The leader of IMANI-Africa, Franklin Cudjoe, has called on the Energy and Green Transition Minister, John Jinapor, to allow more private involvement in the energy sector in order to reduce government control and political sway over its operations.
He pointed out that the controversies linked to the Power Distribution Services (PDS) agreement in the last government stemmed not from PDS’s shortcomings but from corrupt activities by certain government officials seeking personal profit from the arrangement.
During an appearance on Channel One TV’s The Big Issue on Saturday, March 8, he remarked that PDS had actually excelled in sector management, and a review of the data from before and after its exit indicates that it had a mostly positive influence on the energy field.
As a result, he recommended that the government think about reinstating a similar partnership with the private sector to guarantee efficiency and long-term viability in the energy industry.
He warned against frequent management shifts that occur with each new government, stressing that these changes do not necessarily result in better outcomes.
“We need to rethink this strategy. The assumption that replacing leadership leads to improved results is fundamentally wrong. Among all the State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs), I have yet to see one that has significantly enhanced its performance just because there was a management change. The core issue is that those in charge are not allowed to operate freely, which is a significant problem,” he stated.
Mr. Cudjoe encouraged the Energy Minister to examine the performance metrics of PDS and think about reinstating private involvement based on those findings.
“The difficulties with the PDS agreement arose from corruption-related issues, but it was not a question of PDS’s operational capabilities. PDS fulfilled its obligations effectively. I urge the Minister to thoroughly review the data from that era and contemplate whether a comparable initiative could achieve favorable results once more,” he noted.
He also stressed that the energy sector should not fall prey to political meddling, where each new government launches new initiatives for personal or party objectives.
“The way governance is managed in our nation is absurd. Whenever a new government comes into power, there is always someone promoting their project, which is detrimental to the country. I do not think any government appointee will genuinely have the autonomy to manage the sector independently. Unless our political system changes, this will persist. That’s why I am a strong advocate for private sector involvement. However, we shouldn’t start anew but should instead evaluate the PDS data and contrast it with our current situation before making any decisions,” he expressed.
