Provide details of renegotiation of Power Compact II- PUWU to govt

The Public Utility Workers Union (PUWU) has urged government to carry out its planned renegotiation of the Power Compact II with the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), and also provide details of the review.

Under the Power Compact II, government is expected to allow Private Sector Participation in the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) for the country to benefit from a cash injection of about 498 million dollars.

The Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia told the Head of Business Desk of Citi FM at the on-going Spring Meetings in Washington, Vivian Kai Lokko, that government is trying to renegotiate the terms of the compact to protect ECG workers.

Reacting to the latest development, the General Secretary of PUWU, Michael Adumatah Nyantakyi welcomed the news but charged government to provide details of its new demand on the MCC.

“If there is room and opportunity for review and renegotiation we wholeheartedly welcome it and we think it's a step in the right direction. We don't have all the details. We have only heard snippets of what the Vice President is reported to have said as a result of his engagement with the MCC,” he noted.

He maintained that government must make available the details of its demand to involve key stakeholders.

“We have always said the new government should pursue the angle of a review of some of the key issues. We don't know all the details but we think that if they are discussion along that line, it is positive,” he said.

“We still urge government to do further and broader consultation. Currently government has some level of goodwill; it is important that they take their time and also look at all the documents that have been prepared,” he added.

Mr. Adumattah Nyantakyi stated that government must use the goodwill it enjoy to seek the interest of the Electricity Company of Ghana workers.

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).

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By: Lawrence Segbefia/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana