The Minority in Parliament has reiterated the immense threat that the debt-saddled energy sector poses to Ghana’s economy.
According to the leader of the minority caucus in Parliament, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson if this is not addressed promptly, this debt could potentially lead to a complete collapse of the nation’s economy.
Addressing President Akufo-Addo’s 2024 State of the Nation Address on Monday, March 11, Dr. Ato Forson stressed the urgent need for action to prevent any further deterioration in the situation.
He expressed concern that the Ghanaian population is already bearing the brunt of the current economic crisis and cannot afford to endure additional disruptions in the energy sector.
Dr. Ato Forson criticized the Akufo-Addo government for its mismanagement of the energy sector since assuming office in 2017.
He asserted that the upcoming 2024 general elections provide an opportunity for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to rectify these issues and restore stability to the sector.
“The reality, Mr Speaker, is that this crippling indebtedness and the mess in the power sector, created by the Akufo Addo/Bawumia government, remains the biggest threat to the Ghanaian economy,” he said.
“This Akufo-Addo/Bawumia NPP government owes more than $1.5 billion to Independent Power Producers (IPPs),” he added.
On March 5, 2024, a former Energy Minister under the John Mahama administration, Emmanuel Armah Kofi-Buah, said the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) is a major contributor to the country’s power sector challenges.
He said ECG has become the weakest link in the energy sector value chain.
Recently, Ghanaians have experienced an unstable power supply in various parts of the country.
Consequently, the Minority in Parliament, Civil Society Organizations(CSOs), and energy sector players have called for a load-shedding timetable from ECG to help citizens plan their daily activities.
However, the national power distributor ECG said the company was not undertaking any load shedding that requires a timetable.
ECG explained that the intermittent power outages have been caused by maintenance issues and, in some cases, an overload on their transformers, as well as some localized underground cable faults, among others.
“What we are experiencing now is caused by a lot of overload. A lot of transformers have a lot of customers on them more than what we have prescribed. Apart from underground cable faults within some localities, some power plants also undergo maintenance,” a statement from ECG said.