As the country grapples with whether or not to privatize the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), the Coalition Of Stakeholders On The Concession Arrangement, group that is pushing for aspects of the deal to be defined to benefit Ghanaians, have raised concerns over a number of issue they argue would come back to haunt the state if not addressed now.
At a Stakeholders Consultative Forum on the concession arrangement of ECG yesterday, at the College of Physicians and Surgeons in Accra, Richard Nyamah, the convener of the forum bemoan why parliamentarians would pass the Bill of such a delicate deal under the infamous article 7.1-a certificate of urgency, without knowing what they were passing- to seed Ghana sovereignty to the MCC and wondered “…whether we should be passing any laws under the certificate of urgency in the first place.”
He describe as robbing Peter to pay Paul the part of the concession which talks about the paying off all ECG debts and handing over the company to a foreign interest.
The coalition, Mr. Nyamah said, was not against the concession and arrangements on the sales of the company but rather the aspects of if it must be refined to benefit the entire Ghanaians.
ECG and its workers, the member of the coalition said will have to take their fair share of the blame and endeavor to make changes and improve and so should government take its share of the responsibility.
He said leadership of the coalition, led by the TUC Secretary General, will on behalf of the larger group present their communiqué to the President with the hope that government would take suggestions on board in good faith when taking its final decision on the compact.
“It is our duty to put our shoulders to the wheel and ensure a lasting solution to the energy distribution problem in Ghana” Mr. Nyamah stated.
He alleged, more so, that five out of six companies that are bidding for the concession in ECG were remote-controlled by IFC.
He disclosed that the stakeholders on the concession arrangement is a single purpose vehicle that brings all relevant stakeholders in the power distribution sector, civil society, industry players and the trade union congress to dialogue and come out with a solution driven communiqué to support government in its efforts to find a lasting but beneficial solution to the power distribution problem in the country.
They are expected to present the communiqué in the coming week.
Source: New Crusading Guide
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