Inquiry into PDS debacle completed; Report being prepared – Oppong Nkrumah

• Posted on August 30, 2019
• by Nana Kwesi Coomson
• Comment

Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah says the inquiry into the breach in the concession agreement with Power Distribution Service (PDS) has been completed.

The government announced a suspension of the concession agreement with PDS, after the detection of fundamental and material breaches of obligation in the provision of Payment Securities.

Two teams of inquiry comprising insurance investigation experts, officials of Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), the Ministries of Energy and Finance as well as MiDA went to Qatar and the United States to probe the matter.

Speaking to Citi News, Mr Nkrumah stated that a final determination will be made when the President arrives from his trip to Asia.

“The teams from Qatar and the United States of America are back and are completing their report. There is also some ongoing work with MIDA here in Ghana. So that will also be factored into the report and when the President returns from his trip, the final determination will be made and announced. But my understanding is that we are wrapping this up and when the final determination is made, a public announcement will be made.”

“The enquiry is supposed to be done within a 30 day period. The brief and understanding I have is that enquiry has come to an end and the teams have brought their feedback from both Qatar and America and have also consulted with the team doing the local end of the work with MIDA and when the President comes all of that will be put together.”

The PDS concession was suspended on July 30, 2019, leading to the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) Limited temporarily re-assuming power distribution responsibilities in Ghana.

There have been reports of forged documents by some partners, prompting Government to begin an enquiry into possible lapses in the deal which was part of a key requirement of Ghana by the US government for an over $400 facility to improve power services in the country under the Millennium Compact II.

-citinewsroom