A member of the Energy and Mines Committee of Parliament, Edward Bawa, has accused President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo of sitting unconcerned while the country goes into another power crisis.
According to the Bongo legislator, the about GH1.5 billion debt owed Independent Power Producers will force the country to return to another era of dumsor.
Edward Bawa explained that the IPP’s generate about 50% of the power distributed to the state, adding that if the situation is not checked, it would “further exacerbate the woes of Ghanaians.”
Speaking to Kumasi-based Oyerepa TV and monitored by GhanaWeb, the MP observed that the committee has scheduled a meeting with the officials of the Electricity Company of Ghana and the Volta River Authority on March 18, 2023, to probe why the government is unable to service debt owed the IPP’s.
“The energy minister is aware of the crisis. The president, Chief of Staff, and the finance minister are all aware of the situation but are sitting unconcerned. The return of dumsor in the midst of the current economic crisis will further exacerbate the woes of the ordinary Ghanaian.
“We don’t subsidize for the electricity we use in Ghana so it means we should be able to pay the IPP’s,” he told the morning show host, Kwesi Parker-Wilson.
The MP, however, charged the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, to “mobilize some resources to pay the IPP’s or fashion out a payment plan to settle the debts, else the country will be faced with another dumsor challenge. ECG is unable to account for 34% of the power they distribute.”
This is a situation Edward Bawa believes has contributed to ECG’s inability to pay for the power received from the IPP’s and therefore, he wants authorities to deal with the technical loses associated with the distribution of power to Ghanaians.
Source: ghanaweb.com
