The untold story of the Akosombo Dam

Did I hear the NPP incessantly talk about dumsor? In fact, they are as guilty as sin when it comes to dumsor, and this is quite incontestable. As the NPP pilloried, President Mahama over dumsor, could they reminisce their inability to produce enough power within their 15-year term in office under Presidents Kufour and Akufo-Addo without an agonizing pang of shame?

Between 2001 and 2008 when the NPP was in power only 80 MW of electricity was added to the national grid. This was not done by the NPP government but by a consortium of mining companies.

Under President Akufo-Addo, the significant addition to the national grid is a 13 MW solar project at Kaleo and a 6.5 MW solar project at Lawra.

There is an annual 12% increase in the demand for electricity in Ghana. This means that there is the need to add about 200 MW annually to catch up with the demand, so, President Kufour ought to have added a total of 1600 MW within 8 years in power instead of 80 MW; this left a shortfall of 1420 MW. During the "dumsor" era, Ghana was shedding an average of 700 MW, therefore, if the NPP had done their homework well we would have had about 700 MW of extra power for export, and there wouldn't have been dumsor. I know the NPP is going about arguing that they started the Bui Dam, but if it is only about starting, then Nkrumah deserves the credit, not them.

I didn't - like dumsor - no one did - but there was the need to tamp down the anxiety and be patient. This was exactly what the people of Ghana did. And were rewarded with a permanent solution. President Mahama did not look at a temporary cure whereby the crisis would keep recurring as had happened in the past.

Together with his initiative of extra generation capacity and the power purchasing agreements his Government entered with several Independent Power Producers, a total of 3,905 MW was added during his tenure and that of President Mills. With this, a permanent solution for dumsor came at last.

Now kindly let me go to my main theme for this article. As I have explicated in some of my previous articles, our first president, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah went through a lot in the hands of opposition elements when he was president.

Whoever thought that some full-blooded Ghanaians could sabotage the construction of a national asset such as the Akosombo Dam? But it did happen! Please brace yourself for the bombshell.

History has it that in 1958, the opposition lost elections against Kwame Nkrumah’s CPP, Danquah and Busia travelled to the United States of America and informed the US President, General Dwight Eisenhower not to give any loan to Dr. Nkrumah to enable him to construct the Akosombo Dam.

While the U.S. government would not give Ghana a loan of US$ 70 million, in 1958, to build the Akosombo Dam because of the lies these gentlemen peddled against Nkrumah, it gave Taiwan US$81.6 million. For four years, 1959-1962, America gave Taiwan a total of $471.7 million as grants. Imagine what Nkrumah would have done with that kind of money. But Danquah and Busia went and scuppered everything just because they were rejected by Ghanaians in three general elections.

Nkrumah’s original concept of an integrated industrial project was curtailed. Later, the British government and Kaiser, a private Aluminium company helped Nkrumah with only 35 million pounds which was added to Ghana’s own Internally Generated Funds to finally build the Akosombo Dam.

That is how unreasonable, inconsiderate, and hoggish some people could be in their resolve for power. Yaanom, their descendants seem to be pursuing the agenda of their ancestors.

The unprecedented addition of 3,905 MW by the Mills/Mahama governments is the biggest power investment and generation in the history of Ghana in just 8 years.

As we are getting ready to enter an election year in a few weeks, I wish to recommend someone who has been tried and tested; someone who is humble and God-fearing; someone who is sympathetic and a listener; someone who is bringing a 24-hour economy to create jobs for the youth and transform Ghana. He is your loved one, H E. John Dramani Mahama.