Ghanaians to own at least 51% of ECG – President asserts

Government is set to review the power compact it signed with the Millennium Challenge Corporation that will see a concession of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) being managed by the private sector.

This is coming on the back of a growing concern by ECG workers, civil society groups and a cross-section of Ghanaians insisting on outright rejection of the deal. The Government of Ghana signed the Ghana Power Compact with the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), an independent United States government agency, on the sidelines of the US Africa Leaders’ Summit in Washington on August 5, 2014. Addressing workers at the Black Star Square, Monday in Accra at the national May Day parade, President Nana Akufo-Addo announced that government is amending the concession. Marked under the theme, “Mobilising for Ghana’s future through the creation of decent jobs”, the president said the review would ensure that the deal that would ensure reforms at the state-owned ECG would not lead to job losses.

The amendment, President Akufo-Addo said would require that “one, Ghanaians own at least 51% of the concession; two, there should be no involuntary lay off as a result of the concession; three, the term of the concession would be reduced from 25 to 20 years”.

He was hopeful that these changes will meet the aspiration of Ghanaian workers and ensure viability of ECG. Under the US$498,200,000 Power Compact, six projects will be implemented to address the unavailability and unreliability of power in Ghana. The project include ECG Financial and Operational Turnaround Project, NEDCo Financial and Operational Turnaround Project, Regulatory Strengthening and Capacity Building Project, and Access Project. The rest are Power Generation Sector Improvement Project and Energy Efficiency, and Demand Side Management Project.