$140m judgment debt: Kwabena Donkor's comments ill-informed, unfortunate - Agyarko

Former Energy Minister, Boakye Agyarko, has said the comments by the former Minister of Power, Dr. Kwabena Donkor, over the happenings that led to the termination of a power contract that has led Ghana into a $140 million judgment debt are ill and unfortunate.

Kwabena Donkor had earlier called for a comprehensive probe into the decisions made by officials from the New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration including the then Energy Minister, Boakye Agyarko.

In his response, Agyarko stated, "My attention has been drawn to some very unfortunate and ill-informed statements by Hon. Kwabena Donkor on the termination of the GPGC Power Purchase Agreement. I deem the utterances most unfortunate and irresponsible coming from a former Minister who ought to know that it is not within my power or province, or that of any Minister, to unilaterally cancel or terminate a contract of this nature."

Agyarko explained the circumstances surrounding the termination, stating that the NPP government, upon taking office, initiated actions to control the costs associated with power generation and distribution in Ghana. They believed that the implementation of numerous Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) would result in excess energy production, causing financial strain on the power sector. As a result, they established an Inter-Ministerial Committee to review the fiscal and legal implications of the PPAs executed by the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).

The committee, chaired by Dr. Alfred Ofosu Ahenkora, submitted a report in April 2019, which was subsequently reviewed by the Attorney-General and approved by Cabinet. In the case of the GPGC PPA, the report recommended its termination due to excess capacity and high costs associated with the project.

Boakye Agyarko emphasized the need to consider the economic viability of the project, saying, "The likelihood of the Plant being idle is further heightened by the fact that it is a pure natural gas-fired turbine to be located in Tema, where there is inadequate gas to feed it.

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