How Ghana plans to resuscitate its deficit-ridden energy sector
Ghana’s new government is looking to fix a crippling power crisis with a complete overhaul of its deficit-ridden energy sector including a boost for solar energy. Intermittent power supply issues have dogged the West African state since the 1980s and became particularly acute in the past five years — although there has been some improvement recently. President Nana Akufo-Addo blames his predecessor John Dramani Mahama whose energy policies, he said last month, had led to "gargantuan debt". Ghana’s energy sector was crushed by an accumulated debt of $2.4bn, he said, as the cost of buying fuel, paying energy suppliers and running inefficient state companies spiralled out of control. Its bad financial situation "constitutes the single major hurdle to Ghanaians enjoying reliable and affordable electricity supply", he said last month in his first State of the Nation address. Improvements in the provision of power were seen in the run-up to December’s election but Akufo-Addo said the chal...
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