Former Energy Minister Boakye Agyarko has vehemently expressed his disapproval of remarks made by former Minister of Power, Dr. Kwabena Donkor. Dr. Donkor with regards to the recent $140 million judgment debt the country is dealing with.
The termination of an agreement between Ghana Power Generating Company (GPGC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration, led by then-Energy Minister Boakye Agyarko has resulted in a judgment debt of $140 million awarded to Singaporean firm Trafigura, the majority owner of GPGC.
Dr Donkor, in his comments, suggested that a thorough investigation should be conducted into all officials from the New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration who played a role in the termination of the power purchase agreement with the Ghana Power Generating Company (GPGC).
“It was very avoidable as I have always said. Let me quickly say this. This was the cheapest of all the emergency power plants in terms of cost. It was also the shortest because it was for four years. There was no requirement for the government of Ghana to put down a guarantee, and then again the total capacity charge made of capital recovery, fixed ONM, and non-fuel variable ONM came to 4 cents per kilowatt hour. It was the cheapest at the time of all the emergency power plants we brought in, and so it couldn’t have been on the basis of cost.”
Dr. Kwabena Donkor further clarified that the government’s assertion that GPGC failed to obtain siting and construction permits is not a valid argument. He explained that the responsibility for obtaining these permits was shared between the state and the company, as outlined in the contract.
Reacting to his statements, Mr Agyarko expressed his disappointment with Dr. Donkor’s comments, deeming them “unfortunate and ill-informed.”
Mr Agyarko clarified the circumstances surrounding the decision to review the Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), emphasizing that “Upon assumption of office, the newly elected NPP government decided to take all the necessary actions to contain the cost of power generation and distribution in Ghana. It became necessary to review the implementation of the many Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) because should all of them be implemented as originally scheduled, it would result in the production of excess energy with its attendant cost, which would worsen the financial situation of the power sector. The review was therefore to help cut back on losses that would be incurred.”
In a statement, he added: “An Inter-Ministerial Committee was set up under the chair of the Energy Commission to review the fiscal and legal implications of Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) executed by the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG). The eighteen (18) member committee was chaired by Dr. Alfred Ofosu Ahenkora, Executive Secretary of the Energy Commission. Its report was submitted on 5th April, 2019 under ref EC/MOE/17.
“The report was subsequently put before Cabinet for consideration and action. Cabinet directed that the report be further reviewed by the Attorney-General. This was done. Cabinet subsequently gave its approval for the recommendation of the report to be implemented.”
