The presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has accused the NDC government of deliberately refusing to provide crude oil from the Jubilee field for the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) for processing.
He has promised to reverse the situation if the NPP won the December 7 elections.
He said the explanation by the government that TOR did not have the capacity to handle crude oil from the Jubilee field was untenable because the company’s acid test had revealed that it was capable of processing crude that would come from the Jubilee field.
In that connection, he indicated that his government would arrange for a significant part of oil from the Jubilee field to be processed at TOR.
The NPP presidential candidate stated this in a speech read on his behalf at the Flag bearers on Energy seminar at the Great Hall of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Kumasi.
Organised by the Energy Centre of KNUST, with sponsorship from a number of organisations, including the UNDP and the Graphic Communications Group Limited, the seminar provided a platform for the presidential candidates to present their plans on energy to the people to enable the electorate to make informed decisions on them on December 7.
Nana Akufo-Addo blamed the NDC government for the dwindling fortunes of TOR and pledged the commitment of an NPP government to revive the company.
He alleged that poor management and corruption at TOR had led to low morale among its workers, with the brain drain taking its toll, claiming that at the moment TOR was operating at just 30 per cent capacity.
He also expressed concern over the persistent shortage of LPG on the market and said every effort would be made to stop the problem under an NPP government.
Nana Akufo-Addo said, the time had come for the private sector to lead development in the energy sector. Consequently, his government would partner the sector to ensure that the lapses in the system were addressed for the benefit of the nation.
He said the road map for nuclear power use prepared by the Kufuor government which was abandoned by the current government would be put back on track.
He noted that the nation’s quest to ensure rapid industrialisation would be a mirage without adequate and sustainable power supply.
It was no wonder, therefore, that under the NDC government, not much had been seen in industrial sector development, he contended.
The NPP, he said, would work very hard to end the perennial problem of load-shedding.
Nana Akufo-Addo also disclosed plans by an NPP government to undertake a massive development of renewable energy, especially biogas, wind and solar, saying a renewable energy fund would be established to support the sector.
Source: Daily Graphic/Ghana
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