Former Minister of Power, Dr. Kwabena Donkor, has expressed regret over what he describes as Ghana’s missed opportunity to modernize and reform the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) through the failed Power Distribution Services (PDS) concession agreement.
Dr. Donkor acknowledged that while the PDS deal was “criminal from the outset,” it still could have been a chance to transform the state-owned power distributor, particularly in improving revenue collection and operational efficiency.
His comments follow a London-based arbitration tribunal’s ruling that dismissed all claims brought against ECG by PDS, siding with ECG and the Government of Ghana after several years of legal proceedings.
Reflecting on the tribunal’s decision, Dr. Donkor said: “I wasn’t surprised PDS lost, because the way it went about things was criminal from the beginning. The concession was handed over to PDS contrary to the structured process. Even what was needed to be done before taking over was not done. ECG’s own cash was used to make some payments.”
Despite the legal victory, the former minister lamented that Ghana missed a crucial opportunity to strengthen ECG through a transparent and efficient private-sector partnership.
“The painful thing to me is that Ghana lost a huge opportunity to turn around ECG. This is a good example of how not to strike a deal, especially one meant to bring technical and performance improvements into a state utility,” he added.