Edwin Nii Lante Vanderpuye, the National Coordinator for the District Road and Improvement Programme (DRIP), has blamed former Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia of complicity in the failed Power Distribution Services (PDS) – Electricity Company of Ghana concession deal.
His reactions come after ECG secured a decisive legal victory in London after an international arbitration tribunal dismissed all claims brought against it by PDS.
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The ruling, issued after nearly three years of proceedings, closes a prolonged dispute over the controversial termination of the PDS concession agreement, which had once been promoted as a key step toward reforming Ghana’s power distribution sector.
Following extensive legal arguments and hearings, the London-seated tribunal rejected every claim advanced by PDS.
The panel upheld ECG’s position that the fraudulent guarantees struck at the core of the concession and justified ending the agreement.
Speaking on Channel One TV on Thursday, November 6, 2025, Vanderpuye accused Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia of using his executive authority to alter the terms of the PDS deal — a move he claims led to the eventual collapse of the power sector reform initiative.
“All this PDS thing, I put the blame strictly on the doorstep of Dr Bawumia. If he had not varied the conditionalities underpinning this arrangement, we wouldn’t have arrived at this situation. He used the delegated powers given him to handle the PDS and, on his own discretion, changed the bank guarantee to an insurance guarantee,” he said.
Vanderpuye argued that the Vice President’s decision compromised the credibility of the agreement and paved the way for fraudulent practices.
He referenced comments by the former Hohoe MP John Peter Amewu, who once described the PDS arrangement as “a scam created for people to steal money.”
He further contended that Dr Bawumia failed to exercise adequate oversight on behalf of both Ghanaians and the President, which could have ensured the success of what began as a promising initiative.
“He didn’t consult his team before varying the bank guarantee to an insurance guarantee,” Vanderpuye stated.
