By Mabel Adorkor Annang
The Ministry of Energy says though it has oversight responsibilities over energy sector institutions, it is not obliged to meddle in the direct contract negotiations between the sector institutions and potential investors.
It explained that it only intervenes in direct contracts when its assistance is expressly sought. Reacting to claims by the Africa Centre for Energy Policy, ACEP and IMANI on the GNPC\GENSER Energy Gas sales Agreement, the Ministry in a statement said it is not a party to the contract and therefore the Minister cannot speak to the details in the agreement.
The Energy Ministry’s statement pointed that it is true that it wrote to GNPC and Ghana Gas upon the decision of the Economic Management Team to ask them to clarify their roles in the gas sector and among other things designated GNPC and the national gas aggregator.
It said it is not clear how such communication could mean that the ministry was involved in the GNPC\GENSER Energy Gas sales deal. On Genser’s DIDT status, the Ministry said that was given to companies to boost gas consumption in the period of excess gas with associated take or pay commitments.
However, the Ministry said the DIDT policy predates the assumption of office of the current energy minister Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh who has advocated the removal of such a policy.