Former Power Minister, Dr. Kwabena Donkor feels vindicated by the struggles the Akufo-Addo administration is currently enduring with regards to the power sector.
When asked what he would say to the Energy Minister amid concerns over power generation challenges, Dr. Donkor said: “I will tell him I told you so.”
“I will just have a very interesting laugh at him,” he added in his remarks on Point Blank on Eyewitness News on Tuesday.
The Energy Minister, Peter Amewu, was part of an energy think tank, African Centre for Energy Policy that criticised the Mahama government during the power crisis that bedevilled the country some five years ago, which eventually led to Dr. Donkor’s resignation from the Ministry.
“I told him [Peter Amewu] a couple of years back when he was at ACEP that; ‘be careful how you go about attacking the government. Tomorrow you may occupy that seat’.”
Dr. Donkor said this was a reminder that the power sector ought to be assessed with an objective lens.
“As a people, we should move this away from partisanship. Let’s look at the real underlying issues. The real underlying issues are financially exacerbated by inefficiencies,” he noted.
In his comments on the recent power struggles that have Ghanaians fearing a return to the most dreaded days of load shedding, the former Power Minister insisted that the current challenges had to do with financial challenges.
He remains certain that the country does not have a capacity problem.
“It will last as long as possible if we as a people refuse to address the fundamental issues and then only address the symptoms. The fundamental issue is that the energy sector is financially distressed.”
Dr. Donkor further urged the government to consider a U-turn on its push to reduce electricity tariffs, which have been reviewed downwards.
“If we don’t have a capacity problem, it means we have a fuel problem and a fuel problem is a finance problem. The state has a responsibility as a shareholder to either inject capital into the entities or let the entities in the short term increase their tariffs.”
The Energy Ministry continues to insist that the erratic state of power supply in the country is not a result of financial problems or mismanagement.
Most recently, on Citi TV’s The Point of View, Nana Oppong Damoah, the Head of Communication at the Energy Ministry, blamed the current challenges on logistical challenges.
He cited the partial shutdown of gas infrastructure over the last few weeks and challenges with fuel supply as contributory factors to the recent power challenges that have led to some form of load shedding in the country.
“We’ve had logistical challenges with the supply of the fuel. Not that we haven’t been able to buy,” he stated.
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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa | citinewsroom.com | Ghana
Follow @delalibessa
