The Government of Ghana has reaffirmed its commitment to fulfilling its obligations under the Settlement Agreement with Trafigura, aiming for a swift resolution of the matter. This follows the circulation of a letter on social media suggesting a delay in the government’s execution of the agreement.
On September 24, Trafigura’s Ghana Power Generation Company (GPGC) petitioned Finance Minister Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam, requesting payment of outstanding arrears owed by the government. In response, the Ministry of Finance clarified that the letter represents ongoing discussions to settle the claims. The Ministry assured that arrangements have been made to address the outstanding payments following several rounds of negotiations with Trafigura.
GPGC had earlier written to the Finance Minister, with copies sent to the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Godfred Yeboah Dame. In the letter, GPGC warned that if the government failed to pay an outstanding $111 million from a $134 million judgment debt, it may be forced to seize Ghana’s properties in South Africa and the United States of America. This judgment debt arose from a power purchase agreement that Ghana terminated, leading to a ruling in GPGC’s favour.
In August 2024, a similar situation occurred when Trafigura temporarily seized Ghana’s Regina House in the United Kingdom due to a default on a payment agreement. Following that, the government paid $23 million, leaving a balance of $111 million.
The dispute stems from a decision made by a UK tribunal on January 26, 2021. The tribunal ruled that the Ghanaian government had breached its contractual obligations when it unilaterally terminated the agreement with GPGC on February 18, 2018. As a result, the tribunal awarded GPGC $134,348,661 as compensation for early termination.
GPGC has given the government until the end of the week to settle the outstanding debt.