PDS is broke, cannot execute concession deal – Kofi Bentil

Vice President of Policy Think tank, IMANI Africa, Kofi Bentil has said that the Power Distribution Services (PDS) is financially constrained therefore cannot implement the power concession agreement signed with government, ABC News can report.

PDS took over the operations of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) after its major shareholder from the Philippines, Meralco Consortium won the Millennium Challenge Power Compact Two from the U.S.A.

Ghana signed the Power Compact with the United States of America acting through the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), an independent United States government agency, on the sidelines of the US Africa Leaders’ Summit in Washington DC on August 5, 2014.

As part of the agreement, PDS was expected to invest over US$580 million in Ghana’s power sector within the next five years after receiving the Assets and Operations of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), on Wednesday.

Barely six months into the execution of the agreement, Government suspended its arrangement with PDS over fundamental and material breaches of the latter’s obligation in the provision of Payment Securities (Demand Guarantees).

Last week, Minister of Information, Hon. Kojo Oppong Nkrumah announced that Government had completed the thirty-day probe for final determinations to be made by the President.

In a twitter post cited by ABC News, Kofi Bentil has called on Government to terminate their concession with PDS and bring in other investors to manage the country’s power sector.

“On PDS, let me be clear, PDS has NO MONEY!! All these investigations will prove this simple point!! PDS doesn’t qualify to hold the concession. The various ‘financial guarantees’ are to buy time! the earlier we remove them and bring in others the better.”