The Deputy Minister of Energy and Member of Parliament for Ellembelle Constituency in the Western Region, Hon. Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, has reiterated government’s commitment to ensure that power supply gets to all Ghanaians and industries.
According to him, the NDC government and President Atta Mills would not relent in its effort to provide power for the nation.
He disclosed that it is expected that by 2012 the generated capacity of power will move from 1,300 megawatts to over 3000 megawatts.
He was speaking in an interview with TODAY in Accra.
The Energy Minister said the country’s energy capacity which stood at 2000 megawatts needed to be topped to 5000 megawatts, but added that government’s immediate target was to move from the current 1,300 megawatts demand by households and industries to 3000 megawatts by the end of the first four years of the NDC.
“Government needs to would be proactive and pursue policies that would change the face of the energy sector,” the Minister told TODAY.
According to the Energy Minister, government has employed the services of Independent Power Producers (I.P.P) to ensure that more power generating plants are put up to support other areas that receive power supply in lower moderation.
The Legislator explained that for Ghana to meet its development targets, emphasis needs to be placed on the direction of its energy needs.
He hinted that as a an energy crusader, his ministry is working hard to ensure that the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) becomes an organization that can be positioned to execute its mandate of supplying electricity.
“In this vein, the ECG and its stakeholders would ensure that there is efficient distribution of power nationwide with no excuses mostly on the grounds of technical faults,” the Minister assured.
Touching on total reliance of Hydro-Electric power, Hon. Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah said hydro power will be supplemented with other sources of energy such as nuclear and solar energy.
“This is to improve upon thermal energy to propel a new era of industrialization as was witnessed under Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’s first President,” the Energy Minister said.
The Minister maintained that Ghana was described in the past as the gateway to Africa and this was the time when the country made great strides in the energy sector, and saw it exporting power to her neignbours.
“That era is past because we don’t have the right structures instituted to constantly maintained the facilities and systems in place. Machines have broken down for years; equipments are not functioning and we are seriously working hard to rectify the situation,” Hon. Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah told TODAY
He further stated that revamping the current energy sector will require government associating itself with strategic investors in the industry, and indicated that contacts have been made with some investors to aid the industry, as government gears up to improve the sector.
By William Beeko & Kelvin Adu-Twum Peprah
