By Iddi Yire, GNA
Accra, Oct. 30, GNA – President John Dramani Mahama has declared that Ghana’s long-standing power challenges have been fixed, in the country with every citizen now having access to electricity.
Speaking during an engagement with Ghanaians in Moscow, President Mahama described the turnaround in the energy sector as one of the most dramatic achievements of his administration.
“With regards to energy, I can report, there’s no dumsor in Ghana, everybody has power, and that’s one of the areas that has been quite dramatic in terms of its management,” Mahama told the enthusiastic audience.
He recounted the severe financial crisis inherited by his government, revealing that Independent Power Producers (IPPs) were on the verge of shutting down power generation due to unpaid debts amounting to approximately $1.7 billion.
“When we came, we owed all the IPPs, and they were threatening to shut off power because the IPP debt was about $1.7 billion,” he said.
He disclosed that the situation was compounded by outstanding payments for gas consumed from the Jubilee Field and from ENI, which had also not been settled.
“Apart from that, we consumed gas from Jubilee Field, from ENI and had not paid for it. And we owed for gas supplied. So, it was necessary to clean out the energy sector,” Mahama explained.
The President announced that the government had now cleared the IPP debt and established a current payment system to prevent a recurrence.
The declaration by the President reassures investors and consumers alike, as Ghana’s energy sector has historically been plagued by intermittent power supply and mounting debts that threatened the viability of power producers.
GNA
Edited by Linda Asante Agyei