CEMSE Calls For Full Disclosure And Review Of 2013 PPAs After Former TOR MD’s Conviction

The Centre for Environmental Management and Sustainable Energy, CEMSE, is pushing for greater openness in Ghana’s power sector. The group wants government to publish and review all power purchase agreements signed in 2013, with special focus on those done during the emergency power period.

The demand comes after the US conviction of former Tema Oil Refinery MD, *Asante Kwaku Berko*, over a bribery case tied to a Ghana power deal.

Speaking in an interview, CEMSE Executive Director *Benjamin Nsiah* said making the PPAs public will allow civil society and other stakeholders to examine them for possible irregularities.

“*Government must disclose all power purchase agreements from 2013, especially during the emergency periods. Disclosure allows assessment and then affirmation of certain illegal dealings or not from the CSO perspective*,” he said.

Mr. Nsiah added that even agreements already signed should be re-examined. Where needed, he said government should renegotiate to ensure Ghana gets value for money.

“*We should interrogate the contract further and if the need be, we should renegotiate for new terms*,” he noted.

He also wants the people who negotiated the 2013 deals to be brought in for questioning to help explain some of the unclear clauses in the contracts.

“*If we could also interrogate persons involved in negotiation, it would also help us unravel some of the ambiguous deals in some of these contracts*,” he stated.

*Push For Permanent Disclosure*

CEMSE is proposing a permanent policy where all PPAs are published from the time they are signed until they expire.

Mr. Nsiah said the *Energy Commission, PURC and the Energy Ministry* should upload the agreements on their websites.

“*Going forward, all power purchase agreements from their start to end must be published on the Energy Commission’s website as well as the PURC’s website. Disclosure is key to ensuring transparency and accountability in the power sector*,” he said.

*Background: The Asante Berko Case*

Court documents show Asante Kwaku Berko, a former Goldman Sachs executive, conspired to pay over $1 million in bribes to Ghanaian officials to secure a deal for Turkish firm *Aksa Enerji* to build and finance a power plant in Ghana during the country’s energy crisis. The deal was expected to generate hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue.