Government will not hasten transition to electric vehicles - Deputy Transport Minister

Mr. Frederick Obeng Adom, Deputy Minister for Transport, has said the government would ensure a gradual and convenient shift towards the use of electric vehicles (EVs) in the country.

He said stakeholders acknowledged the heavy dependence on internal combustible engines (ICEs) and would ensure a roll-out that would benefit all players including the transport sector.

The Deputy Minister gave the assurance during the first regional consultative meeting on the draft National Electric Vehicle policy, being held in the Volta Regional capital.

Mr Adom said all 3.2 million registered vehicles in the country were being powered by fuel-burning ICEs, and that the transition was being structured to ensure that stranded resources – automobile skills and industries, were taken care of.

“Government is not going to hasten the transition to EVs. It is going to be a very gradual process as we build into the EV system,” he stated.

Mr. Adom noted how push through measures including tariff increments for the importation of vehicles running on ICEs, constituted calculated steps towards the transition, and that the draft policy was sure to provide the needed regulations and provisions for a sustainable rollout.

The Deputy Minister said the transport sector remained crucial in the new regime for its contribution to greenhouse gas emissions and was therefore one of the focuses of the electric vehicle framework and policy.

He said it was important that Ghana took advantage of opportunities abounding in new energy sources towards a net-zero emission future, and that extensive stakeholder consultation was required in producing the best national policy in the interest of all.

Madam Doris Duodu, Deputy Director for Renewable Energy at the Ministry of Energy, said Ghana was well-positioned to lead the emerging era of electric mobility in Africa.

She said the nation’s wealth of electrical energy would play to its advantage in the promotion and success of an electric vehicle regime, adding also that it would help provide demand for the huge chunk of excess electrical power generated.

The Deputy Director said a Drive Electric Initiative by the Energy Commission and its stakeholders had therefore been instituted to help promote patronage.

“Our current installed capacity of over 5,400 megawatts is significantly more than our current peak demand of about 3,700 megawatts. At this current rate, Ghana will need to create demand within the system to take the excess supply of electricity.

“Ghana will be one of the first to set an example that West Africa and for that matter Africa can be part of the success story of electric mobility”.

Ms. Duodu said the world had less than a decade to avert “catastrophic climate change,” and that, “it is not so much a lifestyle choice but a necessity for survival for everyone to switch to electric vehicles in the next few years to contribute to the reduction of global warming.”

She said Ghana would have to consider the “enormous savings” from running EVs, noting how the technology was beginning to determine the direction of major auto manufactures across the globe.

Sharing a baseline study by the Energy Commission, Ms Duodu said Ghana currently had only four level 2 charging stations while the skills and technology for the emerging technology were in “short supply”.

She said a “huge gap” in public awareness on the prospects of EVs also existed, evident in the reactions of Ghanaians to the possibility of owning such vehicles, and which should be addressed through a well formulated policy.

The policy, when completed, would promote Ghana’s vision of a sustainable adoption and utilisation of safe and affordable electric mobility technology.

Key objectives and strategies include the promotion of sustainable demand for EVs, and the provision of laws and regulatory frameworks for its ecosystem and development.

Human resource capital for the electric vehicle value chain, industrial waste management, health and safety, and research support have been provided for in the draft policy.

Other Regions in the country would benefit from the consultations which brings together a broad spectrum of stakeholders including regulatory bodies and direct industry players, and civil society organisations.

Mr. Augustus Awiti, Volta Regional Coordinating Director, who opened the meeting, said the new mobility regime should help promote a clean and sustainable environment.