The presidential candidate of the opposition New Patriotic Party(NPP), Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo has assured members of the Trades Union Congress that he will reconsider the Power Compact Two to factor the views of organized labour when voted into power.
According to him, the current impasse surrounding the Private Sector Participation of the ECG under the compact is a demonstration of the government’s unwillingness to engage relevant stakeholders in the agreement.
Speaking to Executives of the TUC, Nana Addo assured that a future NPP government will reengage the American government to develop a roadmap that will satisfy all parties involved in the agreement.
“In negotiating the original compact, I don’t believe the interest or the views of this organization [TUC] was factored in, that should have been the case, that the views of organized labour should have been sought and addressed,” he said.
He pointed that the inability of the John Mahama’s administration to involve all relevant stakeholders is the result of the disagreement which has affected the compact .
“Addressing does not necessarily mean that you have to agree to everything people say, but at least for people to know their views were sought and are reflected in the final arrangement that was made, and it is the absence of that that has brought us to the present impasse , our first duty, God willing in January will be to sit around again with all stakeholders,” he assured.
He promised that an NPP future government will look at all tge otptions provided by organized labour and labour unions in the country.
“I understand it at the moment that your present beef is that the option you put on the table were not even considered by government before certain decisions were made, that cannot be the correct way of going about the business of governance especially when it involves an important institution such as the TUC,” he said.
“We need to engage again and if it necessary, if it is necessary that we engage with the American partners, the money is a lot , nobody wants that money to go away,” he added.
Compact II enters into force
The Ghana Power Compact, also referred to as Compact II, entered into force despite a law suit against the Millennium Development Authority (MiDA) over the concession of the ECG.
A press statement released recently by MiDA and copied to Citi Business News explained that by the action, the treaty which was signed on August 5, 2014 between the Republic of Ghana and the United States of America, represented by the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) has become effective and Ghana now has access to the Program’s funds.
The Compact II
Under the Power Compact, six projects will be implemented to address the the root causes of the unavailability and unreliability of power in Ghana
The project include ECG Financial and Operational Turnaround Project, NEDCo Financial and Operational Turnaround Project, Regulatory Strengthening and Capacity Building Project, and Access Project.
The rest are Power Generation Sector Improvement Project and Energy Efficiency, and Demand Side Management Project,.
The Government of Ghana signed the Ghana Power Compact with the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), an independent United States government agency, on the sidelines of the US Africa Leaders’ Summit in Washington on August 5, 2014.
Ghana to get over 498m dollars
Ghana signed the Power Compact with the United States of America acting through the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), an independent United States government agency, on the sidelines of the US Africa Leaders’ Summit in Washington DC on August 5, 2014.
The Ghana Power Compact would provide Ghana with a grant sum of four hundred and ninety eight million, two hundred thousand United States Dollars (US$498,200,000) to improve the performance of Ghana’s power sector, unlock the country’s economic potential, create jobs, and reduce poverty.
About US$350 million of the grant is being invested in ECG to make the country’s power distributor operationally and financially more efficient.
The Compact is being implemented by the Government of Ghana through the Millennium Development Authority (MiDA).
By: Lawrence Segbefia/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana