God has given Ghana free sun; we will adopt solar energy to reduce the cost of electricity - Bawumia

The Vice President and flagbearer of the NPP, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has reiterated his desire, if voted as president, to rely on solar generation of power.

Interacting with community stakeholders in Ada during his tour of the Ada Constituency on Wednesday, Dr. Bawumia lamented the high cost of electricity for businesses and households, explaining that the high tariff is a result of the high cost of importing oil and gas to generate electricity.

To bring down the cost, he noted that his government will prioritise solar energy by generating about 2000 megawatts of it, which he said will significantly reduce the cost of electricity.

"The reason why our electricity bills are high is that we import oil and gas to produce electricity, and those are expensive. So I want Ghana to take the bold decision, which I am going to take by the Grace of God next year, to move Ghana away from a dependency on oil and gas for electricity to solar power, the sun, which God has given to us for free. So let us use solar power to generate electricity," he said.

"I want to inject 2000 megawatts of solar power into our generation mix, and once we do that, we are able to bring down the cost of electricity by 50% if we bring solar power into the mix," he added.

On reducing other costs of living, Dr. Bawumia said his government will also focus on electric buses for public transportation, which he said will help reduce the cost of public transportation, especially in the cities.

On food security and bringing down the prices of food, Dr. Bawumia noted that his government will prioritise the introduction of technology and schemes into agriculture and fishing to help significantly improve farming.