Edward Bawa, the Member of Parliament for Bongo Constituency, has shed light on the measures put in place by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government to tackle the recurring power outages that plagued the country during their tenure.
During the time of the Mahama administration, Ghanaians faced a severe power crisis which was commonly referred to as “Dumsor”. Despite facing criticism, some NDC leaders have come out to claim that they were able to resolve the issue before the end of their term.
In a recent Face to Face interview on Citi TV, Edward Bawa revealed that the Mahama government successfully tackled the root causes of the power outages. He highlighted that issues such as generation capacity, fuel security, and the accumulation of unpaid legacy debts were addressed in 2015.
Bawa emphasized, “By the close of 2015, the major issues affecting the power sector had been resolved. The NDC government was able to procure enough generation power to deal with the immediate cause of ‘Dumsor’. We also addressed the financial aspect of the issue by handling the debts and improving fuel security with the introduction of the Atuabo Gas Plant.”
The government also introduced the Energy Sector Levy Act (ESLA) to eliminate legacy debts resulting from inefficient utility practices and unallocated subsidies. Bawa explained, “The ESLA was implemented to retire the legacy debts. The NDC government aimed to clear these debts within five years and prevent the accumulation of new debts, hence the initiation of Compact 2.”
It is evident that the NDC government made significant strides in resolving the power crisis that plagued the country, ensuring a more stable and reliable power supply for Ghanaians.
