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Dr Emmanuel Armah Kofi-Buah, Ghana’s Petroleum Minister wants to ask the presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Addo-Dankwa Akufo-Addo, what he will do differently to reduce electricity tariff when given the mandate the rule the country.
He also wants Ghanaians to find out from the NPP leader the analysis has he done in the energy sector to conclude that electricity tariff has gone up
The opposition leader at the inauguration of the South African branch of the NPP on Saturday, May 7, 2016, at Illovo, told gathering that the economic situation in Ghana continues to worsen under President Mahama to the extent that the cost of electricity per month for ordinary Ghanaians is now more expensive than the rent charged per month.
According to him, so bad is the situation that Ghanaians are now undergoing a self-imposed load shedding program as a result of the unbearable utility tariffs imposed on them by the Mahama led government.
“Can you believe that today in Ghana, for the ordinary Ghanaian, the cost of electricity is more than the cost of their rent? So forget even ‘dumsor’, it is now ‘yɛnsor’ because you can’t afford to pay. That is where we are”, he lamented.But the Petroleum Minister in an interview with Accra-based Okay FM, Wednesday, said such claim by Akufo-Addo is hypocritical considering the fact that he failed to tell Ghanaians what has brought about the tariff increase.
“Akosombo Hydro electric dam which used to produce over 1000 MW is now producing less than 300MW. So, to shore up the difference and to generate more electricity to power industries and households, we are now using thermal plants that use crude oil and gas to power the turbines to generate electricity”.
“Their source of fuel is not cheap – the cost of one cargo of crude oil is $86million. So the production of electricity has completely changed and therefore we must also do things that will not bring hardship on us”.
“The only solution to bring the cost of electricity tariff is to produce more gas which is cheaper than the crude oil. And that is why government is putting in measures to ensure that ENI-Sankofa project comes on stream to generate about 180million cubic feet to add to what we are receiving from Atuabo”.
“Recently I heard the NPP presidential candidate saying that electricity tariff has gone up. But what we need to ask Akufo-Addo when elected as President, what he will do to reduce the electricity tariff ? Ghanapoliticsonline.com
That aside, what analysis has he done to arrive at the answer that he will give?”
“We shouldn’t be doing politics with some of these things. We want to produce our own source of fuel to power the turbines and if we are able to achieve that I believe the electricity tariff will go down”, he noted.
By Daniel kaku/GhanaPoliticsonline.com
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