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Deputy Energy Minister responsible for Power, William Owuraku Aidoo, is asking persons unhappy with the termination of the PDS concession agreement to go to court to seek redress if any.

He says the government is fully convinced its decision to cancel the deal was a step in the right direction.

“We have done our investigations and we have come to the conclusion that the deal must be terminated. So…any aggrieved person can go to court to access his or her rights. But as far as we are concerned, we are confident in the decision we have taken and if anybody feels aggrieved, they are a lot of avenues for redress they can resort to”, he told Citi News.

Government has been accused of deliberately making fraud claims against PDS to form the basis of termination to allow some individuals in government to benefit from the deal.

The Minority says the government has caused financial loss to the state over the cancellation of the PDS concession deal – an action that smacks of recklessness and fraud; a claim the Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah had rejected.

No effort to get Ghana a good deal has been spared. The government has not been up to any machinations. The intent has been to ensure efficiency in the ECG turnaround program and the fulfillment of a broader compact all along. Is there anything wrong with switching from 80-20 percent to 51-49 percent? No!”

Compact III at risk

Meanwhile, the Deputy Energy Minister has admitted the potential risk the termination of the PDS concession agreement poses to the country in terms of accessing the compact three of the Millennium Challenge Compact.

The country has already lost 190 million dollars granted at the inception of the concession agreement.

Though the US Government has allayed fears that it will not continue to implement the Compact I funds of over 300 million dollars with the Millennium Development Authority, William Owereku Aidoo says there may be some risks.

“The Compact III is obviously in jeopardy. But there are opportunities for us to sit down with the Americans and talk about the possibility of bringing on board the compact III. But as far as we are concerned, the demand guarantee was not entrenched. We have taken a decision to safeguard the US$ 3 billion accessed so far as opposed to the 190milion [lost]”

Gov’t could face lawsuit for terminating PDS deal – John Jinapor

A former Deputy Power Minister, John Jinapor has said the government could face a lawsuit from the Power Distribution Services and other agencies involved in the power concession agreement.

Speaking to Citi News on the latest development, Mr. Jinapor cautioned government to take the necessary steps to forestall a legal tussle.

“We are likely to have some legal suits because PDS has already gone into contractual obligations. What happened to those contractual obligations? That is why we are calling for investigations to determine which contracts have been entered into, whether they were done properly, whether they are legal and binding, and whether they can be remedied.

And that is why I am saying that this is the time to exercise maximum restraint and ensure that we do what is proper without rushing to pursue certain actions that will be inimical to the state,” he said.