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Be transparent in tackling debt of the power sector agencies – ACEP tells gov’t

  • SOURCE: | qwesa2big
  • acepThe Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP ) is reminding government to be transparent in tackling the debt of the power sector agencies.

    According to the energy think tank, the government in its manifesto promised to develop and implement an energy sector financial restructuring and recovery plan, with liquidity management mechanisms for the utility companies.

    ACEP again urged the government to consolidate the efforts of the past government through the passage of the Petroleum(Exploration and Production) Act, 2016 (Act 917), by passing the Right to Information Bill to enhance transparency in the oil and gas sector.

    Speaking at a press conference in Accra, the Deputy Executive Director of ACEP, Mr. Benjamin Boakye said government should let the public know how much has accrued from the energy sector levy which was instituted by the erstwhile administration and its utilization so far.

    “We urge the government to fulfill its manifesto promise to conduct a technical audit of power sector infrastructure and develop and implement a ten year master plan. This audit is relevant to ascertain the efficiency and robustness of the power sector infrastructure to serve the country for stable power supply.

    Government should take steps to renegotiate the terms of AMERI, Karpower and AKSA contracts and pass on the relief to consumers. We are convinced that value for money was not achieved in those contracts. We further urge government to fulfill its promise to institute competitive bidding processes for future addition to ensure value for money and abolish the current practice of single sourcing al power contracts”, he added.

    Mr. Boakye further indicated that government should also review non-performing contracts and create enabling environments for upstream investments.

    He said companies who have failed to fulfill their work obligations must be punished and their contracts abrogated.

    He again urged the government to recognize that the oil revenues are not enough and added that it is therefore important for government to identify sectors with multiple effects in the short to medium term.

    “The government should invest significant portions of the oil revenue in the agriculture and education sectors which affects most Ghanaians directly with its spillover social benefits.

    We propose that government should do the following;

    • Scrap the price stabilization levy and account for collection in 2016 which we estimate to be in excess of GHC500 million.
    • Convert the SPT from 17.5% to a fixed levy to eliminate the compounding effect of the tax on ex depot priced if products in the midst of rising crude oil price and a weakening cedi.
    • Account and provide justification for why consumers should continue to pay TOR debt recovery levy.
    • Complete the deregulation process of the downstream market to ensure the removal of the biweekly pricing window, to achieve automatic adjustment of market prices”, he stated.

    Source: http://kasapafmonline.com/2017/01/19/transparent-tackling-debt-power-sector-agencies-acep-tells-govt/

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