Reacting to the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Hon. Eric Opoku’s statement on the termination of the Pwalugu Dam contract, Bright Simons of IMANI Africa has stated that instead of vague generalizations about canceling the contract, the public expects clear answers on specific issues.
He questioned whether the government intends to call upon the guarantee issued by Stanbic Bank, which facilitated the advance payment to PowerChina.
Simons also inquired if the government has fulfilled its obligations in a manner that allows it to invoke the guarantee.
If not, he raised concerns about whether the approximately $12 million paid to PowerChina will be lost permanently.
“Here is my prayer: That a time will come when the middle classes won’t allow a Minister to get away with ‘broad generalities’ in Ghana.
“When he says, Ghana will terminate the Pwalugu Dam contract, we would ask the following: PowerChina, the contractor on the project, has already departed the site many months ago; The contractor has sold project materials and “de-mobilized”. The agreement has thus already been constructively terminated. Termination is hardly the big issue here”.
Bright Simons
Simons further stated that the project scope must be reviewed, as no serious financier would provide Ghana with nearly $500 million to construct a dam whose primary commercialization strategy relies on a 60 MW hydro dam, with a 50 MW solar plant added as an afterthought.
He emphasized that power sales from this dam would be unprofitable, especially considering the current situation where more capital-efficient power plants are already owed significant amounts by the state in Ghana’s financially struggling electricity sector.
Accordingly, Simons urged the government to review and publish the commercial feasibility plan for the irrigation component.
He emphasized the need for transparency in demonstrating how local farmers would be able to pay enough per cubic meter of water to offset the high costs of constructing the dam.
He also called for clarity on the proposed tariffs and a timeline for releasing the feasibility report. “Recall that an initial scoping even put the cost of the dam at over $900 million”.
Simons further argued that the project is likely to face budget overruns.
Accordingly, he questioned if funding is guaranteed despite cost overruns or if steps have been taken to cut costs to $100 million, matching similar projects that were not designed with Pwalugu’s social objectives in mind.
Financial Viability of the Pwalugu Dam Project Questioned
Furthermore, Bright Simons emphasized that the Pwalugu Project was poorly designed and unlikely to secure funding.
He questioned what new strategy the Food and Agriculture Minister Eric Opoku is proposing to make it financially viable.
With the government’s firm commitment to constructing the dam for political reasons, Simons highlighted the financial constraints in IMF-bailout Ghana.
He raised concerns about whether the dam would take priority over other agricultural interventions and which programs the government would be willing to cut if necessary.
“In short, we need a critical mass of citizens that won’t settle for the opaque governance we have in Ghana currently. Who will push for the ‘optimal transparency’ needed to truly analyze the quality of the government’s policy actions? Would we ever see such a critical mass emerge?
“Second, this dam project has been viewed in classical ORAL fashion: somebody has taken Ghana’s $12m and we just want it back. But as I have explained…, it is a far more complex issue. Full transparency would help clarify how the country will save or recover money. It won’t be as simple as just “retrieving” what was paid. Most ORAL situations look like this”.
Bright Simons
Simons asserted that citizens supporting Operation Recover All Loots (ORAL) must focus on the details and urge the new government to abandon the opaque governance model of the past.
He emphasized the need for a shift toward greater transparency and thorough analysis.
According to him, without significant changes in how the government operates—particularly by ensuring higher levels of openness to assess necessary reforms before implementation—citizens may face deep disappointment.
As such, he emphasized that for meaningful change to occur, citizens, particularly those in the middle class, “must stop being satisfied with headline announcements and surface measures”.
