President-elect John Dramani Mahama has called for immediate reforms in Ghana’s energy sector to address the worsening crisis, which he attributes to mismanagement by the outgoing Akufo-Addo government.
During a meeting with the Canadian High Commission in Ghana following his victory in the December 7 elections, Mahama warned that the country’s energy sector is on the brink of collapse, with a staggering $2.5 billion debt and outstanding payments to Independent Power Producers (IPPs).
He emphasized that without urgent intervention, the crisis could have severe consequences for the country’s economic growth and stability.
“The energy sector is another area where this outgoing administration has mismanaged in a major way,” Mahama said.
“They’ve kept the lights on at the expense of accruing a huge debt.”
The debt, currently under audit, stands at $2.5 billion. Mahama criticized the government for failing to prioritize payments to energy producers while continuing to incur additional liabilities.
“Not paying the producers of energy is just piling on the debt, while paying other things that are also critical,” he added. “We cannot continue like this.”
In addition to the mounting debt, Mahama also highlighted the challenges faced by the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), which is grappling with a high technical and commercial loss rate of 32%.
He pointed out that poor governance within ECG has exacerbated the problems, contributing to the sector’s instability.
The president-elect further revealed that Ghana could have saved up to $1 billion annually if the government had opted for natural gas over crude oil for power generation.
He explained that the country’s reliance on light crude oil, due to a decline in domestic gas production, has driven up the cost of electricity.
“Gas production has gone down, so we’re forced to use more light crude oil, making electricity production more expensive,” Mahama said.
“If the government had opted for gas, it would have been cheaper. Yet, even with this higher cost, they’ve failed to pay the IPPs.”
Mahama reiterated that the energy sector urgently requires reforms, describing the situation as a “time bomb” that could potentially destabilize the entire economy.
“The energy sector needs urgent surgery, otherwise, it can collapse everything,” he concluded.
By: Shadrack Odame Agyare |Metrotvonline.com | Ghana
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