PDS probe to take 30 days - Government
Government has confirmed that it would take 30 days to probe the power distribution agreement with the Power Distribution Services (PDS) Ghana Limited.
The probe to be conducted in both ghana and outside of the country is to help establish who made false representations to the government to drive it into the agreement.
At a press conference in Accra Thursday, August 1, 2019, the Minister of Information, Mr Kojo Oppong Nkrumah said the probe was being led by experts from Insurance Companies, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Energy, Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and the Millennium Development Authority (MiDA).
He said they were to help the government to take consequential actions regarding the breaches of some parts of the concession agreement between the state and PDS.
"The inquiry will determine the nature of the breaches and advise on suggested next steps," Mr Oppong Nkrumah said and added that by Tuesday [August 6, 2019], the team was expected in Doha in Qatar as part of the inquiry.
He said "all interested parties are cooperating with the inquiry", noting that "A second team has been tasked to continue engagement with the American government through its agency the Millennium Challenge Corporation" and added that "This engagement is about the possible next steps after the inquiry and channels for sharing information as part of this inquiry. That team is expected to also be in the USA possibly next week as part of their engagement."
Mr Oppong Nkrumah explained that the alleged breaches in the agreement were identified by the Ghanaian authorities who conducted due diligence on the agreement through ECG with support from some state agencies.
According to him, the initial due diligence led by the transaction advisers did not detect anything wrong with the agreement.
He said the government would continue to update all stakeholders on the outcome of the inquiry and proceed in accordance with the law and the terms of the agreement as it works towards a final resolution of this matter.