Audio By Carbonatix
South Dayi MP Rockson Nelson-Dafeamekpor is appalled by the World Bank country Director, Piere Laporte's comments on the country's energy debt.
Piere Laporte recently said some Power Purchasing Agreements (PPA) signed by the Mahama led administration accounts for the huge debt crisis facing Ghana's energy sector presently.
But Mr. Dafeamekpor said the diplomat has no business meddling in what he describes as the “arena of political conflict.”
According to him, the posture of Mr Laporte suggests that he aligns with the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) as it seems to set political scores.
"Clearly, he has descended into the arena of conflict. His words and conducts suggests so. When you are a diplomat, you don't do that. You can make a professional point but you don't speak in politically tainted slanted manner.
"Has he asked government what is the outcome of the renegotiation of these PPAs? He should respond to that," he said on JoyNews' AM Show on Thursday.
Although some National Democratic Congress (NDC) members have debunked Mr Laporte’s claims, the MP said he is not satisfied with such responses.
He expressed that should he have been in a leadership position in the party, he would have sent the diplomat "a stinker."
According to him, he wished his party would have addressed Mr. Laporte in "a political tone."
Fitch Ratings disclosed that Ghana owes independent power producers about $1.58 billion.
Mr. Laporte also stressed that the energy sector's shortcomings, which included problems with management, pricey power purchases, and transmission losses, were significant factors in Ghana's increasing debts.
He noted that the mismatch between the production cost of Independent Power Producers (IPPs) and the amount consumers paid for electricity led to a surge in debts, since the government was unable to meet its financial obligations to the IPPs.
He added that Ghana had recently gone into contracts at unfavorable rates and costs, which had worsened the debt problem.
Meanwhile, Mr. Laporte advised the government to seek reforms in tariff adjustments, combat transmission losses by enhancing infrastructure, and restructure power purchasing contracts to be in line with the nation's energy requirements in order to address this problem.
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