MiDA to set new date for ECG Bidders Conference despite agitations

Information gathered by Citi Business News indicates that the Millennium Development Authority(MiDA) may soon come out with a date to commence its Bidders Conference for the Private Sector Participation of  Electricity Company of Ghana(ECG) .

The Trades Union Congress (TUC) had earlier warned MiDA to cancel a Bidders Conference it announced late last month.

According to the TUC, grievances expressed by workers of the ECG have not been addressed as discussion was ongoing between MiDA, TUC and the Chief of Staff to resolve the issues.

MiDA yesterday also had a major relief when an  Accra High Court  dismissed an interlocutory injunction case filed against it by one Saaka Saalia.

The plaintiff, Saaka Salia, who is also a member of the opposition New Patriotic Party's (NPP) communications team sued MiDA, arguing that it is not fit to participate as an adviser in the concession arrangement for the ECG because its conduct breached Ghana's laws after it authored and circulated a draft tariff methodology.

But Citi Business News has learnt that MiDA may soon announce another date for the Bidders Conference which will have seven entities bid for the project which will see over 400 million dollars injected into the ECG.

Under the agreement known as the Compact II, Ghana is expected to allow some private sector participation in the operations and management of the ECG.

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