Minority in Parliament is demanding for evidence from the World Bank Country Director, Frank Laporte Pierre over his claims on the take-or-pay agreements in the country’s energy sector.
According to the Minority, the World Bank Country Director should provide them with 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 at a press conference addressed by John Jinapor. Ranking member on the Mine and Energy Committee also rejects the idea that Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) approved under the Mahama administration are the cause of Ghana’s current energy sector problems.
They point out that the NPP minority in Parliament approved all these agreements, including early power, Amandi, AKSA, and Ameri, without objecting.
Speaking at a press conference held on Tuesday June 6, the Minority also refutes Vice-President Bawumia’s recent claim that Ghana’s electricity tariffs are the highest in the sub-region.
They stated that the tariffs are within the lower bracket and publish a comparative analysis of ECOWAS member countries to support their claim.
The press conference follows controversy surrounding a video recording of the World Bank country director, Mr Laporte.
The Minority believes that NPP pro-government media have extensively twisted Mr Laporte’s statements to place blame on former President Mahama for the country’s current economic crisis.
The Minority also provides 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.
The Minority also questions 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 contain take-or-pay clauses.
They 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. The Minority accuses the government of reckless borrowing and economic mismanagement.
The press conference also highlights President Mahama’s record in the energy sector, including the Sankofa Gas project, the 250MW Ameri power plant, and the bequeathing of the ESLA to the current government, which has accrued revenues of about 24 billion Cedis.
The press conference accuses the current government of unnecessary and flimsy blame games and a failure to accept responsibility for the economic hardship confronting the ordinary Ghanaian.
The Minority calls on the government to find reasonable solutions to current issues in the energy sector.
By Vincent Kubi