News:
February 27, 2013
The Minority in Parliament says President John Dramani Mahama and his NDC government must be blamed for the current energy crisis being experienced by Ghanaians, describing it as the most badly handled in the country’s history.
According to the group, the crisis was not caused by low levels of water in the Akosombo Dam which has been the usual cause of energy crisis, but that it was caused by shortage of gas and financial difficulties of the VRA which makes it difficult to procure the right quantities of crude oil and diesel to bring all their Plants into operation.
The Minority asserted that these factors are within the government’s control and we should not allowed to bring the level of energy crisis ongoing now.
Addressing the Press on the Minority’s version of the State of Nation, the Minority Leader Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu noted that gas is cheaper than light crude but if ones source of gas applied is not secure what is important is to improve on the liquidity of VRA to produce the alternative light crude oil.
He said the NPP government use to support the VRA to procure light crude oil about 40 million dollars every month, but this support was withdrawn by the NDC government, adding that this in addition to about 400 million dollars of governments indebtedness to VRA has crippled the company and made it difficult to procure these fuels for power generation.
“The President has failed to solve this problem and is rather promising additional new generation capacity. The new generation capacity they are promising were started by the NPP government namely Takoradi-3 Thermal Plant and Bui- Hydro project which together will add about 532 MW of generation capacity” he said.
The Minority Leader, Hon. Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu noted that before the NPP left government in 2008, three other generation projects were either completed or advanced – the Tema 1 Thermaol Plant (126 MW), Tema 2 Thermal Plant (50 MW) and Kpone Thermal Plant (230 MW) which was 20% completed.
Other private initiatives were supported by the NPP government –Asogli (200MW), Osonor (cent 126 MW) and TEN power (330 MW) Thermal Project.
He asserted that but for these initiatives the prices would have been worse, and challenge to the NDC to tell Ghanaians what new investments they have initiated since they came to power in 2009, adding that what is known to Ghanaians is the 2 Megawatts solar power plant in Navrongo
Kwadwo Anim/GhanaMPs.gov.gh