Ministry of Transport engages media on National Electric Vehicle Policy

The Ministry of Transport has intensified its stakeholder engagement on the draft National Electric Vehicle Policy, the latest being an engagement with some sections of the Ghanaian media.

So far, the Transport Ministry has held consultative engagements in 14 out of the 16 regions with Greater Accra and Upper West regions to go.

The government, under the Paris Climate Accord, has drafted a National Electric Vehicle Policy to solicit stakeholder inputs and enable the country to switch from the use of fossil fuel vehicles to Electronic Vehicles to curb greenhouse gas emissions and global warming.

The draft policy, whose framework was developed in June 2022, is aimed at drawing up a comprehensive implementation plan and an investment strategy to ensure a seamless transition.

The Director of Policy Planning, Monitoring, and Evaluation at the Ministry of Transport, Irene Messina said the engagement is meant to solicit the views of journalists before the final draft is completed.

A Deputy Minister of Transport, Hassan Tampuli noted that, as global automotive markets begin to phase out fossil-fuelled vehicles for electric ones, Ghana risks becoming a dumping site if synergetic efforts are not harnessed to switch to EVs.

“As we move along, what do we do with the existing means of transport that we have so that we don’t have a situation where we have some people who have just acquired vehicles and are not able to use them for the next 5-10 years? So as we are thinking of rolling out EVs, we are also thinking very critically of what to do with the existing vehicles so that they do not become waste.”

He said Ghana stands at the threshold of history if she gets its right with the transition to electronic vehicles.

“If we get it right we carry the entire sub-region along. Between Ghana and Nigeria, we account for 75% of the petroleum products consumed in the West Africa sub-region. So if we are able to do this right, Nigeria becomes a potent market for us.”