President Mahama Breaks Silence on Botched PDS Deal, Says It's Not a Bad Idea
- President John Dramani Mahama breaks his silence on the botched PDS deal, clarifying that it was not inherently
- Speaking at the launch of a Solar Energy Project in Dawa, he stressed that while the deal aimed to inject private-sector efficiency, it collapsed due to poor handling
- The comments come amid renewed discussions following the final ruling from the London Court of International Arbitration, which dismissed PDS’s claims against the ECG
President John Dramani Mahama has broken his silence on the botched Power Distribution Services (PDS) deal.
Speaking at a sod-cutting ceremony for a multi-purpose Solar Energy Project at the Dawa Industrial Park on Thursday, November 6, 2025, the President stated that the PDS concession was not necessarily a bad deal.
Source: Facebook
He explained that the deal failed because it was poorly handled, with the actors involved prioritising their personal interests.
President Mahama added that, while the PDS concession deal was intended to inject private-sector efficiency into Ghana’s power distribution, it collapsed due to mismanagement.
“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 idea; it was just handled poorly, with many people having personal interests," he was reported to have said in a Citinewsroom report.
"That’s why it failed. However, there is something to be said for injecting private-sector efficiency into public utilities,” added..
The Ghanaian President made these remarks in the wake of renewed discussions about Ghana’s power sector reforms.
These discussions were triggered by the final ruling from the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA).
In its ruling, the LCIA dismissed all claims brought by PDS against the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) over the termination of their concession agreement.
When was the PDS deal signed?
The PDS deal was signed in 2019 between the Government of Ghana and the United States under the Millennium Challenge Compact (MCC) programme.
The now-defunct PDS agreement sought to improve efficiency and service delivery within ECG.
Under the 20-year concession, PDS was expected to manage ECG’s assets and operations to enhance power distribution nationwide.
However, months into the operationalization of the deal, the government discovered that the payment guarantees submitted by PDS, through its partners, Al Koot Insurance and Reinsurance Company of Qatar, were fraudulent.
Consequently, the government initially suspended and later terminated the agreement.
Following this decision, PDS filed a suit against ECG in the LCIA, seeking damages and other reliefs, but they were unsuccessful.
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ECG and Ghana Water push for 200% increment
Meanwhile, YEN.com.gh reported that the Ghana Water Limited and ECG attributed their proposed increase in utility tariffs under the 2025 - 2030 Multi-Year Tariff Order to the impact of illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey.
Ghana Watersaid the widespread pollution of water bodies has increased the cost of water treatment.
The Electricity Company of Ghana also argued that sections of its power distribution network passing through forest reserves have been damaged by illegal mining activities, resulting in frequent outages and rising operational costs.
Source: YEN.com.gh
