Ghana debates legal approach to PDS concession probe

Ghana’s renewed investigation into the failed Power Distribution Services (PDS) concession has sparked debate regarding whether the state should pursue criminal prosecutions or civil claims to recover losses.

Legal expert Bobby Banson of the Robert Smith Law Group noted that a 2025 international arbitration in London addressed key aspects of the failed concession. While the tribunal upheld the Electricity Company of Ghana’s (ECG) right to terminate agreements and found that certain demand guarantees were products of fraud and forgery, it concluded there was no evidence that PDS had committed actionable misrepresentation to ECG. Banson argued that criminal proceedings should not replace the civil processes necessary to determine specific contractual debts.

Energy policy expert Ben Boakye, Executive Director of the Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP), emphasized the need for a clearly established financial claim. Boakye questioned the accuracy of various public figures regarding alleged losses—ranging from GH¢800 million to GH¢1 billion—and called for an official reconciliation of what is actually owed to the state after accounting for the wider electricity value chain.