The Coalition of Stakeholders on Electricity Campany of Ghana (ECG) Concession Arrangement (COSECA), has blown the whistle on the Millennium Development Authority (MiDA) and International Financial Consortium (IFC) for being the major actors in the current fraud allegations against Power Distribution Services (PDS), on Wednesday in Accra.
The convener of the group, Richard Nyamah, in a press conference in Accra, narrated how MiDA, in an attempt to secure its bidding, had to write letters supposedly coming from stakeholders in the energy sector such as the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission and Energy Commission to the IFC, to have its concern in selecting a concessionaire for the ECG. The letters were denounced by the respective executive secretaries of institutions in question, and calling on MiDA to immediately take steps to reverse these acts.
He added that the formation of COSECA, is to fight what he called “a monster seeking to devour our electricity subsidy”.
Mr. Nyamah said PDS as a new company had no experience nor the financial muscle to raise the required guarantees mentioned in the agreement.
“This is the reason why as part of the guarantees, tariffs were to be adjusted as a condition precedent for the PDS to use the adjustment to raise the needed guarantees from an “A Class” Bank. But MiDA, realizing its failure to meet this condition precedent to PDS, in a bid to correct its mess, changed the Letter of Credit or Bank guarantee from an “A” minus Bank to an insurance guarantee, which itself is a further breach of the terms and conditions of the concession,” he said.
The government on last 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).
Details of the alleged breach revealed that the Management/Directors of PDS, Meralco Consortium, IFC and other persons forged a document to finally get their deal.
By:Thomas Kofi Asamoah / Joseph Nii Ankrah
