Karpowership is a subsidiary of Karadeniz Holding, Istanbul, Turkey. Karpowership is the only owner, operator and builder of the first Powership fleet in the world.
The contract, which unarguably is the best energy contract signed ever since independence does not only reduce burden on the part of government but also take off the exorbitant tariff that was imposed on poor Sierra Leoneans by the Ernest Koroma led APC government. The new contract by President Bio’s government will reduce the tariff from its initial $19.596 USc/KWh to 16.4 USc/KWh. New Direction indeed!!! This will subsequently lead to an annual saving of US$9 Million. This is competitive when compared to similar Karpower projects in neighbouring Ghana and the Gambia.
Still in line with cutting down unnecessary spending on government, the Bio government will reduce the contracted capacity for the raining season from 20MW to 15MW. This is geared towards reducing expenditure on EDSA and increasing reliance on the Bunbuna Hydro which has the capacity of producing over 40MW. What a brave SLPP government and wasteful APC government!!
Further findings prove that in the original contract negotiated by the former government, Karpower and its affiliates were given blanket exceptions on all taxes and duties which benefitted the company and some APC rogues who were involved in the negotiation process at the expense of the ordinary Sierra Leoneans. In the new contract, President Bio has asked the company to pay all their duties and taxes on other items except on HFO, equipment and spare parts. This will further boost the country’s internal revenue generation drive.
The high level of credibility carried out by President Bio and his team was a key factor in the general acceptance of the contract from all the parties involved.
When President Bio said back in January that he will restore sanity and credibility in governance by effectively managing the state’s resources, his doubters starred at him with uncertainty but his display of honesty in just few months in governance is already making his hypothesis a reality.
