Ghana Given Raw Deal
PRESIDENT J. A. Kufuor has lashed at CMS Energy for breach of contract.
The company, a shareholder in the Takoradi International Company (TICO) which runs the Aboadze Thermal Plant in partnership with the Volta River Authority (VRA), clandestinely sold out its shares to TAQA, a company in the Middle East, without the knowledge of government, he said.
Speaking at a meeting with CMS Energy management at the Castle yesterday, President Kufour said that though Ghana has 10 per cent shares in TICO with an option to buy a further 40 per cent, it would have been appropriate for CMS to consult government before selling out its shares.
He said such a strategic decision in a company that means so much to the people of Ghana should have been taken properly in consultation with government.
He described CMS Energy as a partner which has taken Ghanaians for granted and stated that government will not allow that to happen.
He said in spite of CMS Energy’s broader international business arrangements, TICO is a separate business entity registered in Ghana under the laws of the land and insisted that things must be done in the right way.
"CMS Ghana is a sovereign subsidiary subject to the laws of Ghana because of the agreement between it and the VRA and as a legal entity, there is nothing that can supersede the laws governing it in the country," he said.
He said it was unfortunate that such events are happening at a time that Ghana intends to increase its holdings in the company.
"I am surprised that you have sold off your shares to TAQA and we don’t know. Ghana will not consider itself part of whatever agreement you have with TAQA," he said.
President Kufuor advised CMS Energy to do its homework well and come back to government to clear all doubts and suspicions surrounding the deal, "otherwise government will have nothing to do with TAQA."
The President of CMS Energy, Tom Edwards, who led the delegation said, "we welcome the opportunity to talk later" but stated earlier that the deal was sealed under CMS Energy’s international business arrangements.
He said CMS Energy has been operating in Ghana for the past 15 years and gave the assurance that "things would be done right."
Present at the meeting were the Chief of Staff and Minister of Presidential Affairs, Mr Kwadwo Mpiani, National Security Minister Francis Poku, Deputy Energy Minister K.T. Hammond and Deputy Attorney General Kwame Osei Prempeh as well as the advisor to the President, Mrs Chinnery Hesse.
Source:
Ghanaian Times
AMA to ban sachet water,
if...AMA Boss
Accra, April 3, GNA -
Mr Stanley Adjiri Blankson, Chief Executive of Accra of Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) on Monday said AMA would be forced to place a temporary ban on sachet water producers if they did not help the Assembly to solve the plastic waste problem in the city. "They will force AMA to come down heavily on them " he added.
He was speaking at a press briefing after going round some parts of the city to inspect any damage yesterday's rain might caused. Mr Adjiri Blankson said the amount of plastic waste that had mounted under the gutters after the rains was "unimaginable" and causes flooding in some parts of the city.
He said sachet water producers did not care about the environment but were only interested in making money, adding, "They are the cause of our woes".
The AMA boss as part of his tour inspected the Sakumono Railway Underpass project that was being threatened by domestic waste from the residents along the railway.
He said the AMA and the Ministry of Railways, Ports and Harbours would collaborate to find sustainable measures to intercept the domestic waste from getting onto the tracks.
He also inspected drainage at the GREDA Estates in Teshie, and Tudu main lorry station, which is under renovation. At the Tudu main lorry station, Mr Blankson said about 800 million cedis was being spent on the project and it would be ready after the Easter holidays.
He gave the assurance that the people would be allowed back into the station after the completion of the work.
"We are not sacking anybody. Our vision is to change the outlook of our markets and lorry stations when we have the necessary resources" he said.
The AMA boss noted that for the assembly to increase its revenue base, it had accomplished the task of mapping out all properties that fell under the AMA jurisdiction.
He therefore gave all property owners 28 days ultimatum to check out with the sub metro or the AMA office to sort out any differences relating to their property before the new bills come out.
Mr Adjiri Blankson also registered his displeasure at recent media publications that the newly constructed Pedestrian Mall was flooded. He said the reportage was unbalanced and unfair to the AMA because the flooded area was only a little portion of the mall.
"Capitalizing on two to five percent of an entire project is unfair. AMA did a good job and deserves some praise," he said. Reacting to a question on what the AMA was doing about people in Sodom and Gomorah, he cautioned the residents that the directive of the Greater Accra Regional Commander was still valid and that, "AMA can pounce on them at anytime".
Source:
GNA
Editorial:
What must be done on cement price crisis?
The Statesman notes with concern the rising price of cement in this country, and the implications this could have and is already having on our construction industry.
