Finance Minister: ECG Not Gone...It's Not Privatized; The Transaction Is Only A Concession

Finance Minister Seth Terkper has stated categorically that the Electricity Company of Ghana is not being privatized. Speaking in an exclusive interview with Kwami Sefa Kayi onPeace FM's 'Kokrokoo', the Finance Minister indicated that the company has been leased on a concessionary. According to him, there is the need to restructure ECG in order to be able to raise revenue and pay for the power generation and supply to electricity consumers. He noted that government is not surrendering the entire company to the private sector because "VRA is in the chain. GNGC is in the chain. GNPC is in the chain. GRIDCO is in the chain and so it's not as though government is surrendering everything to the private sector." Hon. Tekper further indicated that ECG must be marketed effectively so as to boost power supply. "If we’re not able to collect the revenue as we’re doing it today, we cannot pay for the investment. We cannot pay for the power. And that means that under the guarantee, the guarantee will be called you know and the tax payer will have to come in, and that’s why we have to restructure. So [1] ECG is a concession. And then [2] we’re taking a value change because if you want to take your own gas and not flare it and turn it into power, then you must improve the entire value change from when GNPC takes it all the way to when the power is sold to you and me; either as individuals, households or businesses or government. We must all learn to pay for the power.” Workers of ECG registered their displeasure with the government for proposing to privatize the company. The Senior Staff Association of the ECG bemoaned comments by President John Dramani Mahama regarding the privatization of the company. President Mahama reportedly stated that the nation has experienced "very inefficient distribution system on the electricity…..we had this system for years and it’s not working", adding that "the only way to fix it is to take risk." But the workers expressed their reservations saying such move will not augur well for the country. However, Hon. Terkper asserts that "ECG won't be gone...ECG will continue to hold the access. "ECG is not being privatized. There is an RFP process – Request For Proposal or a tender process – that will be put in place for entities to tender to work with ECG on a concession basis…In the concession means that it’s ECG that will be giving out you know the concession.”

Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi /Peacefmonline.com/Ghana