The Former President and the current flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama, has intimated that, the current NPP government has not added power to Ghana’s energy sector since they came into power.
Speaking during a mini-rally in the Adentan constituency in Accra, John Mahama said, unlike President Akufo-Addo, all previous governments put in place various energy infrastructure projects to increase the country’s power generation capacity.
“The NPP government has not added a single Megawatt of power to Ghana’s energy sector. Kwame Nkrumah brought the Akosombo Dam, Acheampong brought Kpone, Rawlings brought Aboadze power plant, Kufuor also added his, Mills also added, I also added a power plant, this is the only government, that has not added a single Megawatt to power that has not added to Ghana’s energy generation.”
The former President then challenged the President, Nana Akufo-Addo to list energy infrastructure projects his administration has added to existing projects initiated under the previous government.
While addressing the mini-rally he noted that, never in the history of Ghana has the country’s energy sector been revamped like what transpired under his regime despite the challenges the sector faced.
Also, John Mahama challenged the Akufo-Addo administration to provide evidence of the measures they introduced to end the ‘Dumsor’ if indeed the New Patriotic Party actually solved the problem of power outages in the country.
While the current ruling government has insisted that the John Mahama administration superintended over the intense power crisis the nation faced, John Dramani Mahama says his administration ended the power crisis, popularly known as ‘Dumsor’ before leaving office.
The energy sector is one of the most topical sectors in discussions pertaining to Ghana’s elections particularly after the challenges the country faced with regards to power instability.
In the “People’s Manifesto” of the NDC, it outlined several projects that would be laid down for the energy sector if they are voted into power.
Highlighting of some of the promises, the NDC said that they would accelerate the development of grid-connected solar, wind and biomass plants; provide incentives for the investment in the manufacture of solar panels and accessories in Ghana, including removal of import duties on solar equipment and accessories, expand thermal and renewable power generation to match the growth demand in the country by working to ensure the supply of affordable, reliable and sustainable supply of power for economic growth and also implement the ‘Light Up Ghana Initiative, which will enhance public safety, security and boost the night economy by ensuring that every city, town or village has access to street lights.
The NPP on the other hand restated their previous promises and outlined some new ones the party seek to implement in their second term of governance.
They sought to pursue energy conservation including the introduction of Minimum Energy Performance Standards for electric motors and industrial equipment; develop a Financial Restructuring and Recovery Plan for the Energy Sector; Increase proportion of renewable energy in the national generation mix and Implement policy to reduce energy transmission losses.
