EDF Group to take over ECG?

…As Ghana loses $1.7 Million From USA, Others

The Catalyst has picked up intelligence information that the Akufo-Addo government and a French led-consortium, EDF SA/CH GROUP/LMI HOLDINGS/VEOLIA SA have been ‘romancing’ for a possible take-over of the management of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG ) by the latter.

Even before the PDS concession agreement with ECG was abrogated, President Akufo-Addo and his finance minister cousin, Ken Ofori Attah, this paper gathers, had had various secret meetings in France and elsewhere with officials of the EDF-led consortium to discuss matters over the possible take-over, which informed President Akufo-Addo’s insistence on termination of the PDS concession agreement.

The decision by the Akufo-Addo government to abrogate the ECG concession agreement with PDS, contrary to the advice of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) will deny Ghana about $1.7 billion support-worth from the USA and elsewhere.

The support-worth includes the remaining $190 million Compact II funds, $400 million Regional Compact cash, $500million USA government budgetary support, $11.5million as insurance premium over the deal and another $580million investment by the concessionaire.

The above could exacerbate an already threatened relationship with USA as Ghanaians, including state officials travelling to the USA, aside Visa restriction issues are denied protocol treatment.

It is important to recall that EDF SA/CH GROUP/LMI HOLDINGS/VEOLIA SA, a company with a Ghanaian address was one of the 6 concessionaires that put in bids to MiDA for the ECG concession agreement but had to withdraw at the Request for Proposals (RfP) stage.

The EDF-led group pulled out of the ECG concession process as a result of lack of data on the performance and financials of ECG, which some said was a deliberate move on the part of MiDA and the Akufo-Addo government to make it easy for cronies’ to take-over ECG.

The other companies are Manila Electric Company from the Philippines; Engie Energie Services SA from France; BXC Company Ghana Ltd/Xiaocheng Technology Stock Company Limited, registered and operating in Ghana; Enel S.P.A. from Italy; and Tata Power Company Limited from India.

The CH GROUP which is part of EDF-led consortium is a Ghanaian company and has Kwaku Bediako as the Executive Chairman and Kevin Dadzie as group Manager. The group as advertised is into Energy & Petroleum, Telecommunications, Real Estates, Agribusiness & Consultancy Services.

The Catalyst sources say Ghana’s finance minister, Ken Ofori-Atta and his business partner Keli Gadzekpo, who is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Enterprise Group, have for ages harboured the interest to own investments in Ghana’s Energy and Banking sectors and saw the opportunity in Akufo-Addo’s government as most timing.

On winning power, Keli Gadzekpo, who is Ken Ofori-Atta’s friend and business partner, was given two critical appointments; board chairman of ECG and board member of Bank of Ghana and his wife, Lynn Alottey Gadzekpo, ensconced on the NIB Bank board, ostensibly for easy facilitations.

The finance minister’s letter of response to Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) requesting MCC to grant it a window to use restrictive tendering process to look for a replacement for PDS, was only a ploy to recruit their preferred company for the take-over, this paper was told.

The two men have already been accused by the Minority in Ghana’s Parliament of scheming to “steal” public banks – ADB and NIB for themselves and their families.

“The reason we are where are today is because the parties who had conspired to short-change this country could not agree on how to share the booty. I see a grand design to terminate this concession, get rid of those difficult elements within the Ghanaian shareholding partners and then recreate a new vehicle and then bring the cronies and then share the booty,” Dr Steve Manteaw, Chairman of PIAC told Starr fm, while commenting on the matter.

Minority Leader, Hon Haruna Idrissu, also said “we could term this as financial loss to the state arising out of the reckless, fraudulent and irresponsible acts of the government in misleading parliament and misleading the entire country without thorough and diligent scrutiny of the documents they (PDS) submitted to Parliament”. These infractions, the Minority believes have been responsible for the PDS mess, considered to be the biggest scandal to hit this country.

The NDC has demanded a resignation from office by the finance minister, Keli Gadzekpo, and MiDA CEO, Martin Esson-Benjamin for being complicit in the PDS scandal.

Source:  Koku Mawuli Nanegbe || The Catalyst