Ghana Gas confused about VRA debt – PIAC

The Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) has said the Ghana National Gas Company (Ghana Gas) is confused about how much power producer Volta River Authority (VRA) is indebted to the state gas company.

Ghana Gas, in a press statement on Monday 19 June, accused PIAC of misconstruing the actual debt owed the company by VRA.

Ghana Gas said VRA was indebted to the firm to the tune of $534.2million as of 31 May, 2017 and not $434million.

But responding to the claim, the Vice Chairman of PIAC, Kwame Jantuah, said the committee’s findings did not capture figures of 2017, thus the claim by Ghana Gas was false.

He explained: “That figure is in the report. What they have done is that they have mixed [up] the year. The $434million has got to do with the 2016 receivables that [VRA] owes [Ghana Gas] and the other one is quoted about $534.2million, which is 2017 outstanding. We haven’t done the 2017 report yet, so I guess that is where the confusion is.

“The first figure which is in our report is for 2016; that is owed them and the second figure is 2017 which is also owed them by VRA. So they have added 2017 figures to the $434million and that amounts to that huge figure they are quoting.

“So both sides are not wrong, it’s just that they have made a mistake with the time periods. I’ve been to Ghana Gas this morning and cleared it with them. They realised that was what the mistake was.”