NDC Trades Ghana Gas To China For 19 Years

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has observed that the country has reached a stage where it is moving from a crisis to a state of catastrophe.

The NPP has also decried the move to collateralize the country's gas for a loan from China.

Revealing some aspects of this intended agreement between Ghana and China at a media briefing in Accra yesterday, NPP's policy advisor, Boakye Agyarko, said, “The Mahama Cabinet has recently given approval to a proposal which they hope will entice the China Development Bank to re-activate the remaining $2 billion of the $3 billion loan which the Chinese discontinued after disbursing $1 billion of it to Ghana.”

In the original Master Facility Agreement, he said, “President Mahama committed Ghana to supplying, as collateral security, 13,000 barrels per day of crude oil up to 2027 to service the CDB facility. The Chinese eventually considered this as insufficient because of the slump in oil prices, refusing to release the remaining tranches.”

Mr. Boakye Agyarko said in the new offer to CDB, the Mahama government is proposing to export to the Chinese all the Natural Gas Liquids (NGLs) to be processed by Ghana Gas Processing Plant at Atuabo from 2018, estimated at a value of $1.5 billion.

Quoting from the  'Decisions Memorandum' on the facility drafted by the Mahama administration this year,   Mr. Boakye Agyarko said, the government intends to “release up to US$450 million from the revenue accruing from the sale of Lean Gas over 2016 to 2018 for purposes of resolving shortfalls in GoG payment obligations under the MFA for 2016 to 2021.”

Crisis
The NPP policy advisor and head of the Manifesto Committee decried the extent to which the Mahama-led National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration has run down the economy of Ghana.

His reason was that “The NDC government has plunged the country into a needless power crisis as a result of poor management and bad governance.”

“That” according to him, “has significantly eroded the solid economic prospect of Ghana post 2008.

“In spite of these sad developments, the NDC government never saw the need to invest even one dollar to provide power for the people.”

Mr Agyarko revealed that “All the megawatts of power generation claimed by the NDC are from projects implemented by the NPP, with a substantial portion of the projects funded with the Jubilee Bond of $750 million.” He specifically mentioned the Bui Hydro Power (400MW), TT1PP (126 MW), TT2PP (49MW), additional 108MW to the Akosombo Hydro Power, Kpone Thermal Plant (220MW) and the Mine Reserve Plant (80MW), among others.

He also talked of other private sector initiatives facilitated by the then NPP government such as the Asogli Power Plant (200 MW with an expansion plan) and the 126 MW Osonor Thermal Power Plant (now CENIT), saying, “In all, the NPP invested and facilitated the addition of about 1,440MW of generation capacity.”

Mr Boakye Agyarko posited, “Indeed, all the major achievements that the NDC boasts of in the energy sector today, including the discovery of oil, were done by the NPP and inherited by the NDC,” citing the $344 million US Exim Bank facility which the NDC government used to extend nationwide coverage of electricity by an additional 30% under the Self Help Electrification (Shep IV) programme.

He said it was approved by parliament on 16th September, 2008 whiles noting with emphasis, “The only modification done by the NDC was to facilitate the procurement of luxury vehicles as part of the loan agreement.”

 
Justification
It was for this and other reasons he said, “Ghana is in crisis – avoidable, needless, annoying – Mahama-made crisis,” describing it as “a home-made crisis caused by a combination of mismanagement, incompetence, corruption, greed, visionlessness, recklessness, indecisive and insensitive leadership. Under John Dramani Mahama, Ghana has registered the biggest job losses ever on record.”

He added, “Not even the PNDC retrenchments under the IMF structural adjustment programme of the 1980s recorded the kind of unemployment crisis Ghanaians have witnessed in the last three years alone.”

He indicated, “Latest figures from the Ghana Statistical Service show that Ghana's economy (including oil) shrunk by $1.8 billion last year – the largest annual decrease in dollar terms on record. In fact, it is even projected to get worse this year.

“The Third Review under the IMF bailout agreement, which was published this month, projects the economy to grow by a mere 3.3% this year, the worst in 22 years. Please note, 3.3% is worse than the terrible economic situation (registering 3.7% then) that inspired Ghanaians to vote out the NDC in December 2000 after two terms in office, to usher in Positive Change under the able leadership of President John Agyekum Kufuor,” he emphasized.

He was therefore, sure that “After their current two terms, the NDC will be leaving office at the end of this year by registering the worst economic performance over an entire generation.” He queried, “What future can this group of proven nation wreckers build for you and your children?”

By Charles Takyi-Boadu