EDITORIAL:
Electricity and pipe-borne water affects almost every aspect of modern day living including communication, and health care delivery. It is not expected that the people of Ghana can return to live in rural areas using candles, firewood and fetch water from rivers; but that is what some are forced to do in the city of Accra, contributing to further environmental pollution. Electricity and water should therefore be priority number one!
It is quite unfortunate that Dr. Donkor has been part of the energy Ministry or as Adviser for many years. In a report on Myjoyonline of May 29, 2013, he seems to suddenly realize that Ghana was not producing enough energy or was losing $3 million per day. In the 2004-2007 era Ghana was reported to be rationing electricity due to a low water level at the dam, and the term load-shedding was coined. In 2009 the water level was too much, leading to an overflow causing flooding in some local villages. Electricity was still being rationed. In fact the utility rate was adjusted higher at the time. In the meant time the Transformer stations that were installed some 15 or 20 years ago are not upgraded whiles population in some parts of Accra have grown three to four times during this time.
What the Ghanaian politician fails to realize is that you cannot fool all the people all the time. Dr. Kwabena Donkor is not an Engineer but assuming he learnt about energy on the job, what he forgets is that some of his country men are equally educated and nobody has ever been asked to vote in Ghana as to how much tariff or electricity rate to pay. It is therefore absolute insult to the people of Ghana for the Member of Parliament to suggest that when individual homes and businesses are losing an estimated $4 Billion per year in buying private Generators, fuel and appliance replacement and lost businesses, they would prefer to do that or sleep in darkness, be out of communication with the world, and suffer business economic and personal losses than pay market rate or cost of production of electricity.
The current President John Mahama was vice for three years and been President for almost a year. Ghana is not producing but 60-75% of demand electricity at best and Parliament has not approved budgets for upgrading ECG transformers and equipment for decades. That is the truth! Ghana?s electricity delivery that is specified as 200 volts to 240 Volts have been measured by independent study at sometimes below 200 Volts and at other times more than 360 Volts, dangerous to appliances and capable of killing a person. Our research shows that funds have not been approved by Parliament to purchase basic components for step-down voltage transient equipment at Transformer stations.
We believe that Dr. Donkor should resign his position, and so should the Managing Directors of VRA and ECG,as well as Ghana Water Company. That will be honorable. It appears they feel their positions allow them to look down on and insult the people of Ghana who are suffering financial losses and major inconvenience due to their false assumptions of what is good for the people. This has been going on for at least nine years now as we remember. When was the last time a survey was done and the people of say Abetifi, Aburi, Accra, East Legon, Tamale or any part of Ghana voted to select what rate of electricity or water they wanted to pay! Educated Ghanaians should be careful about utterances that are deceptive, do not speak well and only brings shame to our nation, especially where one expects better openness in communication, integrity and managerial competence. We expect the President to accept the resignations of these Managing Directors mentioned, whiles the Chairman of the Parliamentary Select committee on energy can resign on his own.
We reproduce the full article here:
Source: Myjoyonline
Chairman of Parliament?s Select Committee on Energy Dr. Kwabena Donkor is warning the country could soon be plunged into total darkness if immediate steps are not taken to address what he says is the financial crisis facing the Volta River Authority and other power producers.
Dr. Kwabena Donkor told Joy New?s parliamentary correspondent Elton John Brobbey that the VRA, in particular, is face with imminent collapse.
The former deputy energy minister also wants the current electricity tariff paid by consumers to be urgently reviewed to reflect operational cost at the companies.
He said Ghanaians must brace themselves to pay realistic tariffs if they want to enjoy power.
He added that independent power producers are not willing to support the current power generation due to the poor tariff regime.
?We are currently buying power at 4 cents per kilowatt hour, generation cost averages about 8 to 10 cents per kilowatt hour, and when we use light crude oil then is even higher. And yet since 2011 tariffs have not been adjusted; anytime the idea of tariffs is raised, the people raise their voices no, no, no. We are virtually vandalizing our own assets.?
Justifying how bad the situation is, he disclosed that, ?VRA makes a 3 million dollar loss a day anytime they fire plants with light crude oil.?
Dr Donkor therefore wants Ghanaians to put a stop to what he described as ?cannibalism of state assets?, otherwise we will have ourselves to blame in the future if the producers grind to a halt.
?I am challenging anyone to justify the continuous paying of a tariff that is lower than the cost of generation.?
Everyone ? government and individual consumers ? should take the blame for the current predicament of the power producers, he declared.
He stressed that consumers would not get efficient and reliable supply of power if they continue to pay ?pittance? for the services rendered by the VRA and other service providers.
According to him, it is time consumers are made to know the bare fact, because he is confident, ?the Ghanaian public is capable of making informed judgement if the facts are put before them?.
