The Energy Minister says the assets of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) will be leased to a private investor for 20 years to manage.

Boakye Agyarko says the power distribution company will still remain the asset of the government and the concessionaire is expected to pay for the assets of ECG.

“It is therefore imperative that ECG updates and hands over a credible list of assets to the concessionaire,” he said at a ceremony to swear in a new eight-member Board.

According to him, a new project is underway for a technical and conditional assessment of ECG’s asset. He also brought to the fore many urgent issues that the Board must tackle immediately, singling out the concession issue. 

Mr Agyarko said the timely completion of the project is crucial to the success of the Private Sector Participation (PSP) transaction.

The PSP transaction envisages that the ECG will be an active asset owner and the Board must ensure that the final request for proposal and all complementary document are adequately provided for ECG to play an adequate or effective monitoring role.

He urged the Board to give the company their maximum attention and ensure that what will remain of ECG is reorganized into a viable company capable of its active oversight role for the benefit of the country.

Ghana signed the Power Compact with the United States of America acting through the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) in 2014.

The Power Compact which is being implemented by the government of Ghana through the Millennium Development Authority (MiDA) will make available a grant sum of $498,200,000 to be injected into Ghana's power sector to improve performance in the sector.

About $350 million of the grant is being invested in ECG to make the country’s power distributor operationally and financially more efficient, while the rest of the grant would be used to unravel the country’s economic potential, create jobs, and reduce poverty.

The coalition of stakeholders on the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) concession arrangement has called on the government to review the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Compact II.

After a consultative meeting, the stakeholders said that there were challenges with the $498 million MCC Compact II passed by Parliament under the certificate of urgency which did not allow for further reading.

Vice President of think tank, IMANI Ghana, Kofi Bentil, presenting the report of the legal team of the coalition, said although the team supports the MCC Compact II, Article 7.1, which states that when the implementation process begins it shall not be subject to the laws of Ghana, restricts government and gives the investors - the US government, through the Millennium Development Authority (MiDA) - powers to do anything.