The Managing Editor of the Insight Newspaper, Kwesi Pratt Jnr, has shed light on the historical origins of Ghana’s energy crisis, linking it to events that transpired after the overthrow of Kwame Nkrumah’s government.
He emphasized that the crisis didn’t emerge during President John Agyekum Kufuor’s tenure, as commonly thought, but rather stemmed from decisions made post-Nkrumah era.
Pratt highlighted the significant influence of a British energy expert whose counsel led to the abandonment of vital energy projects initiated under Nkrumah’s administration.
Despite Soviet experts working on the Bui Dam project, measures like the Bui Dam and mini hydro projects were halted following the British expert’s advice.
Speaking on Good Morning Ghana on April 24, 2024, Pratt stressed the importance of understanding the history of the energy crisis, noting, “The issue of the history of the energy crisis has come up now, and I think it is important we get the history right. After the 1966 coup against Nkrumah, the government then brought in a British expert, who insisted we didn’t need to expand capacity.”
Expressing regret, Pratt lamented how Ghana missed opportunities due to project abandonment. “So, we stopped the Bui Dam project… The Bui Dam was delayed all this time because of the British expert,” he added.
Pratt elaborated that Nkrumah’s regime had proposed mini hydro projects, also discontinued. Additionally, plans for nuclear power generation, including agreements with the Soviet Union, were scrapped based on the expert’s advice.
“The issue of the history of the energy crisis has come up now, and I think it is important we get the history right. After the 1966 coup against Nkrumah, the government then brought in a British expert, who insisted we didn’t need to expand capacity.”
“At the time, we were considering a nuclear option for power generation and went into an agreement with the Soviet Union that the so-called British energy expert also stopped. That is where our problem began.
“The problems in our energy sector—some think it began in the Kufuor administration; it’s not true. The crisis was already there before it came. It only hit us in the Kufuor regime,” he added.