Ghana's economy is supposed to be liberalised, with market prices largely allowed to respond to the dictates of demand and supply.
There is some government interference, but this is usually limited to intervening in the prices of such essential commodities as fuel and utilities - water and electricity.
However, the current astronomical, and disparate, increases in the price of cement have raised a lot of concern among Ghanaians, and rightly so. Among other important indicators of a country"s development, efficient energy supply, and the pace of construction rank quite high.
Ghana Cement, who hold a de facto monopoly in the cement industry in Ghana, controlling about 97 percent of the market, says it has no hand in the current price fluctuations.
Factors beyond their control have influenced the steady increase in market prices, and look set to continue pushing the cost of cement still higher. Indeed, ex-factory prices, at Tema and Takoradi, remain the same at ¢59,225 per bag, tax inclusive; it is the mark-up on these prices in the various depots around the country which is costing the customer, and the construction industry, so dearly.
The three northern regions of Ghana have long been the country’s poorest; the least developed, and the most in need of development.
Little hope of persuading construction companies to take up the challenge, however, with the cost of transporting cement several hundred miles from the southern production plants, along often poorly-surfaced and slow roads. Indeed, cement prices are higher in the North than any other part of the country. In Wa in Upper West, a bag of cement costs ¢79,800; in Bolgatanga in Upper East, a bag is ¢77,800; and in Tamale in the Northern Region, a bag costs ¢74,600, according to Ghacem’s projections. In reality, they are ¢20,000 to ¢40,000 higher.
Clearly, the area has little chance of developing if the cost of development remains so high.
Further south, and especially in the metropolises of Accra and Kumasi, the construction industry in Ghana had been booming. Urbanisation and escalating population growth has seen our urban areas multiplying manifold in recent years, with fresh houses and commercial buildings springing up along highways and pushing city boundaries constantly further into the country.
Indeed, demand for housing far outstrips supply in many parts of the country, making property development a lucrative enterprise for both local and foreign investors, who are gradually coming in to take up the mammoth task of housing Ghana’s people.
Now, however, cement prices threaten to quell that growth, with production costs, and the price of cement, making property unaffordable for all but the very few. Government targets on homeownership, on tackling the country’s mounting homelessness problem, will go unmet.
Targets on business and industrial development will fall by the wayside; the drive to attract economic development to the country from outside will come to nothing, as investors chose instead to go to cheaper destinations elsewhere. The cost of cement price increases will be paid by far more than just those within the construction industry; it will be felt by us all.
The problem demands an imaginative solution, which brings a shift within that industry towards developing more local materials, which will not be subject to the fluctuations of a worldwide distribution change, and which will not be subject to massive freight costs into and around the country.
In January, The Statesman carried a series of special reports and investigations into the property market in Ghana, both residential and commercial. We reported how, in areas of Central Accra, it is now virtually impossible to find a family house for less than half a million dollars – with real estate developers and property experts citing the cost of construction, as well as the cost of land, as major explanatory factors.
Kojo Addo-Kufuor, Chief Operating Officer of Ghana Home Loans, pointed to the reluctance of buyers and of property developers to explore alternative building materials.
"Most builders and buyers are set on a traditional brick-and-mortar house, but people have to be prepared to consider other options,” he said at the time. The major problem with cement is that the basic materials such as lime have to be imported from outside the country, he explained. Attempts to harness new building materials in Ghana are still in their early stages, but include the introduction of hydroform blocks – a South African technology which is fast taking off in other parts of the continent.
The bricks can be interlocked and dry-stacked, making them quick and easy to assemble and, most importantly, they are made of only 10 percent cement and 90 percent laterate soil, which can usually be found within the vicinity of the building site rather than shipped hundreds of miles at the cost of thousands of dollars.
Today, The Statesman calls on Government to take seriously these new methods, and to take seriously the development of other new technologies.
It does not make sense for a country in need of so much, and such rapid, construction, to be so heavily dependent on imports from abroad and so vulnerable to the unpredictably of the market.
The only solution to the cement price crisis will be to develop a construction industry which is not dependent on cement at all.
The Building and Road Research Institute under the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research was set up by Government as commercial-oriented research and development organisation in the construction industry.
Its mission is to profitably provide research and development products, processes and services to the building and road sectors and for the socio-economic development of Ghana – a laudable goal, if only it was equipped to deliver.
The current crisis in the cement industry highlights the need for more serious investment in the area of science and technology, and more sustained efforts to fund sustainable local solutions for the building industry.
