The National Democratic Congress (NDC) minority in Parliament has called on government to terminate the controversial concession agreement between the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and the Power Distribution Services (PDS) with immediate effect.
They contend the deal is fraught with irregularities and it’s not in the best interest of Ghana.
Addressing the media on Thursday, former Minister of Power, John Jinapor said the minority has a 5-point demand to the government to abrogate the deal.
“This concession agreement must be terminated without any further delay,” he said.
He also urged government to “Identify and not only identify but go ahead and prosecute those responsible for this fraudulent guarantee as confirmed by no other person than the Minister of Energy.”
“We must also identify, smoke out and prosecute all government officials who collaborated in this scandal as far as the guarantee and the concession is concerned. Ensure full refund of monies and interests thereof collected by PDS during this month period. Dissolve the current board and appoint a competent, non partisan board that trusts the capacity to ensure that ECG continue to serve the people of Ghana,” Jinapor added.
The Minority also accused government officials of trying to use the PDS concession agreement with Ghana to loot the country’s coffers.
Mr. Jinapor claimed that “the Ministries of Finance and Energy knew all this while that the Guarantee was fake but decided not to act on the anomaly for reasons best known to them and only them.”
“We hold President Akufo-Addo squarely responsible and liable for this.”
On Tuesday, the Ministry of Information issued a statement announcing the suspension of the deal between government and PDS.
A statement signed by sector Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, said some breaches in PDS’ obligation in the provision of Payment Securities were detected.
“The Government of Ghana, through the Ministry of Finance and the Electricity of Ghana, has suspended the concession agreement with the Power Distribution Services (PDS) Ghana Limited with immediate effect,” the statement said.
“The decision follows the detection of fundamental and material breaches of PDS’ obligation in the provision of Payment Securities (Demand Guarantees) for the transaction which have been discovered upon further due diligence.
