Government is said to have ‘terminated’ the concession agreement between Power Distribution Services’ (PDS) and the Electricity Company of Ghana, (ECG).
The termination, is on the insistence of the Ghana government, against the position of the US government which was insisting that the PDS concession should remain in order to save the $498 million compact with the Millennium Challenge Account. That’s according to reports.
The concession agreement was suspended on July 30, 2019 by government due to what it called “fundamental and material breaches”.
The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) was unhappy with the suspension, insisting the government of Ghana acted too hastily.
According to government, PDS failed to provide demand guarantees for such an agreement, and what was provided turned out to be fake.
A full-scale investigation was therefore launched into the deal with ECG returning to operations.
A delegation was dispatched to Qatar and the United States as part of investigations into the deal.
The opposition National Democratic Congress, (NDC), earlier this week accused the government of ceding the shares to the new owners without approval from Parliament and the knowledge of Ghanaians.
Addressing the press earlier in the week, the General Secretary of the NDC, Johnson Aseidu Nketiah said the party unearthed this new deal between the government and the company from Hong Kong after sighting a letter written by Meridian Power Ventures to the Chairperson of the Millennium Development Authority, (MiDA), Professor Yaa Ntiamoah Baidoo for a special board meeting.
However, the Minister for Energy, John Peter Amewu dismissed the claims that the government has handed over thirty percent (30%) shares in the power distribution industry to a new company.
CNR
