North Tongu Member of Parliament(MP), Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has announced plans to initiate processes to summon the Finance and Energy Ministers; Ken Ofori-Atta and Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh over the judgment debt to Trafigura.
Mr Ablakwa has said the Attorney General, Godfred Dame Yeboah will also be summoned to answer questions on the debt.
“Our oversight role in terms of summoning these ministers and finding out why they created this, and seeing if there can even be a vote of censure, failed the last time we tried that because we did not have the two-thirds majority.
“But we will not give up, and we have already served notice that we are going to pursue this matter because this is such a colossal amount of money wasted, and people must answer questions. You can’t waste all of these resources which could have been used to build roads, hospitals, solve our water problems, and address our housing challenges for displaced persons. So, I can assure you that we are not going to be derelict on this matter,” he stated in an interview on Accra-based Citi FM.
Ghana incurred the judgment debt over a decision to terminate the power purchase agreement with the Ghana Power Generating Company (GPGC).
Upon the advice of the Attorney General in 2017, the government terminated the deal on grounds that due to its attendant high tariffs, if implemented, it would have cost the state $115,480,000.
But Trafigura, the majority owner of GPGC in January 2021 secured the award after an arbitral tribunal in London found that Ghana had unlawfully terminated a contract for the installation and operation of two power plants.
The government was mandated to pay $170 million to the company or face the risk of losing the Ghana High Commission building in the UK, which provides visa and other services; the commissioner’s residence; the Ghana International Bank building; and other properties through auctioning.
The government has thus released $20 million to initiate the payment process.
ALSO READ:
