Former Energy Minister, Boakye Agyarko
• Boakye Agyarko says he cannot be held liable for the $170m judgement debt
• He clarified that the termination of the contract was a decision by cabinet
• He has called for an end to take or pay contracts
Former Energy Minister, Boakye Agyarko has rejected claims that he unilaterally terminated the contract between the country and the Ghana Power Generation Company(GPGC) that has landed the country $170million judgment debt.
He revealed on Net2 TV that it was a decision by cabinet to abrogate the contract and that he only adhered to the recommendations by cabinet.
He disclosed the procedure that led to the truncation of the contract and insulated himself of any blame as far as the GPGC deal was concerned.
“Let me be emphatic that as a minister, I never had the power to terminate any contract. If you don’t understand these issues, you’ll be confused.
“Cabinet approved and cabinet secretary wrote to me to implement the decision by cabinet. I wrote to ECG pointing out some of the issues and asked them to negotiate with the Attorney-General to decide on the terms of termination.
“I hear people say that I caused the judgement debt, how did I do that? How can you blame me? I followed cabinet decision. I followed the opinions of the Attorney-General, the advice of Energy Commission and acted in accordance with those. The fact that you are part of cabinet doesn’t mean you are bigger than the president. You are still under the president so once cabinet takes a decision, you have to abide by it,” he said.
Boakye Agyarko has come under attack in recent times after a London-based United Commission on International Trade Law tribunal awarded a $170m judgement debt against the state.
Boakye Agyarko called for a thorough probe into the issue and recommended prosecution where necessary.
He also proffered solutions to curbing the issue of judgment debt in the power sector. He called for an end to take or pay contracts.
“One big lesson we should take from this is to stop signing take or pay contracts and rather sign take and pay contracts. If you look at the history of take or pay, the British were overwhelmed with the North Sea issue. So, they wanted a contract that meant that once you commit them, you have to pay.
“British Thermal rushed and signed all kinds of contracts then Russia released their gas offer which were cheaper than Britain. British Thermal nearly collapsed. That is when the world learnt their lesson that take or pay is not the best,” he said.
“In our part of the world, people make arrangement for contracts. Why do Ivory Coast produce power cheaper than us. There is a whole committee that negotiate these deals. My recommendation is that Energy Commission must chair a committee that deals with power purchase agreement. It must include personnel from the Attorney General, Ministry of Finance, ECG and Gridco,” he added.