The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has asked Ghanaians not to trust the NPP government in selecting a successor for PDS through a restrictive tendering process.
Addressing the media Monday in response to the cancellation of the PDS deal government, General Secretary for the party Johnson Asiedu Nketiah accused the Nana Addo administration of attempts to reappropriate shares to cronies through the proposed restrictive tendering.
The PDS was finally terminated by the Akufo-Addo government in a statement dated Friday, October 18 which communicated the termination of the 25-year power concession agreement with PDS over irregularities found with the company’s demand guarantee.
The move comes months after the Ghana Government announced a suspension of the contract but still watched on as PDS did business with ECG under an arrangement shrouded with confusion.
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The Finance Minister in a statement released over the weekend revealed that the government had to terminate the concession agreement between the Electricity Company of Ghana and the Power Distribution Services due to what it called “fundamental and material breachesâ€.
PDS was in July found to have presented invalid insurance security for the takeover of ECG assets. Following months of investigations, the government terminated the deal adding that a restrictive tender process will be used in selecting a new concessionaire by December 31, 2019.
But reacting government's decision to use restrictive tendering to select a replacement to the PDS, Asiedu Nketia said, “Ofori Atta proposes the use of a restrictive tendering process to replace PDS, this is laughable, and I want to say that this is not an option that Ghanaians and the MCC should even consider…we are interested in protecting the interest of Ghana and they are not.
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“Ghanaians should never trust the very same Ofori Atta, Keli Gadzekpo, Dr. Bawumia and President Akufo-Addo who caused this PDS mess to do a thorough job, there is too much corruption in their DNA,â€.
The NDC is also calling for the resignation or dismissal of the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori Atta, the Minister of Energy, Peter Amewu, and the prosecution of all officials who played a role in this stinking scandal for the offence of Willfully Causing Financial Loss to the state among others.
"The NDC demands the immediate dissolution of the MIDA Board and the Keli Gadzekpo-led ECG Board. They have failed the nation and proven to be undeserving of the critical mandate which have been entrusted into their care by Ghanaians. They have proven to be lackeys in the service of a greedy cabal of family and friends hell-bent on appropriating a critical national asset like ECG. Ghana deserves better.
"We demand an immediate forensic audit of the accounts of PDS by an internationally reputable Audit firm, and the total refund of all monies which have accrued to or been collected by them from power consumers since 1st March 2019 when they took over the Power Distribution Business of ECG. We need our money now!"
"We also demand the immediate resignation or dismissal of the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori Atta, the Minister of Energy, Peter Amewu, and the prosecution of all officials who played a role in this stinking scandal for the offense of Willfully Causing Financial Loss to the state among others.
"Finally, we demand that the Akufo-Addo government completely abandons the idea of engaging in the proposed restrictive tender process for the selection of a new concessionaire with immediate effect, pending the total clean up of all relevant state institutions and actors who are responsible for this mess."