Ameri Deal: ACEP Applauds Prez

The Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP) has applauded President Akufo-Addo for rescinding his approval of the Ameri Novation Amendment Agreement which was laid before parliament.

The move, according to the policy think tank, is a significant contribution to the democratic practice of the country, which shows that governance can be a shared responsibility between leaders and the led.

In a statement signed and issued yesterday by Mr. Benjamin Boakye, the Executive Director of ACEP, he said “We acknowledge that government through the Ministry of Energy has already cancelled some of the Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) which would have deepened the woes of the country through unwarranted payments.”

This follows after the dismissal of Mr. Boakye Agyarko, the former Energy Minister.
It would be recalled the AMERI power deal was signed during the John Mahama led-administration, at the peak of the country’s power crisis.

The then opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) insisted AMERI had shortchanged the country and promised to renegotiate the deal if they are elected into office.
A renegotiation was however met with other controversies which led to the submission of a fresh deal to President, but has been withdrawn due to some loopholes.

However, ACEP believes “the problems of the power sector could have been averted if the previous government had been proactive and sober to reject its own decisions when the evidence in the public space showed that value for money in the power sector was not a priority during the power crisis.”

According to them, the cost of excess capacity of the power sector would grow in excess of $600 million by 2020 if drastic measures are not taken to cancel some pending projects.
The policy think tank noted that it will monitor how the renegotiations are done to ensure they rather lessen the economic burden on Ghanaians.

“We therefore by the decision of government to withdraw the agreement, encouraged to continue to support the governance process that the power sector does not derail the country’s economic prospects,” the statement read.

By: Emmanuel Yeboah Britwum