Formally disown Atta Akyea’s GNPC/Genser report – Bright Simons tells Parliament
Vice President of IMANI Ghana, Bright Bright Simons, has called on Parliament to formally disown the Genser-GNPC report prepared by the Atta Akyea-led Parliamentary Select Committee on Mines and Energy.
Speaking on the NorvanReports and Economic Governance Platform X Space discussion on the topic, “Unravelling the Facts and Truth Concerning the GNPC/Genser Deal”, Mr Simons noted that a new committee should be setup to re-investigate the GNPC/Genser deal.
In setting up a new committee, the current chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Mines and Energy, Atta Akyea, should be recused from the committee given his prejudicial comments and defense of the deal.
“So as an activist, I would say Parliament has to formally disown this report and say well, you know, there were some issues that have come up and because of that we are not going to consider this report at all. And now we are we are tasking a new committee or a joint committee to look into it.”
“And with the new Committee, the current chairperson of the committee (Hon. Atta Akyea) should be recused because they are no longer of use in an attempt to try and get to the bottom of the matter. They have already made clear with the stance and even gone ahead to defend the report in the media,” he averred.
Adding that, “The new committee should be properly be guided in investigating the GNPC/Genser deal and if possible get a consultant firm to help it get to the bottom of the issue.”
“So in short, all of the things I have said as an activist is that the committee should do its work properly. It should go into this matter with the sense that they really want to get to the bottom of it.”
A parliamentary investigation into the GNPC/Genser deal led by Mr Atta Akyea, noted that it found no evidence of losses as claimed by the African Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP) and the IMANI Center for Policy and Education.
The allegations by ACEP and IMANI, which arose in July 2022, asserted a loss of US$1.5 billion, a figure dismissed by the committee’s report that highlighted benefits for Ghana exceeding that sum.
In a report, the committee refuted the claims made by ACEP and IMANI, labeling their calculations and concerns as faulty.
The Committee criticized the computation methods employed by the two organizations, highlighting that the contractual sum of US$2.79/MMBtu included offsets from a capacity charge of US$3.29/MMBtu.
According to the Committee’s findings, the following are some benefits to be gained by the country in the GNPC-Genser deal;
- Make savings to the tune of US$1462billion as GNPC will lose US$1.462billion if GEGL moved to WACoG Net Back
- GNPC/GEGL Gas Transmission Agreement’s savings to GNPC is US$ 1.462 billion. If Ghana had borrowed, it would have cost US$ 1.625 billion.
- Reduction in transmission losses by US$480millions once Ameri plant is relocated to Kumasi and made operational
- Export of NGLs using Takoradi Port would increase port revenue from cargo fees, port dues and other services.
- 15m tonnes of carbon dioxide reduction per year as the UP01 and PP03 will reduce flaring and bring all flared gas to onshore for processing and utilisation as well as 0.225m tonnes of power generation in Kumasi, saving about 40MW of transmission loss.
- 75 percent fuel cost reduction by substituting CNG for diesel for industry by 75 percent
- GEGL clients have extended the life of their mines by 10 years since engaging GEGL due to reliable and quality power
- Structuring of GEGL pipeline network around future industries would enable these industries to develop quickly.
- Over US$400m export revenue from NGL/LNG processing and export per year
- Over US$980m direct investment in Ghana with same amount of forex invested
- About 250 direct and 950 indirect jobs to be created from the business of GEGL
But IMANI and ACEP in a rebuttal have refuted the supposed “benefits” that the Committee claims will inure to the country, further entrenching their stance that the deal is not in the best interest of the nation.
