The Ministry of Energy has attributed Ghana’s loss of $190 million in Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) funding to what it describes as poor decisions made under the administration of former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo during the failed Power Distribution Services (PDS) concession arrangement.
The Ministry’s comments follow a ruling by an international arbitration tribunal in London, which dismissed all claims filed by PDS against the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG)—bringing an end to a three-year legal dispute over the controversial termination of the power concession.
Reacting to the ruling in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday, November 5, 2025, the Ministry’s spokesperson, Richmond Rockson, stated that the PDS controversy could have been avoided if proper due diligence and transparent decision-making had guided the selection process.
“The government has taken note of the tribunal’s decision in the PDS–ECG arbitration. This situation should never have arisen in the first place,” Mr. Rockson said.
“The poor decisions made during the selection of the concessionaire, which led to the creation of Power Distribution Services (PDS) under the Akufo-Addo administration, brought us here,” he added.
Mr. Rockson explained that the mismanagement of the PDS concession not only cost Ghana $190 million in compact funding from the U.S. MCC in 2019 but also denied the country a vital opportunity to reform and strengthen ECG’s operations.
He further assured that the government would pursue all necessary actions to recover funds owed to the state following the tribunal’s ruling.
“The government assures the public that all necessary steps will be taken to recover every amount due to ECG and the Government of Ghana,” he affirmed.
The PDS concession, signed in 2019, was intended to improve efficiency and financial sustainability in Ghana’s power distribution sector. However, the agreement was terminated months later after government investigations revealed irregularities in the company’s financial guarantees.
