President Akufo-Addo explains why PDS deal was put on ice

The government last month announced the suspension of the concession agreement after some "fundamental and material breaches" were detected on the part of PDS.

“The Demand Guarantees were key prerequisites for the lease of assets on 1^st March, 2019 to secure the assets that were transferred to the concessionaire,” the government said at the time in a press statement issued by the Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah.

The government has come under pressure over the suspension of the deal, with the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) calling for heads to roll, when government concludes its 30-day enquiry into matter.

In far away Angola, president Akufo-Addo has explained to the Ghanaian community why the deal was suspended and how the government is handling the situation.

He said the agreement was suspended in the interest of the public, and to protect the assets of ECG worth over $3 billion.

He explained that a fundamental part of the agreement required that PDS put up a guarantee to cover some $400 million.

“It turned out that there are problems with this guarantee. Therefore, the protection that we should have in the transaction was not really there. The matter came to our notice, and we decided that the first thing to do was to protect the public assets by suspending the agreement with this private sector operator and returning the assets to the control of the ECG whilst a process of investigation was being carried out,” he added.

President Akufo-Addo told the gathering that he sent a delegation to Qatar on Tuesday, 6th August, 2019, the origin of the guarantee, to find out exactly what the situation was.

“They (Ghanaian delegation) met them (Al Koot Insurance and Reinsurance). They are on their way back. By the time I get back to Accra tomorrow (Friday), we will know exactly where we are,” he said.

The decision to suspend the agreement, the president said, was necessary for “to protect the public interest, and to protect the ECG assets in excess of 3 billion cedis. These are not assets that you can take lightly. They were taken to protect the public interest and to make sure that the delinquency, if that is what it turns out to be, was nipped in the bud as soon as possible,” the president added.

He assured that the suspension of the agreement with PDS “will not disturb the flow of electricity in the country. Things will continue on a stable basis.”