The proposed deal will see the ECG being ceded to a private investor for some 20 years.

[contextly_sidebar id=”jNOAefONzVNOKQ0cxw0cddkYR8V1fyys”]But speaking on Eyewitness News, the Convener of the Group, Richard Nyamah, argued that the move if not carefully negotiated, will lead to “redundancies” within ECG.

“We want further negotiations and we want the Minister to address the letter we have sent…If we are able to solve this venture thing I think we will jump the hurdles because we do not think as a country we have money to pay redundancies in ECG …,” Mr. Nyamah said when queried on implications of the said deal.

As part of his suggestions, Mr. Nyamah further advised government to allow the ECG enter into a “joint venture” with the private investor to address the likely challenges the deal might create.

“Concessionary means a new company taking over and we are saying that to go around this redundancy that we don’t have money for, let us find a way of introducing ECG into the whole process. Let them enter into a joint term venture.”

Mr. Nyamah’s comments follow the Energy Minister, Boakye Agyarko’s criticism of the group’s threats to head to court over the intended arrangements.

COSECA has been reiterating the stance of the Public Utilities Workers’ Union (PUWU) calling on the government to review the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) compact.

The government has suggested it is not ready to review the deal as it believes it has addressed all the concerns of the workers.

Among the concerns was the probability of mass layoffs, but the government has given assurances that no worker will be laid off involuntarily.

The General Secretary of PUWU, Michael Adumata Nyantakye, despite government’s assurance had said at a forum with COSECA on Tuesday that the Union had initiated steps to take legal action against the concession process.

“We have a very serious objection to the model to the concession which has been proposed. The president said there will be no involuntary staff layoffs, which is good, but we find it inadequate because we have no details about how this is going to work out,” he said.

“We are taking steps with some lawyers to take this process if possible, find out from the court or seek declaration or challenge so that our rights as workers are not trampled upon,” he added.

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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline,com/Ghana
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The post ECG privatization might create redundancies – Group insists appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Reacting to questions on whether the compact was a sale or not at the Appointment Committee of parliament, Mr. Agyarko insisted that the compact will only lease the assets and liability of ECG to the concessionaire to operate for a period of time.

“The concession is not a sale. If you read the compact very carefully it is explicitly clear that the assets remain with government but there is a lease on the assets so the concessionaire comes in O& M to use the assets of government. So it is not a sale. The assets never leave the book of records of government so it’s not a sale.  It is not a sale. It is a grant of concession for a period,” he said .

In 2016, workers of the ECG embarked on series of demonstrations against the compact, describing it as a subtle sale of ECG which may lead to job losses after the concessionaire operates it for five years.

“Let the concessionaire come in and take all the debt, assets and liability and move on and see if they will outperform ECG. Our position is , yes there is a compact let us take on board  all the issue that have been raised both by ECG workers, Civil Society originations  and others  and let us see if we can have a common ground to reduce the tension so the project can move on,” he stressed.

Allaying fears of the compact been cancelled by the Trump administration, Mr. Agyarko explained that the compact was approved by the US congress hence binding on any US government.

He was optimistic government will complete the processes outlined in the compact which will enable Ghana to access a grant of over US$400 million to be invested in Ghana’s power sector.

Background

The Trades Union Congress petitioned the then Chief of Staff under the Mahama led administration, Julius Debrah, to halt a Bidders conference that was supposed to take place in late last year. The conference was subsequently halted.

The Compact II

Under the Power Compact, six projects will be implemented to address the the root causes of the unavailability and unreliability of power in Ghana

The project include 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,.

The Government of Ghana signed the Ghana Power Compact with the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), an independent United States government agency, on the sidelines of the US Africa Leaders’ Summit in Washington on August 5, 2014.

Ghana to get over 498m dollars

Ghana signed the Power Compact with the United States of America acting through the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), an independent United States government agency, on the sidelines of the US Africa Leaders’ Summit in Washington DC on August 5, 2014.

The Ghana Power Compact would provide Ghana with a grant sum of four hundred and ninety eight million, two hundred thousand United States Dollars (US$498,200,000) to improve the performance of Ghana’s power sector, unlock the country’s economic potential, create jobs, and reduce poverty.

About US$350 million of the grant is being invested in ECG to make the country’s power distributor operationally and financially more efficient.

The Compact is being implemented by the Government of Ghana through the Millennium Development Authority (MiDA).

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By: Lawrence Segbefia/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana 

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