Managers of Ghana’s power compact aimed at transforming Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) under concession arrangements, Millennium Development Authority (MiDA) have served notice that foreign companies interested in the concession arrangements must have a local partner.
[contextly_sidebar id=”eBDPbIUsJFQPXQFQEgVE8lQobnECzJzw”]According to MiDA promoting local content and participation is important for the growth and skilled transfer of Ghana’s private sector.
Government acting through the Ministry of Power, ECG and MiDA has opened an expression of interest from local and international companies.
This is to identify a qualified private sector partner to invest in and operate the distribution business of ECG through a public private partnership.
Speaking to Citi Business News the Chief Executive Officer of the MiDA Engineer Owura Sarfo said Ghanaian companies have the capacity and technical skills and therefore any international company without a local partner would not be considered as the concessioner for the compact power project.
“I have no doubt that Ghanaian companies have that capacity, Ghanaian companies have the technical skills and also have the financial capability. Some of them may not have the financial muscle that we require, if you are talking about raising 200 million dollars approximately every year or whatever the amount is determined in the tender documents they may not have to partner with other people but we have said that an acceptable private sector participation would be one that has local participation at the governance level and at the operational level and so anyone who comes in and does not come in with a local partner would not be acceptable to us and so that is the regime that we are working to achieve.”
He also rejected claims that under the concession arrangements some workers of the Electricity Company of Ghana will lose their jobs due to an impending restructuring exercise.
“This will not see workers laid off, we are fortunate to have a situation where ECG is not over staffed. What I am saying is that when you do a general review unlike other organizations when you are doing reforms you know that they are already over staffed and so right from the beginning you know that there have to be some layoffs. In the case of ECG fortunately I can say they are not over staffed and therefore we do not foresee retrenchment.”
Engineer Owura Sarfo was quick to add that ‘there may be people in ECG who will want to walk away and go elsewhere, which we will have to make arrangements for, to be able to exit the company very happy but currently there is no retrenchment programme because ECG is not over staffed’.
The partnership according to government is to help transform ECG, in terms of technology and efficiency in power distribution to become a stronger company able to meet the current and future needs of power and end the power crises in Ghana.
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By: Norvan Acquah – Hayford/citifmonline.com/Ghana
