The Ministry of Energy has debunked claims by the Minority in Parliament that the ‘GNPC-LITASCO’ re-financing arrangement is being done in secrecy without parliamentary approval.
In a statement signed by Ranking Member of Parliament’s Mines and Energy Committee and Member of Parliament for Yapei Kusawgu, John Jinapor, the minority alleged that the government seeks to contract the facility using GNPC without the necessary approvals.
However, in a swift rebuttal through a statement on Friday, 22nd September, 2023, the Ministry of Energy said, the move by the minority is only a calculated attempt to sully the reputation of the government including the President and other government officials for political reasons.
The Ministry says, the said agreement has now gone through various processes and is yet to be sent to parliament when the house reconvenes mid-October.
“It is important to state that, this particular facility the minority mischievously makes allusion to is being re-financed for the sixth time. In the 2023 Work Programme of the GNPC, the corporation indicated clearly, their intentions to raise $620 million from the LITASCO facility to finance their work programme and proceeded to obtain the necessary parliamentary approval including the refinancing of the loan. Now, GNPC settled on the terms and conditions of this facility with LITASCO just last week Thursday, September 14, 2023, duly obtaining its Board’s approval.
He stressed, “The record will show, that on the same day, the document was sent to the Ministry of Energy for a “no objection. After the Ministry of Energy expressed its objection, it then forwarded the document to the Ministry of Finance for its ‘no objection” and approval, in line with the dictates of the Public Financial Management Act (PFMA). MOF’s approval was given on Friday, September 15, 2023.”
The Ministry bemoaned why the ranking Member and the minority group, given their expected knowledge of these procedural requirements, would allege wrongdoing on the part of government actors.
“The only possible reason one can latch unto for the minority’s action is to cause disaffection for the government for possible electoral gains, given the proximity to the electioneering campaign season” it said The Ministry said the general public should ignore and treat with contempt the claims by the minority describing them as inaccurate”.
Click to read a statement by the Energy Minister
