AG to get CID to investigate PPA that resulted in $170m judgment debt
Mr.Yeboah Dame disclosed that a committee constituted in 2016 revealed that the said agreement was not properly done
The Attorney General has indicated his intention to formally get the Criminal Investigation Department(CID) of the Ghana Police Service to investigate the power purchasing agreement with Ghana Power Generation Company(GPGC), which was signed under the Erstwhile Mahama Administration.
Mr.Yeboah Dame disclosed that a committee constituted in 2016 revealed that the said agreement was not properly done.
Speaking on Top Story on Joy FM and monitored by DLN, the Attorney General blamed the $170 million judgment debt on the signatories of the contract.
“So I think that when it comes to financial loss, it is clear in my mind that the responsibility lies clearly with those who agreed. The basic point is that the entry into this transaction was unnecessary. The entry into this transaction was what resulted in financial loss to the state,” he said.
Additionally, the AG indicated his decision to request a formal inquiry into the said power agreement especially conducts of the officials who were in charge.
He said in his personal view, he believes the agreement should not have been entered into in the first place based on the determination of a committee that advised that the said agreement was rather going to create excessive power for the Republic.
Mr. Dame also noted that a committee formed as far back as September 2016 under the NDC government had advised the termination of the contract because the government had entered into so many PPAs and thus singled out this particular power agreement for abrogation.
On his part, Mr.John Jinapor, former Energy Minister and current Ranking Member of Parliament’s Energy Committee disagreed with the AG and rather cited the Minister for Energy under President Akufo Addo’s first term as the one to be blamed for the judgment debt.
He complemented his point by the fact that the NPP government did not take the power agreement seriously and also faulted how the government terminated the contract with the Ghana power Generation Company(GPGC).