Information Minister, Mr. Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah has reacted to a comment from his colleague Member of Parliament (MP) for Adansi Asokwa constituency, KT Hammond saying he is quite certain that Power Distribution Service (PDS) will not be cleared to manage the country’s power distribution service again after its suspension by the government for some breaches in its concession agreement is prejudicial.
According to Mr. Oppong-Nkrumah, “KT Hammond is speaking his mind and that is not the position of the government”.
Briefing the media on Thursday in Accra, Mr. Oppong-Nkrumah said “ I speak for the government, and KT Hammond’s comment on the PDS issues is not of government and that is not government’s position. That is prejudicial.”
He added, “we are in a democratic country so everyone can speak his or her mind, and he has stated his position.”
Mr. Hammond said in an interview on an Accra based TV station that it was determined that the document presented as a guarantee by the company was forged and it, therefore, took the country “for a ride.”
“From my perspective, [based on] the information I have, there is no doubt that this document is a forgery. There is no way, as far as I am concerned that PDS is coming back. It is gone because of what I have seen, [and] what I have been shown. It is a clear case of taking the country for a ride. I suspect that the suspension is going to be permanent, I think ECG is going to take it back,” KT Hammond said.
The government of Ghana on Tuesday decided to suspend a concessionary agreement with PDS for distribution of power in Ghana, with immediate effect following what it said was the discovery “of fundamental and material breaches of PDS’ obligation in the provision of Payment Securities (Demand Guarantees).”