Such progress must be made in order to reduce construction costs; to make the price of property in this country a building brick rather than a stumbling block to the nation’s development.
Source:
Statesman
Pratt, Baako Hail Media Diversity
Kweku Baako Jnr, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of the Crusading Guide, has underscored the importance of a free thinking media, unfettered by restrictions and conventions that might eventually force them to think and act the same way. This freedom, which will allow the media to properly fulfill its role as watch dogs, is necessary for the growth of the country's infant democracy.
Speaking at the second anniversary celebration of The Enquirer newspaper over the weekend, Mr Baako asserted that there necessarily have to be divergent views in the media landscape, since they "can not think, say, and publish the same way,” and urged the public to appreciate that the diversity was crucial for the development of the nation.
The senior journalist maintained that a pluralistic media is key to the survival of democracy, saying, “the very moment newspapers begin to publish the same way, journalists think and speak the same way, society will die.”
According to Mr Baako, every newspaper has its history, agenda and philosophy, although this should not arrogate to them the right to be judgmental. “The people should be allowed to decide for themselves at the market place of ideas,” said he.
He lauded The Enquirer for carving a niche for itself in the media landscape within the short period of its existence.
Expressing similar sentiments, Kwesi Pratt Jnr, Managing Editor of The Insight said, “we cannot all think in one straight line, we are bound to disagree and when we disagree, we should not draw swords.”
He paid glowing tribute to Nana Kofi Coomson, Publisher of The Chronicle, for making tremendous contribution to the advancement and development of the media practice in Ghana.
He attributed the performance of Raymond Archer, Editor-in-Chief of The Enquirer, to the tutelage he got from the Chronicle.
Mr Archer expressed delight that his paper has survived what he referred to as “roughages of the industry” in the country. According to him, The Enquirer focuses basically on public accountability, anti-corruption, and government business but is not interested in party politics.
In carrying out this objective, he said, the paper"s stand on issues sometimes gets misconstrued but “that it is part of the media work.”
Highlight of the anniversary was the recognition of P C Appiah Ofori, MP for Asikuma Odoben Brakwa, as an anti-corruption crusader. He was presented with The Enquirer’s National Integrity Award, a study opportunity at the Les Aspin Centre for Government in Washington, America.
Source:
Statesman
Shell Ghana limited launches new fuel product
Accra, March 29, GNA -
Shell Ghana Limited has launched a new unleaded petrol called "Shell V-Power" produced with the aim to improve vehicle engine life and to maximize performance.
The revolutionary new unleaded fuel product, designed by the company's leading scientists, is an advanced 95 octane petrol which can help give more power than lower octane petrol currently available in Ghana as well as reducing environmental pollution.
Ghana is the second African country after South Africa where the V-Power had been launched, to satisfy the increasing demand by customers of the leading retailer for a more efficient fuel.
Professor Christopher Ameyaw-Akumfi, Minister of Harbours and Railways who launched the product on behalf of the Vice President on Tuesday said the days were long gone when the fuel market was a static one.
"And we are all part of a fuel market that is changing, and changing very fast to keep pace with the trends of economic development of our times. Needless to say most modern vehicles are relatively sophisticated, technologically advanced, complex and powerful."
Professor Ameyaw-Akumfi said government was happy to note that Shell Ghana Limited, coming from a heritage of service excellence and technological advancement had been providing valuable services to motorists for over 75 years.
"As trailblazers in the search for more efficient, powerful and environmentally friendly fuels, we welcome this innovation by Shell Ghana ltd, and encourage all and sundry to aspire to the same ideals that would carry us forward in a sustainable manner in the future." He said one of the keys to socio-economic development of a country was the provision of an efficient and effective transportation system, to effectively mobilize and facilitate the industrial growth of the economy while reducing environmental pollution.
Professor Ameyaw-Akumfi said so far about 14 Development Partners were partnering with the government to implement a Road Sector Development Programme which commenced in 2002 and would end in December 2007 with a total investment outlay of 1.2 billion US dollars. He said a key plank of government's Energy Policy was to deregulate the oil industry to liberalize prices and increase private sector entry into the petroleum industry for enhanced competitive marketing and pricing of petroleum products at the pump.
Mr Daniel Ahene Nunoo, Managing Director of Shell Ghana Ltd. said the product was sold over 40 countries around the world and its quality had been guaranteed with certainty.
He said users of the Shell V-Power enjoyed powerful detergent additive that removed harmful deposits and anticorrosion additive to protect metallic engine parts from rust, highly sourced on the international market.
