Member of Parliament for the Energy and Mines Committee Edward Bawa has accused President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo of being careless about the country’s ongoing power outage.
The Bongo MP claims that the country will have to enter another era of dumsor because of the GH1.5 billion debt owed to Independent Power Producers.
Edward Bawa stated that the IPPs produce almost 50% of the power delivered to the nation and warned that if they were unchecked, they would further worsen the problems of Ghanaians.
In an interview with Kwesi Parker-Wilson on Oyerepa TV, the MP said that on March 18, 2023, the committee would be meeting with the Electricity Company of Ghana and the Volta River Authority to investigate the government’s inability to pay its debt to the IPPs.
“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.” he said.
Edward Bawa said that the ECG can’t explain where 34% of the electricity they give out goes. Because of this, the ECG hasn’t paid the IPPs for the power they gave them.So, he wants the government to fix the technical problems that keep Ghanaians from getting electricity.
He also demanded that the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, arrange some resources to pay the IPPs or create a payment plan to clear the debts, or else the country would face another dumsor crisis.
Source – Tru News Report
