Court document shows what caused the $170m GPGC judgement debt

The Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, on Wednesday, December 13, 2023, shared a document that showed that the government has authorized the release of US$20 million (GH¢230.5 million) for the payment of a judgement debt to Ghana Power Generation Company (GPGC).

The MP accused the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo government of deliberately causing the judgement debt to create, loot and share the country's resources.

"I hope the Ministers who wrongfully terminated the GPGC contract and wilfully caused financial loss to Ghana are preparing for the day of reckoning," he said.

A court in the United Kingdom (UK) awarded a $140 million arbitral against Ghana for the termination of a power deal with GPGC, a subsidiary of international commodities company, Trafigura, in 2021.

The Government of Ghana (GoG) was ordered by the court to pay the full value of the Early Termination Payment of $134,348,661 together with the “Mobilisation, Demobilization and preservation and maintenance costs” of the value.

Not only is the GoG going to pay the $134,348,661, but the court has also ordered Ghana to pay all the interest that has accrued from it.

The court also asked the government to pay the cost of the arbitration and the legal fees of GPGC, which amounted to over $3 million.

A court document sighted by GhanaWeb shows the major heddle which supposedly led to the termination of the contract.

According to the document, the main issue had to do with the reinstatement of an EPA (Economic Partnership Agreement).

The then Minister of Energy was supposed to write a memo to the president recommending the reinstatement of the EPA but did not despite several reassurances that it would be done.

The document reads as follows:

"... b. On 13 March 2018, the GoG advised GPGC that the Minister of Energy would be advising the Deputy Power Minister to write a memorandum to the GoG Cabinet and the President of Ghana requesting that the EPA be reinstated. C. On 15 March 2018, Mr Opam confirmed to GPGC that he had been instructed by the Minister of Energy to prepare such a memorandum.

“d. On 16 March 2018, GPGC's team in Ghana again met with the Deputy Power Minister, who reassured GPGC that he was working on getting the EPA reinstated. e. By letter dated 26 March 2018, Three Crowns wrote on behalf of GPGC to the GoG reiterating the requests made in GPGC's unanswered letter of 26 February 2018. f. On or around 28 March 2018, the Deputy Power Minister confirmed to GPGC that the Ministry of Energy was preparing a letter to the President strongly recommending that the EPA would be reinstated. g. On 4 April 2018, the Deputy Power Minister advised GPGC that the President had verbally approved of the reinstatement of the EPA and that he was working with Attorney General and the Energy Commission to do so. h. On 8 April 2018, following a number of meetings and calls with the Minister of Energy and his aides, Mr Opam called GPGC to reiterate the Minister's intentions to reinstate the EPA as quickly as possible.

“i. On 2 May 2018, the Deputy Power Minister again advised GPGC that, while the Ministry of Energy was waiting for input from the Attorney-General, the Ministry would write a letter to GPGC providing assurance that the EPA would be reinstated. j. On 3 May 2018, the Minister of Energy wrote to GPGC to confirm that the Ministry was ‘working on the issues raised in [GPGC's] letter’ of 26 February 2018 and would revert with its response ‘soon’.”

The Executive Director for Africa Centre for Energy Policy, Benjamin Boakye, who shared the document, said that the document shows that the government deliberately neglected their duties to create the judgment debt.

“When you read the $170m judgement debt on GPGC, you'll understand how people sleep on the Job to engineer financial haemorrhage. The Value of the contract was ~$134m if it worked, without discounting for my economic benefit. We don't know the accrued interest yet,” he wrote on X on December 13, 2023.

Read the post plus the document below:

When you read the $170m judgement debt on GPGC, you'll understand how people sleep on the Job to engineer financial haemorrhage. The Value of the contract was ~$134m if it worked, without discounting for my economic benefit. We don't know the accrued interest yet. @BBSimons pic.twitter.com/elsWKX1S6L

— Benjamin Boakye (@benboakye) December 13, 2023