Executive Director of the African Centre for Energy Policy, Ben Boakye, has urged the government to consider privatizing fuel purchases to alleviate financial strain during power crises.
He emphasized that the government’s exclusive role in purchasing fuel burdens the state with constant financial injections during energy shortages.
Speaking on Joy FM’s Top Story on June 14, Boakye advocated for a shift in approach “I think our position is that Government should just go off. Government is not the one who is supposed to ensure that there is fuel supply. This is a commercial enterprise. Let’s see power as a business and let people who have money to do the business come and do it,” he said.
The call for privatization comes amidst an announcement on June 13 by Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo) and Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) of a potential three-week load management plan.
This plan, as clarified in a joint statement, is necessitated by maintenance work by a Nigerian gas supplier, reducing Ghana’s power generation capacity since June 12.
Boakye stressed that the government should focus on regulatory roles in the power sector rather than direct involvement in fuel procurement and distribution
“Due to maintenance works being undertaken by a gas supplier in Nigeria and is projected to last three (3) weeks.”The maintenance has caused a reduction in overall power generation capacity in Ghana which could result in load management over the period of the work,” the joint release indicated.
In summary, Boakye urged a restructuring where private capital takes the lead in fuel purchases for the power sector while government focuses on its regulatory role and broader socio-economic concerns.
“When we keep doing the politics with it and always looking to government to go and buy fuel in 21st century to come and produce electricity and distribute to the people that is why we have this challenges.
“So we abuse the system, create the inefficiencies and we are always looking to government when government should be doing other things. Looking at the other socio-economic welfare of the people and allowing the business side of things where private capital is interested to actually manage… we can’t keep looking to government to provide money for the power sector at the expense of any other socio-economic intervention we do have,” he said.