Mahama increased electricity by 22.74%, Akufo-Addo has managed only 5.6% – IES research

Xatse Derick Emmanuel, a Research and Policy Analyst at the Institute for Energy Security (IES), has asserted that records show that former President John Dramani Mahama added more to Ghana’s national electricity supply than President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

According to him, during the era of Mahama, the 2024 Flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress, access to electricity increased by 22.74 percent, from 60.5 percent in 2008, to 83.24 percent in 2016.

This, he indicated, shows that Mahama’s government increased access to electricity by nearly 3 percent every year.

The Akufo-Addo government, on the other hand, he said, has managed to increase access to electricity by less than 6 percent from the 83.24 percent in 2016, to 88.84 percent as at February 2024, which shows that the government has increased access to electricity in the country by less than 1 percent annually.

“When Nana Addo took over from 2017, access to national electricity rose from 83.24% (2016) to 88.84 as at February 2024. Meaning they have added 5.61% in 7 years making 0.8% increase per year.

“Meanwhile, under JM, the NDC took it from 60.5% in 2008 to 83.24% in 2016, an average of 2.8% annual increase by the NDC,” he wrote in a statement shared with GhanaWeb.

He added, “Realistically, if we grow at an average 0.8% by Nana Addo, Ghana will achieve universal access to electricity in 14 years (2038)."

Meanwhile, Ghana has been experiencing what many have termed a return of 'dumsor', seeing that there have been erratic power outages in the country in recent months.

The power distribution company, the Electricity Company of Ghana, has, however, refuted these claims. 

BAI/AE