NDC holds presser on govt’s cancellation of PDS concession

The opposition National Democratic Congress(NDC) will today Monday, October 21, 2019 hold a press conference to state its position on government’s cancelation of the controversial Power Distribution Concession(PDS) power concession.

The Akufo Addo government has explained why it took the decision to terminate the concession and find a replacement in a timely manner to successfully conclude the Compact was based on two key points.

One reason for the termination of the concession was that the Government of Ghana viewed that the meeting between the CEO of MCC and the President of Ghana produced an understanding that the existing concession would be discontinued and a concession restoration and restructuring plan executed within existing timelines and in any event before December 31, 2019.

Secondly, it noted, the cancellation of the concession does not in any way diminish the Government of Ghana’s commitment to private sector participation in Ghana’s energy sector.

“Indeed, Government intends to see this PSP through in a manner that respects due process and fidelity to the relevant transaction documents and underlying Compact,” it noted.

The decision to cancel the concession follows a meeting between the Secretary to President Akufo-Addo, Nana Bediatuo Asante, and Ofori-Atta on one hand, and the Principal Deputy Vice President of MCC, Kyeh Kim, and the Resident Country Director-Ghana of the MCC, Kenneth Miller, on the other hand, held in Washington DC on Friday, October 18, 2019.

But the opposition NDC has since day one maintained that the PDS concession was fraught with fraud and not in the interest of Ghana.

The NDC accused the Akufo-Addo administration of fudging the original Power Compact II agreement to handover the management of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) to surrogates of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

“This project was expected to significantly improve access to electricity, ensure operational efficiency, turn around ECG, increase their profitability and have a sustainable, reliable and resilient delivery of power to the good people of Ghana,” said former deputy power minister John Jinapor.

He said the process, which commenced under the NDC in a very transparent and competitive manner culminated in the selection of six companies that were pre-qualified both through the RFQ stage and at the RFP stage.

“Unfortunately, however… upon assumption of office by the Akufo-Addo administration under the guise of the so-called local content participation, the government deliberately altered the original agreement in a manner and fashion to pave way for the contracts to be awarded to a cabal of companies that have no track record in the energy sector,” he stated during a press conference Thursday in Accra.

“This cabal …critical investigations revealed are not experienced in the power sector but rather a group of friends, cronies and NPP party apparatchiks contrary to the original goals, objectives and aspirations of the programme.”