ECG not working; it must be fixed - Mahama

Europa

June 7, 2016 6:06 PM

“…[People may argue that] Electricity is so important that it must be monopolized by the state, why are you allowing private sector in but we have had this system for years, and it’s not working. If it’s not working, we fix it," President Mahama said.

President John Dramani Mahama has justified the need for government to secure a private investor in the management of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).

Speaking at the Africa Mobile and ICT Expo in Accra, President Mahama said the partial privatization move being pursued by government is to enable the company become more efficient.

“You fix a situation by taking risks. It is a risk we took when we deregulated telecommunications. If you are not ready to take risks then the world is not ready to make progress”.

Some private businesses have already tended in a bid for a Public- Private Partnership deal with the Electricity Company of Ghana, according to the Millennium Development Authority.

Under the deal, government is supposed to go for one of several options of a Public- Private Partnership that will help the ECG collects its debts more efficiently.

And government has opted for a concessional partnership which will see a partner that will have exclusive rights to operate, maintain and invest in the ECG for a number of years.

However, the Public Utilities Workers’ Union have continued to mount pressure against the privatisation of the power distributor.

According to them, government will have to give up a lot under any kind of privatisation process. Government will either give away ownership in an outright takeover, or give away control in a concessionary arrangement.

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