Already the Ghana Standards Board had inspected and approved the product stored at Shell's facility in Lome, Togo where it is transported to Ghana.
He said an initial 23 stations in Accra, Tema and Kumasi were being kitted to provide Shell V-Power to customers and a nationwide roll out plan was expected to follow thereafter.
Dr Andreas Schaefer, a representative of Shell Global Solutions Germany, said the formulation had been developed together with Shell scientists, who had developed fuels for the award winning Ferrari Formula One racing team for over 50 years.
He said the pricing of V-Power would be in tandem with the movement of world oil prices as well as the liberalization of the Ghanaian fuel market.
Mr John Attefuah, Chief Executive of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) said the innovation by Shell was a major step to enhance the deregulation process and would provide a much better product to ensure that the petroleum market was not one sided. He said the NPA would ensure that Shell delivered as promised and maintained the quality of the product for maximum customer satisfaction.
Source:
GNA
Charles Taylor’s son appeals to Kufuor
Tom Charles Taylor, son of former Liberian leader Charles Granky Taylor, has appealed to President John Agyekum Kufuor, to use his good office as African Union Chairman to intervene in the on-going trial of the former Liberian leader.
Tom Taylor who made this call in Accra, expressed optimism that this would not be his father's last hour in incarceration. He claimed Charles Taylor was innocent of the charges of war crimes for which he is presently standing trial.
Pledging to intensify his campaign to actualize the release of his father, Tom recalled the Former UN boss Kofi Annan in welcoming Taylor's transfer to The Hagues, Netherlands, last year that the trial would "mark a further victory in the struggle to end impunity." He however felt strongly that the time had come for Annan to have a rethink in the face of the inability of his adversaries to substantiate allegations. "My father is a victim of high level politicking," he said.
Tom Charles Taylor, who was in charge of diamond mining in Liberia during his father's regime was recently questioned by his country's authorities for looting over $500 million under what observers see as part of the Liberian government's effort. to rid the nation of corruption and recover ill-gotten wealth.
He has since been cleared of all allegations.
Charles Taylor was President of Liberia from 1997-2003. He is accused of wreaking havoc on his own country as well as causing civil wars in at least two others. He was recently sought asylum in 2003 after pressure from Liberian rebel forces and the international community forced his resignation from office.
Taylor is now standing trial at the Special Court for Sierra Leone, a U.N.-backed war crimes tribunal. In 1989, Taylor launched a rebel attack from neighbouring Cote d'Ivoire, throwing the country into civil war. For six long years, several different rebel groups vied for control of the country and its natural resources. In 1995, a peace agreement was reached, and in 1997, Taylor was elected president with nearly three quarters of the vote.
He developed close relationship with Foday Sankoh, the head of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), a Sierra Leonean rebel group while both men were in Libya learning guerrilla tactics from Muammar Qaddafi. Taylor allegedly gave the RUF guns and other military equipment in exchange for diamonds, helping to fuel the RUFfs activities and the suffering it wrought on the civilian population.
The Special Court for Sierra Leone would later indict him for his role in the conflict. In 1999 and in 2003, two separate groups merged to challenge Taylor's rule and by summer of 2003, he was in control of less than one third of the country. In an effort to avoid further escalation of the conflict and a complete collapse of Liberia, the United States publicly called on Taylor to resign which he did in August and was granted refuge in Nigeria.
In the same year, the Special Court in Sierra Leone called for a Taylor trial for war crimes. Nigeria refused to hand over Taylor, stating it would only extradite him to Liberia. In 2005, Liberians elected Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf as President, paving the way for Taylor's extradition. In March of 2006, Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo finally agreed to hand Taylor over to Liberia, where he was promptly sent to Freetown to stand trial at the Special Court.
Taylor has maintained that he is innocent saying Jesus Christ was accused of being a murderer in his time.
Culled from
Source:
Network Herald
Kpone Traditional Council, Presbyterian school damaged in downpour
Kpone, April 03, GNA - A community centre under construction collapsed and the Presbyterian School that was renovated about four months ago had its roof ripped off in Sunday's windstorm. The Kpone Traditional Council had computers and their accessories, files and books damaged and the elders estimate the cost of damage to be over 600 million cedis.
A computer room, the chief's office, a library and the general office were all affected.
The Tema Municipal Chief Executive, Mr David Quaye Annang, visited the disaster scene and blamed it on inefficiency and shoddy work by the contractor.
