By Bright Ntramah
The second Millennium Challenge Corporation Compact (MCC), which was signed in 2017, has successfully come to an end.
The second compact, dubbed the Ghana Power Compact was used to invest and double access to power in the country. The 498.2 million dollar was disbursed to support the transformation of Ghana’s electricity sector and stimulate private investment.
The Board of MiDA presented its report to President Akufo-Addo at the Jubilee House. President Akufo-Addo said the Compact is a testimony of the growing cooperation between Ghana and the USA and hoped for a third Compact.
The five-year Compact was designed to create a self-sustaining energy sector in Ghana by reforming laws and regulations needed to transform the country’s power sector.
The Compact supported improved management of Ghana’s entire power system, providing a more robust framework for private investment as well as a more competitive process for the procurement of power from independent producers. It addresses challenges in distribution, generation and access to energy in Ghana with the construction of two bulk supply points in Pokuase and Kasoa, currently the largest and second largest in West Africa.
The Government of Ghana invested 37.4 million dollars of its own funds in the initiative, making the Compact a total investment of up to 535.6 million dollars. Apart from the energy sector, the Compact invested in refrigerator and air conditioner testing laboratory for the Ghana Standards Authority and retrofitted seven major government buildings in the Ministries, including intervention at Korlebu and at the University of Ghana.
The Board Chair of MiDA, Professor Yaa Ntiamoah Baidu, was hopeful that all infrastructure will be well managed after the Compact.
The President thanked the Board and Members of MIDA for executing the Compact Two. He said the government will embrace the idea of Compact Three if the idea is proposed.
The Millennium Challenge Account is a U.S. government program that gives development aid in the form of grants to developing countries that adopt economic and political reforms. On May 6, the Bush administration named the first 16 countries eligible to apply for MCA funds, including Ghana.
