New Patriotic Party (NPP) MP for Adansi-Asokwa, Kobina Tahir Hammond, has called for the prosecution of all those involved in the concession agreement with the Power Distribution Services (PDS), if it is proved that there was a fraud.
This follows the government’s suspension of the contract with PDS on Tuesday.
According to the statement from the Information Ministry, “the decision follows the detection of fundamental and material breaches of PDS’ obligation in the provision of payment securities…”
Reacting to the fallouts, K.T Hammond who is a former Deputy Energy Minister in the John Agyekum Kufuor regime, said the officials involved in the deal must be held accountable and prosecuted if further probes find them liable to this “gargantuan fraud.”
The NPP legislator also sided with the Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu’s call for a Parliamentary probe into the scandal.
According to the legislator who is also a Member of the Mines and Energy Committee, the committee raised red flags on the deal but okayed it due to assurances from the government.
What led to the breakdown of the deal?
On February 27, 2019, PDS took over power distribution in the country from the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), to ensure efficiency.
But just five months into their work, Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, announced on JoyNews that the contract has been suspended.
Speaking to the AM Show on JoyNews Wednesday, Energy Minister, John Peter Amewu, explained that PDS’ guarantee forthe deal did not check out.
According to the Minister, PDS’ guarantee was Qatar-based company, Al Koot.
However, Al Koot has denied signing any such agreement with PDS, claiming that the signature was forged.
Responding to why the guarantees were not agreed before the deal, Amewu said time constraints forced the government of Ghana to sign the deal before PDS’ submission of its guarantees.
In technical terms, the deal changed from condition precedent to condition subsequent.
