Former Head of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), Mr. Alex Mould, has challenged a rejoinder from the World Bank which sought to portray that he lied about the international financial institution providing guarantees to four Independent Power Producers (IPPs) to cover Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) under the erstwhile John Mahama administration.

According to him, the IPPs he referred to were not those emergency power barges (‘Dumsor’ power barges) that were signed between the periods of 2014 to 2016 but were of the four IPPs which are yet to start producing power including the Amandi, Early, Ghana Power Generation Company (GPGC) and one other which the WB was directly involved in their selection.

Speaking in an interview on Okay Fm's Ade Akye Abia programme, he explained that his interview was premised on the accusations of the current government against the former Mahama-led administration for signing unproductive PPAs under 'Take-or-Pay' agreements.

The current administration has always held that part of the country's economic woes is the issue of paying for unused power due to the signing of needless Power Purchase Agreement (PPAs) which is draining the state of its financial resources.

In response. Mr Mould revealed that the World Bank provided a credit guarantee to the Government of Ghana which was subsequently used to back the Independent Power Producers (IPPs) to raise funds from the banks to construct the power plants in the country.

But the Bretton Woods institution, clearly not enthused to have its name roped in the matter of IPPs PPAs, issued a statement to set the records straight; an action that has gotten Mr Mould to counteract. The Briton Woods institution stated that it has not made financing or guarantees to IPPs to cover Power Purchase Agreements with the Electricity Company of Ghana during the (Dumsor) energy crisis between 2014 and 2016.

“I never said the WB gave guarantees to the IPPs”, Alex Mould, former CEO of GNPC corrected. “I said they supported Ghana government by giving guarantees, that is, backing the GCSA that Government of Ghana had to give to the IPPs.”