The National Democratic Congress (NDC) on Friday expressed worry about the intermittent power outages in the country and blamed the New Patriotic Party (NPP) for the current deficit in the nation’s energy supply.
The NDC alleged that the NPP in its eight year-term in office was negligent and failed to give the needed attention to the energy sector.
Mr. Johnson Asiedu-Nketiah, NDC General Secretary, raised the concern at a durbar to inaugurate a renovated Zonal office of the party at Badu in the Tain District of Brong-Ahafo Region.
The work, which cost GH¢4,000 was solely funded by Lieutenant Colonel Enoch Kwame Tweneboah Donkor, Ghana’s Ambassador to La Cote D’Ivoire.
Mr. Asiedu-Nketiah explained that when the NDC Government assumed office in 2009, it realized that the NPP had abandoned the Tema, Aboadze and Asorgli Power Plant projects, initially designed by the previous NDC administrations to augment electricity power generation from the Akosombo Dam.
He said “works at the three projects sites were left to rust,” and that the Government had no other option than to look for alternative funding to revive these projects.
Mr. Asiedu-Nketiah said the NPP administration canceled the agreement between Ghana and Nigeria on the West African Gas Pipeline Project, and entered into another agreement which brought execution of the project into a standstill,
He expressed worry that Parliament had still not approved the 3 billion dollar loan facility which the Government intended to secure from China as the Minority in Parliament played partisan politics with the deal.
Mr. Asiedu-Nketiah explained that Government initially requested for only 1 billion dollar loan from the Chinese Government but because of the long standing relationship between Ghana and China, the latter decided to grant additional 2 billion dollars.
He said the main purpose of the loan was to help Ghana to go into gas production in larger quantities to supplement national electricity generation.
Mr. Asiedu-Nketiah said notwithstanding all these problems, the Government had put in place steps to ensure that work on the Bui Hydro-Electric Power project was completed on schedule.
He said Ghana would depend on the energy sector for rapid economic growth and that with the onset of the Bui power supply in 2013, the people would witness massive infrastructural development and better standards of living.
Mr. Asiedu-Nketiah touched on the current rising price of cement, and alleged that the NPP had connived with some retailers to sell the product at exorbitant prices.
He said currently the commodity was being sold at GH¢15.25 by the manufacturing companies and Government was doing everything possible to ensure that vendors would sell the product at the normal price.
The NDC General Secretary said Ghanaians would do a great disservice to themselves and their children if they vote for the NPP in the December polls as the NPP was using Ghana’s oil as collateral to seek international support for their campaign.
He said the NDC Government had used its first term in office to lay a solid foundation for development, and advised Ghanaians to retain the NDC in the upcoming general election to facilitate rapid economic growth in 2013.
Mr. Asiedu-Nketiah observed that all the gains made so far and steps put in place by the NDC to improve on the living conditions of Ghanaians in 2013, would be fruitless if they hand-over power to the NPP in the polls.**
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