'Timid' Akufo-Addo govt should cancel 'stinking' PDS deal immediately – CPP

The Convention People’s Party (CPP) has asked the Akufo-Addo-led administration to outrightly cancel the government’s concession agreement with the Power Distribution Services (PDS).

The government of Ghana first suspended the power distribution concession deal with PDS and subsequently terminated the deal over fraud.

A letter dated 18 October 2019 signed by Mr Ofori-Atta, said: “Following consultations with Government, we wish to emphasis that Government remains strongly committed to the Compact and to private sector participation in the Electricity Company of Ghana.

“We also wish to reiterate the position communicated to the CEO of the MCC by the President of Ghana during their meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on September 23rd to the effect that, the current concession had to be terminated in view of the facts uncovered regarding the failure by PDS to satisfy conditions precedent under the relevant transaction documents AND, however, that every effort would be employed to ensure a suitable replacement within the relevant timelines in order to complete the Compact.

Commenting on the development via a press release dated 22 October 2019, which was signed by its acting General Secretary Mr James Kwabena Bomfeh Jnr., the CPP noted that: “It is abundantly clear from the letter under the hand of the Honourable Finance Minister that while the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo-led government has mustered some courage to purport to ‘cancel’ the PDS deal, they are timid to renegotiate the whole MCA compact on the energy sector to insist on ECG operating as a state asset without private sector involvement.

“While applauding the Nana Akufo-Addo government for the ‘intent’ to cancel the PDS deal, as well as the vigilance demonstrated by civil society, the media and other political actors, the CPP urges the supposed listening government to, indeed, listen and cancel the stinking deal. It stinks terribly”.

The CPP is of the view that government “should open the ECG Board to democratic public management if the current Board structure is failing to meet the demands of transparency”.

For them, Ghana is capable of managing the energy sector from generation to distribution to management of revenue mobilisation.