The Member of Parliament (MP) for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has attributed the ongoing power supply challenges to the mismanagement of public funds by the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP).
According to Mr. Ablakwa, the government’s failure to settle debts owed to Independent Power Generators (IPGs)—key contributors to the nation’s electricity supply—has exacerbated the energy crisis. He revealed that these producers, who complement the state-owned Akosombo Dam, are owed substantial sums, leading to disruptions in power distribution.
“We have a real problem at hand. I have been in talks with independent power generators, and the government owes them $1.6 billion in monthly invoices. If you look at what is at the PPA [Public Procurement Authority], it is over $2 billion, and that is frightening. The government negotiates with them, promising to pay over a four-year period. Even so, the negotiations they had with them since last year have not been honoured,” Mr. Ablakwa said on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show on Thursday, November 21.
The North Tongu legislator criticized the government’s handling of public finances, highlighting contracts and projects that he described as dubious and wasteful. He suggested that funds used for questionable deals could have been allocated to settle debts owed to IPGs, thereby averting the current crisis.
“The crisis we face now is due to the mismanagement of the economy, where our resources have been squandered on dubious deals. $12 million for Pwalugu, and we can’t find it; $12 million for the Agyapa deal, they can’t explain; $2.5 million for the Skytrain, and we can’t find the money; $2 million paid for Sputnik V, and we can’t find it; over $58 million for the National Cathedral, we can’t find it; the DRIP project, which has been inflated by over $100 million – that’s all they are doing with our money. If these resources, which have been directed towards corruption, had been used to pay these IPPs, we wouldn’t be in the situation we are in now,” he lamented.
Mr. Ablakwa urged the government to “stop the corruption and pay the independent power generators,” stressing that the nation’s energy crisis could have been avoided if public funds had been judiciously utilized.
He also criticized the current administration for failing to sustain the gains made in the energy sector during John Mahama’s presidency, emphasizing that the next National Democratic Congress (NDC) government would inherit these debts.
The Asogli Power Plant, one of the IPPs, has already shut down due to unpaid invoices, disrupting power distribution. Reports indicate that two more power producers have threatened to cease operations if the government fails to clear its debts, raising fears of further power outages in the coming days.