He said there was the need for developers to always engage the services of building experts to offer advice, supervision and direction at every stage of the construction to prevent disaster.
Mr Annang said it was about time developers flouting the building regulations be penalized to serve as deterrent to others. While pledging a computer and accessories to the Council, he gave the assurance that the assembly would meet to discuss how best to offer more assistance.
The contractor, Mr Simon Donkor of Simon Simco Construction Works, said he could not be blamed because he did not provide the building materials for the project.
He said the Project Committee of the traditional council provided the materials and that "all I did was to provide labour."
Mr Donkor said the project, which started two years ago, was done in phases as and when the committee provided the materials.
Mr Nathaniel Nortey, an elder of the council, appealed that communities who are beneficiaries of projects be involved in its implementation so that they could offer some correction if things did not go the right way.
He cited an instance where the Chief of the town, Nii Tetteh Out 11, made suggestions to an engineer during the construction of drainage but he took offence.
Mr Nortey said the engineer told the Chief that he did not award the contract and in the end the drainage was poorly done because the town flooded each time it rained.
Source:
GNA
First land information bank directory launched
Accra, April 3, GNA -
Government on Tuesday launched the first Ghana Land Information Bank Directory with the hope that prospective investors would no longer go through frustrations and delays in accessing land for their ventures.
The directory contains information on the availability of lands in eight out of the ten regions in the country. The regions that were not covered were the Upper East and Upper West Regions.
Professor Dominic Kweku Fobih, Minister of Lands, Forestry and Mines who launched the directory in Accra expressed the hope that the document would be of immense benefit to the investment community, both local and foreign and appealed to all prospective land acquirers to contact the Ministry before undertaking any contract.
He said the Land Administration Project (LAP), the institution charged with the compilation of the directory covered approximately 119,435 hectares of land that was suitable for agriculture, real estate, tourism, horticulture, and forest plantation, industrial and commercial development in the eight regions.
Prof. Fobih said a number of landowners did not participate in the first phase of the exercise, because they feared that government was compiling the directory with the intention of confiscating the lands for its own use.
He however emphasised that government had no such intention, because lands that were given out willingly by people in the past were now being compensated for, adding that "The issue of compensation has till date not been completed by government and we would in no way seize any property.".
Prof Fobih said the exercise was aimed at making land available for investment and development and to ensure that investors liaised with the rightful owners to avoid litigations, as had been the case in the past. Giving the breakdown of the lands so far registered, he said 8, 715 hectres were registered in the Volta Region, with 41,563, in the Brong Ahafo, 24,599 in Northern, and 6,631ha in the Greater Accra Regions. The rest were 28,554 hectres in the Eastern Region, 3,445 in Central, 801 in Ashanti and 4,125 in the Western Region
Prof Fobih said government being fully aware that land ownership in Ghana was on communal basis such as stool, clan, family and in some cases individuals, meetings were held with the regional land sector agencies, Regional Ministers, Regional Coordinating Councils, District Chief Executives, Chiefs and Land Owners before documenting the lands covered in the directory.
The whole exercise was aimed at taking into account generational interest as well as to ensure that land was preserved for the future generation.
Mrs Mary Chinery- Hesse, Chief Advisor to the President said ensuring the security of tenure land was in line with Ghana's development target of achieving a middle-income status by 2015. "It is important that investors are sure that they can hold title to land for a certain period without hindrances, hence the need for a proper documentation of all available land," she said. Mrs Chinery-Hesse said knowing that the 93land was the soul of most communities", it was important that those who were collating the information got things right to make the ordinary people feel protected. Government, she said would keep monitoring and evaluating the progress of the project, which was expected to be reviewed each year. Dasebre Osei Bonsu II, Mamponghene, who chaired the function said the chiefs indeed did welcome the new imitative of documenting lands in line with its ownership.
This, he noted, would help investors to easily identify areas they intended to invest and the people to contact for such investment drives. He however urged the Ministry to continue to work with the chiefs since they were the custodians of about 80 per cent of the land. Dr Odame Larbi, Director, LAP gave the assurance that all the issues captured in the first directory would be reviewed periodically hence the need for all to be involved.
Source:
GNA
CPP Blames Govt Wholly For The Energy Crisis
Ladies and Gentlemen, members of the media , our country is facing a serious energy crisis at the moment , a crisis which threatens to undermine our efforts at development even further. The Government is rightly facing criticism from all quarters of society, including Labour Unions, Industry and ordinary members of the public, and we wish to add our voice to that call for answers from the NPP government.
