National Democratic Congress (NDC) parliamentarian for Bawku Central, Mahama Ayariga, has revealed he is never been in support of an ongoing process to engage the private sector in the management of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), the country’s main power distributor.
Meanwhile, that decision to allow the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) to play a key role in Ghana’s power sector was started by the NDC administration under John Mahama.
Mahama Ayariga, a former Minister in the John Mahama administration said, on Joy News/MulitiTV news analysis show, Newsfile, that personally, he has always considered the deal as irrelevant.
“I don’t support that because it really saddens me to think that a basic thing [like power distribution], we are not even talking about the invention of electricity, we can manage…I think we should rethink our position on the matter,” he said to the surprise of other panellists on the news analysis programme.
Despite the severe opposition from ECG workers and Labour against the deal, former President John Mahama fought through the deal that will bring about ten concessionaires to participate in electricity distribution to homes across the country.
Workers had been concerned that the deal will result in job losses, and hike power costs.
Mahama suggests that at the time the deal was being struck between the Mahama-led government and the MCC, he could not voice out his disapproval, hence he played along.
“My government took the decision but I think it was wrong,” he stressed.
He wants the current New Patriotic Party (NPP) government under Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo reverse the entire deal.