Parliament okays ECG concession

Parliament has approved the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) concession deal which will see a consortium of investors led by Manila Electric Company (MERALCO), running ECG.

The deal, which is part of the conditions of the second Millennium Challenge Compact, is designed to turn around the fortunes of ECG.

Parliament ratified the deal on Tuesday, 24 July 2018 despite criticism by the Public Utility Workers Union (PUWU) and fears by the Minority that it will lead to huge job losses.

Contributing to the debate for the approval of the facility on the floor of parliament, former Deputy Power Minister and Yapei/Kusawgu MP, John Abdulai Jinapor, questioned the capacity of the local partners to execute the project.
But the Majority disagreed, saying the deal will minimise the financial burden on government.

The concession agreement between the Government of Ghana and Meralco is expected to come into operation on 2 August 2018, Energy Minister Boakye Agyarko had earlier told the media on Tuesday, 10 July 2018.

“It is on becoming effective that the second tranche of funding of about $192 million is released to ECG to tackle very critical and important infrastructural development,” he said.

Mr Agyarko revealed that under the agreement, the private partner will invest some $580 million with the U.S. government also investing an amount of $498 million.

He further highlighted some of the benefits Ghanaians will enjoy when the agreement kicks off and also assured workers of ECG that no staff will be laid off.

“All ECG workers who would be transferred to the new company or the concessionaire would keep their jobs and their collective bargaining agreements negotiated previously and that there will be no involuntary redundancies during the entire period of the concession,” he stated.

Mr Agyarko pointed out that they have worked out to ensure that “the Ghanaian participation component be increased from 20 per cent to 51 per cent”.