The Ashanti Region chapter of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has voiced apprehensions over relocating the Ameri Power Plant from the Western Region to the Ashanti Region.
They have urged the government to prioritize tackling financial challenges within the power sector.
Critiquing the government’s plan to recommission and rename the plant, originally established in 2015 during John Mahama’s presidency, the NDC labeled it as “another lie and deception of the clueless, dishonest, and incompetent Akufo Addo/Bawumia administration.”
Scheduled for commissioning on Wednesday, April 17, by President Akufo-Addo, the Kumasi 1 Thermal Power Project aims to enhance system voltage and stability in the middle and northern regions.
The government argues that the plant, expected to generate at least 250 megawatts, is essential for reliability and stability in the national grid.
Ahead of the commissioning, the Ashanti Region NDC urged the government to prioritize addressing financial challenges in the power sector.
The NDC’s Ashanti Regional Communications Officer, Abass Nuruddeen, criticized the move, considering it a misallocation of resources.
He questioned why $30 million is being spent on relocating the plant, suggesting that such funds could be better used to alleviate the hardships faced by Ghanaians.
Mr Nuruddeen compared this expenditure unfavorably with the $10 million sought by Otumfuo Osei Tutu to renovate the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, highlighting the apparent disparity in resource allocation.
“Why will the Akufo Addo/Bawumia government waste scarce resources to recommission a power plant that has already been commissioned in 2015?
“How on earth does the mere relocation of the Ameri Power plant from Aboadze in the Western Region to Kumasi cost $35million which is over three times more than the $ 10 million Otumfuo Osei Tutu is soliciting to renovate the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital?”