President John Dramani Mahama has stated that the collapse of the Power Distribution Services (PDS) concession was not the result of a flawed concept but rather due to poor management and personal interests that undermined its execution.

Speaking at the sod-cutting ceremony for the Multipurpose Solar Energy Project at the Dawa Industrial Park in Agotor on Thursday, November 6, President Mahama said the idea behind the PDS initiative to introduce private sector efficiency into Ghana’s power distribution was sound but mishandled.

“I know there was an attempt to involve the private sector in power utility and distribution. We all remember the example with PDS. PDS was not a bad thing; it was just handled wrongly, and many people had personal interests in it. That’s why it failed,” President Mahama remarked. “But there is something to be said for injecting private sector efficiency into public utilities.”

His comments come amid renewed public discussion on Ghana’s power sector reforms following the ruling by the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA), which dismissed all claims brought by PDS against the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) regarding the termination of their concession agreement.

The PDS deal, established in 2019 under the Millennium Challenge Compact (MCC) between the Government of Ghana and the U.S. Millennium Challenge Corporation, was meant to enhance efficiency and service delivery within ECG. Under the 20-year concession, PDS was to manage ECG’s operations and assets to improve nationwide power distribution.

However, the agreement was later suspended and terminated after the government found that payment guarantees presented by PDS through Al Koot Insurance and Reinsurance Company of Qatar were fraudulent. Subsequent investigations revealed that Al Koot had not authorised those guarantees a position later upheld by the Qatari Court of Cassation.

PDS later sought arbitration in London, demanding over US$390 million in damages and accusing ECG of wrongful termination. ECG, represented by Omnia Strategy LLP led by Cherie Blair KC, argued that PDS’s failure to verify the authenticity of the guarantees amounted to a serious breach of contract.

After years of proceedings, the LCIA tribunal dismissed all of PDS’s claims, ruling that the fraudulent guarantees invalidated the concession and justified its cancellation.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Energy and Green Transition has reaffirmed its commitment to recovering all monies and assets owed to the Electricity Company of Ghana following the termination of the deal.