Resolve energy crisis else… – IMF tells gov’t

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) wants government to urgently reform the energy sector if it seriously plans to fix the power crises permanently.

President John Mahama has expressed his commitment to deal with the crisis once and for all including plans to reform the sector and make Ghana a net exporter of power.

But the IMF Mission chief for Ghana Joël Toujas-Bernaté who has been speaking in Washington says embarking on energy sector reforms will be key to Ghana’s quest to fix the current economic.

He indicated that the IMF is bringing on board new producers who will ensure that energy shortfalls in Ghana are curtailed.

“There has been a relatively widespread electricity shortage in the last few years which has affected private sector activity. We are bringing on board new power producers which would eliminate these shortages and also importing for the sector reforms to improve operations… These are the key areas that need immediate attention.”

Ghana has been experiencing frequent power outages for close to four years now , a situation which has led to the collapse of hundreds of companies and the loss of thousands of jobs.

In 2015, the then Power Minister, Kwabena Donkor resigned after he failed to fulfill his promise of ending the power crisis within a stipulated time frame.

Government says it has introduced measures to ensure that power outages become a thing of the past.