The Deputy Ranking Member on Parliament’s Energy Committee, Collins Adomako-Mensah, has questioned President John Dramani Mahama’s announcement on the construction of a 1,200-megawatt power plant, describing the project as “nothing new” and expressing concern over the lack of parliamentary briefing on its implementation.
President Mahama, speaking at the Resetting Ghana Citizen Engagement on Saturday, May 2, announced that the government would this year cut sod for the commencement of the 1,200MW electricity generation plant as part of efforts to expand Ghana’s generation capacity and ensure redundancy in the country’s power supply system amid rising energy demand.
According to the president, the project forms part of a broader strategy to strengthen Ghana’s electricity infrastructure and secure a stable power supply for homes and businesses.
However, speaking in an interview on the Channel One Newsroom on Saturday, May 2, Adomako-Mensah said the announcement does not represent a new policy direction, noting that the project had already been captured in the national budget.
“The plan to cut sod this year for the commencement of the construction of a 1,200-megawatt electricity generation plant is nothing new. It was in the budget, which was read last year. We were hoping that by now, they would have gone far with it,” he said.
The lawmaker said he was surprised that the president was still presenting the project as being in the pipeline months after it had already been outlined in the government’s fiscal plans.
“I am surprised the president is saying it is still in the pipeline,” he stated.
Mr Adomako-Mensah further raised concerns over what he described as a lack of engagement with Parliament on the project, saying lawmakers and the Energy Committee have not been formally briefed on its implementation roadmap.
“As we speak, Parliament has not been served, nor has the Energy Committee been briefed on the plan or how they are going to roll out this programme. So hearing the President saying it is in the pipeline, I am not too sure about the kind of pipeline,” he added.
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