The timing is wrong – Edward Bawa on govt’s VRA-BPA merger bill [Listen]

The Member of Parliament for Bongo Constituency, Edward Bawa, has criticized the government’s proposed bill to merge the Volta River Authority (VRA) and the Bui Power Authority (BPA).

He described its timing as inappropriate.

He made this known in an interview on Adom FM’s morning show, Dwaso Nsem on Wednesday.

Mr. Bawa clarified that, while they are not entirely opposed to the merger, the government has failed to provide the necessary policy details behind it.

“It’s not that we are against it, but we need to know the policy underpinning it,” he said.

He also pointed out that, the country is just weeks away from an election, making the timing of the bill problematic.

“We are left with a few weeks to the election,” Mr. Bawa noted, adding that there has been no consultation with stakeholders, which is a critical issue for them.

Mr. Bawa argued that the short timeframe and lack of consultation make the proposed merger impractical.

“Our argument is that the time is wrong, and the procedure is wrong as consultations have not been done” he said.

He therefore expressed skepticism about the government’s plan to list these entities on the Ghana Stock Exchange, suggesting it could be a tactic to enable politically exposed individuals to acquire state assets.

The government’s plan includes consolidating thermal plants under a Ghana Thermal Authority and hydro plants under a Ghana Hydro Authority, as outlined in a bill currently before Parliament.

But Mr. Bawa believes this consolidation would not benefit the Bui Power Authority.

Source: adomonline.com