Ghana at the end of ‘dumsor’ - Power Minister

Ghana is “almost at the end” of the energy crisis that has hit the country for nearly three years, Power Minister Dr Kwabena Donkor has declared.

Speaking at a ceremony to set sail a 225-megawatt power barge from Turkey to Ghana, the minister said: “We have gone through a temporary period of power challenges but as we speak we are almost at the end of it.”

“Ghana is eagerly awaiting the arrival of these vessels in our waters,” Dr Donkor told the gathering of Ghanaian and Turkish officials.

The barge, which is expected in Ghana mid-November is one of two constructed by Turkish power ship maker Karadeniz.

“And while we have this power barge and two other projects ongoing, we can simply say we are generating enough power to meet our power needs.”

Dr Donkor is still optimistic Ghana’s energy crisis will be over by the close of 2015 as the National Democratic Congress government plans to increase the country’s generating capacity to 5,000 MW by 2016.

He has vowed to resign if the problem persists beyond 2015.