National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament for Yapei/Kusawgu, John Jinapor, says Electricity Company of Ghana(ECG) must take back its assets from the Power Distribution Services following the PDS debacle.
“What PDS is doing are not rocket science. ECG has the capacity to manage same and must assume operations immediately.” he said.
He added its imperative to quickly appoint a competent board that will ensure that through proper competitive process they’ll appoint new Chief Executive or Managing Director to take over affairs and bring a new life to the state-power distributor.
He believes ECG can do well if it’s insulated from government control.
His comment follows the US government cancellation of the second tranche of $190 million dollars meant for Ghana under the millennium power compact.
“The United States of America notes this decision with regret. Based upon the conclusions of the independent forensic investigation, the U.S. position is that the transfer of operations, maintenance, and management of the Southern Distribution Network to the private concessionaire on March 1, 2019, was valid, and therefore the termination is unwarranted.
“As such, MCC has confirmed that the $190 million funds granted to Ghana at the March 1 transfer to the 20-year concession from ECG to PDS are no longer available.
“The United States underscores the importance of contract sanctity as essential to a conducive investment climate and a pre-condition for inclusive economic growth. In this spirit, the United States has worked with the Government of Ghana since the latter’s July 30 suspension of the concession in the hopes of finding a mutually acceptable solution that respected contract sanctity and the Government of Ghana’s interest in restructuring the concession,” the statement said.