As Ghanaians we have every right to hold our government to account on their decisions and omissions.
After nearly 7 years in power the Government has now announced an energy policy. Its Power Sector Reforms, which is intended to facilitate increased private sector participation and financing of power supply including the “ unbundling of VRA” would lead to a free-for-all in the energy sector, with many groups providing power without a framework for regulation.
The extensive nationwide ” load management programme” which is seeking a reduction of 300 MW out of the daily demand of 1,400 MW i.e. 21% or close to a quarter of the consumption was always bound to affect our industries and workforce and the question is – did government consult industry and the labour unions on indeed anyone on the likely effects and the necessary contingency measures to aid industry and the workforce?.
It is perhaps worth examining at this point some of the issues behind the present crisis as this will inform solutions for the future.
The Convention People’s Party (CPP) in its development and industrialization plans for Ghana noted “ the maintenance of a high availability of electrical power per head of employed worker”, it also noted “ with the implementation of the Akosombo scheme, Ghana will have a higher output of electricity…..” but that “…..the blueprints for the development of other sources of hydro-power must be put in final shape before the end of the plan period” i.e. 1970 It noted further that “ the programming of actual implementation during the next and subsequent plan period can be determined on the basis of a careful assessment of growth and demand”
The question that arise then is “have subsequent governments been assessing the growth of demand in line with what the CPP had already identified as a necessity for future generations?.
Whereas America finance was instrumental in the construction of the Akosombo Dam, the Russians by 1965 were working on the Bui Dam project and had built Bui camp with a cluster of bungalows of polished wood, a clinic, a meteorological station, an irrigated farm, hydrological measurement points, offices, and workshops with enormous collection of samples of tubular drilled rocks demonstrating CPP commitment to the next phase of meeting future power needs, with the Bui Hydro-Power Project.
After the treason of February 1966 the Russians working on the Bui project left Ghana within a week of the coup.
An international consortium headed by Halliburton Brown & Root was in October 1999 mandated under a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Government of Ghana, acting through the Volta River Authority (VRA), to develop the Bui project.
A Bui camp was again in place, although a pale shadow of the 1966 Bui Camp. On assuming power in January 2001, the current NPP government conducted due diligence on the MOU and in August the same year ended the Halliburton Brown & Root consortium involvement in Bui. The NPP administration then put in place a new tender process for potential developers of the project, with the Ghana Energy Commission replacing VRA as implementing body.
7 years has elapsed and we are now told that the Bui Hydro Project is now back on the agenda and will expand the existing Hydro power capacity by an additional 400 MW.
Many years have been wasted and the foresight and strategic planning of the CPP does not seem to have been displayed by subsequent governments indeed we seem to have come a full circle with those who propped up the NLC which overthrew the CPP government and abandoned the Bui Dam project being the same people ruling Ghana today and seeking to get back on the same track they had abandoned. Many questions must be asked of senior members of this government on their role which has lead to this crisis - Mr. J.H. Mensah a Senior member of the ruling party was the Minister of Finance in the Progress Party government. The question Ghanaians are asking Mr J.H . Mensah is whether he recommended abandoning the Bui Dam project?. The President, Mr. J. A. Kufour was a member of the Constituent Assembly that drew up the 1969 Constitution, with Article 71, which proscribed the C.P.P. and disenfranchised members of the C.P.P. to ensure that the U.P./P.P. won the 1969 election. President Kufour was the Deputy Foreign Minister in the Progress Party government of Dr. K.A. Busia.
Ghanaians are asking what happened to the Bui Dam project under the PP government of which the President and other NPP members were a part.
A number of measures have been announced by government in recent weeks:
“Fast tracking” repairs of the Aboadze Thermal Plant.
Plans to acquire a 126 MW plant.
Relocating the Osagyefo Barge to Tema
Collaboration with “ other entities” and Mines, to procure additional power generating facilities.
All rather “eleventh hour” and `raises further questions:
Has the government not been aware of the energy needs of the country?
Why did it wait till the country was engulfed in crisis before seemingly acting?
This has lead many to question whether the government will be able to get its act together and facilitate the generation of adequate power.
Increased hydro generation is viewed as not deliverable in the short term and the likely switch to thermal generation in the short term would have a massive cost implication which would lead to increased electricity prices. Government since the CPP Government including the present NPP government have seemingly failed to monitor the energy needs of the country and thus strategically plan to meet the energy requirements of our beloved country. Another good reason for the return to CPP government
Source:
Convention Peoples Party (CPP UK & Ireland)
