[ 2016-08-19 ]

ECG

ECG not being sold for $400m - Jinapor
Deputy Minister of Power, John Jinapor, has
refuted allegations that government has put up the
Electricity Company of Ghana for sale for US$400
million.

“It is not true, it’s a big lie with no
accuracy in it, ECG is not being sold. What we
want is the participation of the private sector in
the management of ECG,” he told Emefa Apawu on
Class FM’s 505 news programme on Thursday, 18
August.

Mr Jinapor’s denial was a response to claims by
an inter-party group, Coalition Against the
Proposed Concession Arrangement for the
Electricity Company of Ghana, that the state power
distributor was being given away for a pittance.

The group, at a press conference on Thursday
issued a five-day ultimatum to the government to
review its compact with the Millennium Challenge
Corporation or face their anger.

Convener of the group, Richard Nyamah, accused
the Millennium Development Authority (MiDA) of
conniving with the Government of Ghana to
shortchange the country by selling ECG to a
private firm for $400 million.

According to him, the group will be left with no
option than to petition the US government and
subsequently drag the Government of Ghana to court
if the compact is not abrogated. “…That will
stem from what action government will take; if
tomorrow government decides that they will
renegotiate the whole compact, we may hold back
and give government a position paper on how we
think the sale of ECG should be structured," Mr
Nyamah said.

However, Mr Jinapor maintains that the decision
to cede the management of ECG to private entities
was “approved in parliament unanimously by the
NDC [National Democratic Congress], NPP [New
Patriotic Party], PNC [People National Convention]
and the CPP [Convention People’s Party], so if
someone sits somewhere and feels it’s solely a
government project, it is not true”. “If any
party wants to go to court over the issue, it is
their democratic right, if they want to petition
the US government, too, fair enough. I am sure the
US government will call them and educate them and
once they are educated on the process and what we
are doing, they will appreciate it,” he added.

For him, the accusations are “unfounded,
baseless and of no value” because the Government
of Ghana is yet to even “shortlist” and engage
any entity concerning the concession.

Source - classfmonline.com

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