Godfred Yeboah-Dame
THE ATTORNEY General and Minister of Justice, Godfred Yeboah-Dame, says the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government took a needless action when it awarded a power purchase contract to the Ghana Power Generation Company (GPGC).
According to him, the contract, which was signed in 2015, and later cost the nation a $134 million judgment debt following its cancellation, should not have been undertaken in the first place.
Speaking in an interview with Asaase Radio, Mr. Yeboah-Dame indicated that the former government officials who signed the GPGC emergency power purchase agreement have questions to answer.
“Those who committed this agreement, with all respect, have to answer certain questions, because first and foremost, the agreement was entered into in circumstances where there was no need for such an agreement,” he asserted.
He explained that his comment was premised on the report of the (Energy) committee, set up by the erstwhile NDC government, after it awarded the contract to GPGC at the peak of the power crisis.
The International Court of Arbitration, in its ruling, also said the judgment debt also comes with a $30 million interest payment obligation.
Former Energy Minister, Boakye Agyarko, canceled the contract, arguing that the emergency power plants were not needed and were only going to add onto Ghana’s debts in the energy sector.
The International Court of Arbitration again ordered the government to pay GPGC the full value of the early termination payment, together with mobilization, demobilization and preservation and maintenance costs in the amount of $134,348,661, and interest thereon from November 12, 2018 until the date of payment.
The Government also was to pay GPGC an amount of $309,877.74 in respect of the costs of the arbitration, together with $ 3 million in respect of GPGC’s legal representation and the fees and expenses of its expert witness, together with interest on the aggregate amount of $ 3,309,877.74, at the rate of LIBOR for three-month US dollar deposits, compounded quarterly.
By Ernest Kofi Adu