as this deal was a breach of the Public Finance Management Act and amounted to accumulating debt and offering discounts for a state-owned enterprise on behalf of the country.
When Petrodex Trading was taken for security clearance, the proprietor French-Lebanese businessman Rami Ghaziri, failed the test lamentably as he is a former convict and he is wanted in various jurisdictions for money laundering and fraud charges.
The Romania’s National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA) indicted French-Lebanese businessman Rami Ghaziri, the owner of the Romanian poultry producer Agroli Group, and nine other defendants, most of them Syrian or Lebanese nationals, on multiple counts of tax evasion, money laundering, and setting up an organized crime group.
The ten defendants allegedly caused the Romanian state a damage of EUR 25 million, according to the prosecutors.
Rami Ghaziri has been referred to by the local media as “the chicken king” as his group is one of the biggest poultry producers in Romania. The Agroli group controls Avicola Crevedia, Romania’s first poultry farm opened in 1959, Avicola Tartasesti, and a fodder factory.
The DNA has indicted Ghaziri has indicted for creating a criminal group, tax evasion, and money laundering.
The French businessman was also in prison serving a sentence in another case. He was convicted to three years in prison on June 15, in 2016, for buying influence from former Romanian prosecutor Angela Nicolae. He was found guilty for paying Nicolae to help him dodge prosecution for tax evasion.
In the case that was recently sent to court, Ghaziri had been investigated for setting up two organized crime groups together with the other defendants, between July 2010 and August 2012, according to DNA.
The defendants used a chain of ghost companies, creating a damage of over RON 107 million (EUR 25 million) to the state budget, according to the prosecutors.
Between September 2010 and October 2012, Rami Ghaziri, together with the other defendants, submitted 54 requests for VAT reimbursement or compensation based on fictitious transactions.
They received EUR 19 million.
In 2012, the defendants Zayed, Alzaid, Moubarak and Chraif signed a contract for selling a plot of 42,000 sqm at an overvalued price for concealing the true origin of the money resulted from tax evasion. They sold the land to a company managed by Rami Ghaziri.
The DNA prosecutors seized the properties belonging to two companies owned by Rami Ghaziri.
They also blocked the shares owned by Ghaziri and Kharrat in several companies.
The French businessman was in prison serving a sentence in another case. He was convicted to three years in prison on June 15, 2016, for buying influence from former Romanian prosecutor Angela Nicolae. He was found guilty for paying Nicolae to help him dodge prosecution.