Barely six weeks since the arrival and the beginning of the operations of the long awaited power barges which the current administration promised Ghanaians as the permanent solution to the power crisis that hit the nation over three years, I feel obliged to analyse the effect of this decision on Ghana, Ghanaians and to a large extent the NDC Government.
With the nation undergoing it longest load shedding, government had a point to prove that the crisis was not beyond them as alleged constantly by the opposition on countless occasions.
As it were, it became apparent that President Mahama will provide power for the people of Ghana so that in return the people of Ghana give him power to keep occupying the Flagstaff House and more comfortably enjoy a ‘trafficless’ life for four more years after 2016 polls.
It will be unfair for me to blame government for trying to score some political points with the power crisis that hit their popularity than anything since the NDC took office in 2008. If it had the potency of costing the NDC power, then they have the right to right the wrong to retain power.
My concern however is the form in which the solution came and this is what has prompted me to write this piece as a citizen, a businessman who pays thousands of Ghana Cedis in utility and more so as someone who is ready to help the nation out of this perennial power mess.
I dedicated the whole of 2015 trying to get VRA to take a look at my proposal which was on offer for free and one that their engineers could not discount it's possibility and feasibility.
In my previous article, i said that the long-term solution to the power crisis cannot come from power barges because they are too expensive for our economy, environmentally not advisable and therefore hydro is the best by a mile. Solar batteries and other alternative power generation methods can best serve as backups.
As a matter of fact, no country rely on power barges as permanent source for electricity power.
However, the government seemed from the very onset bent on resorting to the batches and I have a feeling, based on logic and fact about the barges that they have given us the power which may as well cost them the power. These are the reasons:
Too expensive for the consumers
Despite the fact that many Ghanaians could hardly wait for the crisis to end, the restoration of power as promised by Dr Kwabena Donkor was not received with the expected excitement because it came with an extra burden on the pockets of Ghanaians which people evidently weren’t ready for.
Coming on the back of a power crisis that collapsed a lot of business and unstable macro-economic environment, I am tempted to think that the nail is already in the coffin of the government unless something changes dramatically in the next 10 months. When you solve a problem and you are not any popular, then you sure know your solution is either substandard or isn’t appreciated.
Economically unfavourable for the state
I am one person who advocates that utility consumers should pay the full cost of what they consume. This is also the reason why I am an advocate for cheaper power generation options. When the various labour groups kicked against the percentage of power increment, government was forced to reduce the tariff to 45% and 50% for lifeline consumers who spend between 0 to 50GHc and 50 to 300 Ghc respectively. My question is, where is government going to raise the money for the cost of reduction? It is going to be another burden on the state coffers and we all know what that means- DEBT.
I heard we are still thinking of the TOR Debt; watch out for the ECG debt in the next couple of years.
Companies will run at a loss and unemployment will be on the rise
Coming from a 2015 that saw virtually every business that run on power using fuel for the better part, most companies looked forward to the restoration of power with the hope that they will recover from the slump of 2015 and possibly make profit this year. Unfortunately, the power came with over 50% increment and that will surely hit some companies to the core.
This is a blow many companies that survived dumsor did not anticipate and this is why a number of them will be unable to keep up.
When companies underperform, fold up or incur debt, we all know that the result is laying off of workers and freezing of employment.
Not likely to yield dividend politically for President Mahama either
Throughout 2015, what the government and NDC communicators kept saying was that the NPP will have nothing against the government again when the crisis are resolved. The notion was that once the crisis is resolved, the government will be so popular and that will make their chances of winning the election brighter and more importantly silence the opposition.
As matter of fact, the hype and attention given to the arrival of the barges can attest to the fact that government thought it will position them brightly for more power. Unfortunately, the argument shifted from the solution to the extra burden imposed on Ghanaians and the fact that it attested to the NPP’s claim that the government cared less about the plight of Ghanaians. The opposition is louder than ever.
The agitations and strike that accompanied the increment in tariffs as a result of the operating cost of the power barges gives credence to the fact that the government isn’t likely to benefit from the restoration of power. On the contrary, it might go against them.
I commended President Mahama for resolving not to respond to the crisis in a panicky fashion and resort to long-term solution to the problem. Unfortunately, turning to power barges betrayed the president and pointed to the fact that those paid to manage our power are either clueless or consciously demonstrating incompetence for personal gain. The president has either been deceived or compromised
Environmentally we are not safe. The emission of carbon dioxide and carbon mono oxide consistently into the environment should be a cause to worry about. I have no imperial evidence to prove it for now but I can assure you if this should continue for ten years it should have serious negative consequences on our climatic changes and other environmental health issues
The solution provided government to resolve the crisis is undoubtedly not a blessing but a complete curse for every Ghanaian and likely to be a big blow to the president quest to retain power.
One major clue can be taken from how Dr Kwabena Donkor was forced to resign despite seeing the implementation of the whole project. If the power barges are considered a novelty, then the man who saw to the implementation of the whole project deserved nothing but praise. In the current case, he was compelled to resign and that calls for answers.
Dr. Ekow Spio Gabrah’s comment didn’t go unnoticed too.
The bottom line is that the power batches can only provide us power we can’t afford at a risk we are not ready to manage
Mr President, it's time for us to think outside the box. My doors are always opened and I am ready to help you get the water behind the dam to get Ghanaians abundant electricity at a cheaper cost. OH YES WE CAN !!! Turning our back on hydro due to inadequate water simply means we lack thinkers or don’t give innovators the chance to contribute to building this nation.
In conclusion I will like to say on authority that this power barge is like a cancer virus which will kill every cell it comes into contact with and at the end of the day die when it is done consuming every living cell including the government of the day
Companies are going to run at loss, investors are going to be scared of bringing their money here and worse of all; the plight of the ordinary Ghanaian is going to get worse.
We just got the power that will eventually leave everyone powerless including the government of the day.
Until we get Akosombo Dam operating at full capacity and increase our power production the hydro way, we will be feeding on an electricity power that will live the nation in huge debt and the people of Ghana poorer by the day.
The million dollar question is: how can a government interested in winning power, with all the experts around to help them do things right, adopt such a solution that benefits virtually no one?
Watch out for my next article:- Power for Power; the result of electricity politics
Over to you Mr President!
Writer....Kofi Anokye, CEO of Koans Building Solutions
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