The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has accused the Akufo-Addo government of conspiring to offer Power Distribution Services Ghana Limited (PDS) a deal that was not in the best interest of Ghanaians. The opposition party said the government failed to ensure that due diligence was done. According to the NDC, the president and his appointees shot Ghanaians in the foot rather than serve the national interest by going contrary to what Parliament had approved on the contract. “Government officials led by Vice-President [Dr Mahamudu] Bawumia, and under the guidance of President Akufo-Addo decided to sacrifice the nation’s interest by changing the key requirements of a BANK GUARANTEE to that of an INSURANCE GUARANTEE thereby jeopardizing the assets of ECG and the interest of Ghanaians.” In July this year, government announced the suspension of the PDS concession agreement citing fundamental financial breaches. Following this announcement, two different entities – FTI Consulting and a government committee – were separately tasked to investigate issues surrounding the deal. So far, there are leaked portions of the FTI report, which suggests government failed to duly ensure PDS met all requirements needed for the deal to be sealed despite absolving the firm on any wrongdoing. Addressing a press conference in Accra on Tuesday, September 10, General Secretary of the NDC Johnson Asiedu Nketiah said high ranking officials in government went against protecting the public purse to bend the rules for PDS. “We all feel scandalized that contrary to the effort of Parliament to protect the public purse in order to safeguard our interest in this matter, the Akufo-Addo government shamefully and inexplicably conspired to bend the rules for PDS, thus leading us into the present dire situation. “The extent to which key officials within the Akufo-Addo government shirked their fiduciary responsibilities to the Ghanaian people in complete disservice to the national interest is something we cannot fathom.” The NDC further accused Vice President Dr. Bawumia and top officials, who were key in brokering the deal, of making ‘scandalous and irrational amendments’ to the contract. The party further stated government cannot be trusted to resolve the mess created with the PDS deal since it is complicit. Source: 3news.com|Ghana]]>