According to him, this move will reduce the load on the current managers of the country’s electricity distribution chain and open the economy up for more investment.

He explained that producers can be selected for the regions after a bidding process.

[contextly_sidebar id=”npR1wldmJXvNEWE9uGEVKpO04meauqAk”]Mr. Casely-Hayford made the suggestion on Citi FM’s news analysis programme, The Big Issue on the back of the privatization of the Electricity Company of Ghana.

Compact II and ECG

Government had announced that it is seeking an amendment to the Power Compact II which seeks to allow private participation in the affairs of ECG.

Under the agreement, which is known as the   Power Compact II, government is expected to allow about 80 percent private sector control in ECG for the country to benefit from a cash injection of about one billion US dollars over a period of 5 years.

But speaking to Ghanaian workers at the celebration of May Day in Accra last Monday, President Nana Akufo-Addo maintained that government wants about 51% stake for Ghanaians instead.

Meanwhile, speaking on The Big Issue, Casely-Hayford was of the view that the Compact agreement would not have been necessary if his suggestion is adopted.

“It makes a lot of logical sense to me that we should have independent power producers who are given the opportunity to sell into the regions.”

He explained that the regions could be demarcated into seven with the three regions of the north being one and “sold off to people during a bidding session.”

“What I would do is to combine GRIDCo back to VRA, and get VRA to provide the energy and the distribution and give the independent power producer one single tariff. It doesn’t mean you are breaking GRIDCo up or turning it on the loose; you are just putting it back on the VRA so you could have a single tariff. When you have that then the independent power producers can then buy their power to allow for even distribution throughout the whole sector.”

Mr. Casely-Hayford further explained that the regions could be structured in a way to make them attractive to the potential power producers.

“They can then find their own sources [of power] going forward and then you also allow them the opportunity to build their own power stations. So you give them a long term offer — 20 to 30 years. And if somebody thinks he can build a two or three megawatt power station that will supply his whole region so he is not dependent on buying power from the main power producer, he should have the opportunity to do so. That is what brings value into an economy. That is what really kicks private sector in and going,” he added.

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By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin

The post Regions need independent power producers –  Casely-Hayford appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

PUWU further accused the US Ambassador of “tacitly blackmailing” the government of Ghana into implementing the compact.

Mr. Jackson in a media interview claimed that “it’s too late to renegotiate [the compact II]… we are certainly willing to talk about how it will be executed. I’m certain that the compact as it’s structured it’s great for Ghana.”

But Speaking to Citi News, PUWU insisted that, the comment seeks to tie the hands of government; a situation they argue breaches sections of the compact that provides for amendments.

While decrying the silence of government over the matter, the General Secretary of PUWU, Michael Adumatta Nyantakyi, called on President Akufo-Addo to as a matter of urgency make good his campaign promise of engaging stakeholders on the matter.

“The United States Ambassador to Ghana, Mr. Robert Jackson reacted with remarks that it was too late for renegotiation so government should go ahead with the implementation of the compact. The US Ambassador’s remark is viewed as unfortunate.”

Although Mr. Nyantakyi said PUWU was not against the Compact II, he explained that they are only “opposed to the handing over of ECG to a private entity for 25 years. The union is against the single concession which is tantamount to creating a virtual drive monopoly in the electricity distribution,” he added.

The PUWU General Secretary further noted that, during the electioneering, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo promised to hold wide consultations before rolling out the Compact II, if elected into office.

According to him, the President should fulfill the promise by taking a decision on the matter.

“In the course of the campaign, the then candidate, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in an answer to a question in this hall, promised that, should he be elected into office, he will undertake consultations with stakeholders including labour before taking any decision. PUWU believes that it is time for complex actions to be taken for the proposed dialogue to be initiated with labour and other stakeholders, so that views from the consultation will assist the President in taking the best decision on the matter,” Mr. Nyanatakyi added.

The Compact II agreement

Ghana and the Millennium Challenge Corporation of the US government signed the second Compact in October 2016.

The agreement brought to total $1.4 billion received by the government to be injected into the country’s energy sector geared towards making the ECG more efficient.

The project under the compact includes the ECG Financial and Operational Turnaround Project, NEDCo Financial and Operational Turnaround Project, Regulatory Strengthening and Capacity Building Project, and Access Project.

The rest are Power Generation Sector Improvement Project and Energy Efficiency, and Demand Side Management Project.

Ghana should be fighting against ECG concession

However, a number of institutions including civil society organisations, have kicked against its implementation.

A member of the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC), Dr. Steve Manteaw recently argued that the country should completely reject the MCC Compact II.

In Dr. Manteaw’s view, “the credibility of the whole concession arrangement has been shattered completely”  insisting that “we should be rejecting it outright.”

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By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin

The post PUWU attacks US Ambassador over ECG privatization appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.