PDS will not come back – KT Hammond

The Member of Parliament for Adansi Asokwa constituency, KT Hammond says he is quite certain that Power Distribution Service (PDS) will not be cleared to manage the country’s power distribution service again after its suspension by the government for some breaches in its concession agreement.

KT Hammond told Bernard Avle on The Point of View on Citi TV that, to a large extent it has been determined that the document presented as guarantee by the company was forged and it therefore took the country “for a ride.”

“From my perspective, [based on] the information I have, there is no doubt that this document is a forgery. There is no way, as far as I am concerned that PDS is coming back. It is gone because of what I have seen, [and] what I have been shown. It is a clear case of taking the country for a ride. I suspect that the suspension is going to be permanent, I think ECG is going to take it back,” KT Hammond said.

The government of Ghana on Tuesday decided to suspend a concessionary agreement with PDS for distribution of power in Ghana, with immediate effect following what it said was the discovery “of fundamental and material breaches of PDS’ obligation in the provision of Payment Securities (Demand Guarantees).”

Details of the alleged breach revealed that the Management/Directors of PDS, Meralco Consortium forged a document to finally get the deal.

The Ministry of Information has said that the concession agreement with PDS is currently suspended as a temporary measure pending the result of a full-scale investigation being conducted by members from the various concerned agencies.

In an interview on Eyewitness News, the sector minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah said that a final decision on what must happen to PDS will be taken after the probe is completed, but cautioned against drawing immediate conclusions on the matter.

“It is not healthy to quickly rush into concluding the matter now especially as there is a full scale enquiry going on…Everybody has questions to answer, MiDA, the IFC, Millennium Challenge Compact, Government of Ghana, everybody has questions to answer,” Kojo Oppong Nkrumah said on Eyewitness News on Wednesday.

ECG takes over from PDS

Meanwhile, the Energy Commission has announced the appointment of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) as the interim operator to take charge of the management and operation of electricity sales in the country.

The Commission in a statement said the decision is based on the impairment of validity of PDS’s licences due to its Demand Guarantees being declared null and void among other new developments concerning PDS’ take over of electricity sales in Ghana.

Source: citinewsroom.com