The Executive Director of the Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP), Benjamin Boakye, is urging the government to tackle the longstanding inefficiencies and political interference that have plagued the country’s energy sector.
In a recent interview on Keypoints with Alfred Ocansey on January 11, Boakye discussed the historical and current challenges facing Ghana’s energy industry.
For years, the government has been forced to inject funds into the sector to keep it afloat, particularly through the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), a state-owned entity that has been riddled with inefficiencies.
“The ECG has been at the heart of the financial inefficiencies in the energy sector,” Boakye stated.
“For years, the government had to inject funds to keep the lights on, but this solution was never sustainable.”
One of the primary issues Boakye highlighted is the inability of ECG to attract private investments.
The sector’s reliance on public funding has prevented the establishment of a strong financial foundation for the future.
Moreover, inefficiencies extend to the downstream sector, where the government has struggled to adjust fuel prices in line with market trends, leading to massive debt accumulation.
Although efforts were made between 2014 and 2015 to address these problems, the sector’s financial situation has only worsened.
Political interference, such as the failed Power Distribution Services (PDS) deal, has complicated the sector’s recovery.
By 2017, Ghana’s energy sector was burdened with a debt of 2.5 billion dollars. Despite the introduction of the Energy Sector Recovery Program (ESRP), which aimed to stabilize the sector and reduce debt, the sector’s debt increased dramatically, reaching 14.5 billion dollars by 2023.
“While the Russia-Ukraine war provided some temporary relief, the inefficiencies within the sector have continued to deepen,” Boakye explained.
“The government has already paid 3.7 billion dollars to the sector, funds that could have been better used for other national development projects like education and infrastructure, ” Boakye emphasized the need for urgent reform.
Although privatization of ECG is a potential solution, he noted it must be approached cautiously to ensure long-term sustainability.
“The energy sector has immense potential, but it’s being held back by poor decision-making and political interference,” Boakye concluded.
“It’s time for Ghana to make the tough decisions and implement solutions that will allow the sector to thrive,” he said.
By Christabel Success Treve
Source:
3news.com
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, Benjamin Boakye, is urging the government to tackle the longstanding inefficiencies and political interference that have plagued the country’s energy sector. In a recent interview on Keypoints with Alfred Ocansey on January 11, Boakye discussed the historical and current challenges facing Ghana’s energy industry.){kind=link}