De Simone Writes To The Chronicle

Dear Sir,
I refer to the front page headline: “Blows over $26m ENI contract” and the report carried on it at page 3 of Wednesday the 2nd March, 2016 edition of your paper and wish to say that it contains a lot of factual errors, inaccuracies and disparaging of the image my company has over the years striven hard to achieve hence this rejoinder to set the record straight.

Firstly, I wish to state that De Simone limited is a Ghanaian and not an Italian company as alleged by your publication. De Simone limited was incorporated under the laws of Ghana on the 31st of August, 1964 and obtained a Certificate to Commence Business in Ghana on the 17th of September, 1964.

I, as the majority shareholder of the company (holding over 80% of its shares) and its Managing Director, was born on 10th of July, 1960, at Takoradi.  So I am not only a Ghanaian by birth but also a naturalized Ghanaian holding a Ghanaian passport. By virtue of these facts and others, which were not raised in your said publication, my company fully met the local content requirements for the job.

As regards the allegation that De Simone limited did not meet the technical and financial assessment required for the job. I wish to state that of all the companies that applied for the job, my company is arguably the best qualified technically and financially for the job as cursory look at the construction works the company has done in this country since its incorporation would attest.

Besides, the decision to advance the application of my company to the next stage was on merits and not on perceived favoritism, as your publication would make Ghanaians believe.  As to the allegation that the bids of the other companies were lower than mine, I have no answer to that because I am not privy to the bids of those companies. But if my company's bid has been accepted then it means it has met the requirements.

Finally, as to whether the companies whose applications were rejected were far better than my company, I cannot say much since I cannot tell the basis for that comparison, but would say that if the job at stake in this conversation is one of construction, then I will leave that to the ordinary Ghanaian to judge.

I hope this rejoinder would be published in your esteem newspaper with the same prominence as your initial publication to give the average Ghanaian the opportunity to read our side of your story failing which my company would have no other alternative but to advice itself.

Yours sincerely,
Enrico De Simone
Managing Director, De Simone limited