July 27, 2017
Parliament is expected to debate an urgent motion for the termination of the AMERI power deal today, amidst indications that the deal could be abrogated by the House.
This follows indications that Majority MPs will vote in favour of the motion.
The 300MW emergency power contract was secured in 2015 by the previous administration to fix severe power challenges at the time after it received Parliamentary approval.
However, following a publication by a Norwegian newspaper about the deal, it was condemned for its $510 million price tag which analysts say Ghana could have secured the same deal at $150 million less.
However, questions remain over the implication to the country should Parliament vote to revoke the controversial deal.
Majority MP for Adansi-Asokwa, K.T. Hammond recently filed an urgent motion in Parliament requesting for the cancellation of the deal, a motion the Minority believes could plunge the country into darkness if held.
Minority MPs also want the Power Ministry to come clear about whether or not it supports the motion to cancel the deal.
Emmanuel Gyamfi, Chairman of the Mines and Energy Committee of Parliament, told Joy News yesterday that government does not necessarily have to back the motion since the Majority is in full support of the motion.
“This is not a new position. This has been the position of the then Minority party in Parliament, and now we are now the majority party in Parliament,” he said.
Hence with Parliament always split between the Majority (171 votes) and Minority (104 votes) in voting on motions, the Majority MPs are likely to succeed in abrogating the deal.
Think tank, IMANI Centre for Energy and Education, for instance, says the Ameri deal was incompetently done by former government officials who did not exhaust all the market research and analysis to enable them to get a better deal.
“Frankly, we did not need AMERI at all in the deal had we bought the aero-derivative plants for $350m ($220m plant, plus $140m installing cost) from the Greek Power company, Metka. Ameri’s involvement as a deal maker, who simply took Ghanaian power officials to Metka cost us an extra $150m,” IMANI President, Franklin Cudjoe, said recently.
Committee Report of AMERI Power Deal
