By D. I. Laary, GNA
Koforidua, May 01, GNA – President John Dramani Mahama on Friday announced that Ghana’s Akosombo Hydroelectric Dam has been fully restored to operation following a recent fire incident, assuring workers and businesses that the national power supply has stabilised.
Speaking at the 2026 May Day parade in Koforidua, the Eastern Regional capital, Mahama said engineers from the Volta River Authority (VRA) and the Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo) had successfully bypassed a damaged control room and brought all six turbines back online.
“I know many of you are concerned about the disruptions to the electricity supply caused by the Akosombo fire,” he told workers.
“But I want to share the good news that the GRIDCo and VRA engineers, working together, have been able to bypass the burnt-out control room and restart all six turbines. As of last night, the Akosombo Hydroelectric Dam is fully operational.”
President Mahama made the announcement as part of a week-long tour focused on inspections, citizen engagement and what he described as an inclusive approach to governance under his administration’s “Resetting Ghana” agenda.
Just a day earlier, he toured the Volta River Authority Electricity Generation Station in Akosombo to assess damage caused by a fire in the switchyard control room, which had disrupted electricity supply across parts of the country.
“I wish to use this occasion to celebrate the engineers of GRIDCo and VRA for the hard work and ingenuity they put into restoring the hydro plant to full operation,” President Mahama said.
“These engineers are a living testament to the fact that Ghanaian workers are the nation’s most valuable asset.”
The president linked the restoration of power at Akosombo to broader efforts to stabilise and transform Ghana’s economy, saying, reliable electricity was essential as the government pivots from stabilisation to growth and job creation.
“A stable economy is only the foundation. We want to move from recovery to transformation, from fragility to resilience. And energy stability is critical to that journey.”
President Mahama said his government had made progress in restoring macroeconomic stability, including reducing inflation, stabilising the cedi and lowering interest rates, and was now focused on expanding production, supporting industry, and creating decent jobs.
He cited Parliament’s approval of a 24-hour economy policy, which he said would rely heavily on dependable power supply to support manufacturing and value addition.
“We are moving beyond the eight-hour workday. Industry will receive incentives, including reduced power costs, to operate multiple shifts and create more jobs for the Ghanaian worker.”
The President also urged organised labour to see the restoration of Akosombo as proof of what Ghanaian expertise can achieve when supported.
“When state institutions work efficiently, it is the workers who benefit,” he said, calling on unions to speak up when public enterprises are mismanaged because “when these enterprises collapse, it is the workers that suffer the most.”
President Mahama thanked the Trade Union Congress for maintaining industrial harmony and said workers would be the first beneficiaries as the economy grows.
“Growth must not stay at the top. It must filter down to the pockets of the Ghanaian worker, from the technician at Akosombo to the teacher in the classroom.”
He saluted workers as the backbone of national development, saying the full restoration of power at Akosombo symbolised Ghana’s wider recovery effort.
“Ghana will rise and we will all rise together with Ghana,” President Mahama said.
Earlier, organised labour warned that power stability and macroeconomic gains must translate into jobs, higher wages, and secure livelihoods.
Mr Joshua Ansah, Secretary-General of the Trades Union Congress, said decades of economic growth had failed to deliver decent employment for many Ghanaians, especially the youth.
“Macroeconomic stability is not an end in itself. The real test of economic policy is whether it creates jobs, raises incomes, and secures sustainable livelihoods, “he added.
He warned that high youth unemployment and underemployment posed a national risk.
“Educated, jobless and frustrated young people have become a ticking time bomb. If we do not act together, this bomb will explode,” Mr Ansah said.
He welcomed the President’s presence and praised the recent dialogue between government and organised labour, including a meeting at Jubilee House in March.
GNA
Edited by Linda Asante Agyei
By D.I. Laary
Email: [email protected]