Pierre Frank Laporte
The Minority in Parliament is demanding evidence from the World Bank Country Director, Pierre Frank Laporte, over claims he made on the take-or-pay Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) of the energy sector.
Ranking Member for Mines and Energy, John Jinapor, speaking on behalf of the Minority, said the World Bank Director should provide evidence of peer countries where would-be investors are willing to invest $300 million and above in Gas-to-power projects at that time of emergency without demanding some form of supply and payment guarantees.
The Minority also debunked the claim that PPAs approved under the Mahama administration are the cause of Ghana’s current energy sector problems.
They pointed out that the NPP Minority in Parliament at the time approved all the agreements, including Amandi, AKSA, and Ameri, without any objection.
Speaking at a press conference held yesterday, the Minority also refuted Vice President Bawumia’s recent claim that Ghana’s electricity tariffs are the highest in the sub-region.
They indicated that the tariffs are within the lower bracket in the sub-region.
The press conference follows controversy surrounding a video recording of the World Bank Country Director, Mr. Laporte.
The Minority provided details on payments to cover fuel consumption, technical and commercial losses, forex losses, required reserve margins, and outstanding electricity bills, which have been misrepresented as excess payments by the government.
They also questioned the government’s justification for signing a new 15-year PPA with AKSA for the same plant and a completely new 207MW PPA with AKSA for a 20-year period. The contracts they claim contained take-or-pay clauses.
They further raised concerns about the pricing formula of the Tema LNG gas contract signed by the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia-led government and indexed to crude price, making it the most expensive gas contract in Ghana, and accused the government of reckless borrowing and economic mismanagement.
The Minority called out the government for what they claim is unnecessary and flimsy blame games and a failure to accept responsibility for the economic hardship confronting the ordinary Ghanaian.
By Vincent Kubi