The Minority Caucus in Parliament dismisses the notion that privatizing the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) will resolve the ongoing power outages in the nation. They attribute the recent surge in blackouts to the government’s hefty debts owed to Independent Power Producers (IPPs).
Dr. Rashid Pelpuo, a member of the Mines and Energy Committee of Parliament, emphasizes that the return of ‘dumsor’ is a consequence of the government’s mismanagement of the energy sector. He underscores that the root cause lies in the government’s failure to fulfill its financial obligations to IPPs, which provide the bulk of the country’s electricity.
“The issue isn’t ECG’s privatization,” Dr. Pelpuo asserts in an interview with Citi News. “It’s the government’s inability to settle its debts with private power suppliers. From independence till now, we’ve handled it. The crux of the matter is the government’s irresponsibility and mismanagement of the power sector.”
In summary, the Minority Caucus stresses that the solution to Ghana’s power woes lies in addressing governmental mismanagement rather than privatization.
