Mr Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, the Deputy Minority Leader in Parliament, has criticised the Government for renaming the AMERI Power Plant as Kumasi Power Plant.
Mr Buah, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament (MP) for Ellembele, in a statement copied to the Ghana News Agency, said: “The renaming of AMERI Power Plant to Kumasi Power Plant is deceptive and shameful”.
He said under the leadership of former President John Dramani Mahama, some units of the Ameri power plant were strategically deployed to combat the debilitating power crisis the country was facing.
“These plants, each capable of generating 25 megawatts of electricity, served as a vital lifeline for the nation during a time of dire need,” he said.
“However, rather than acknowledging the foresight and proactive measures taken by the previous administration, the current administration chose to discredit… Mahama’s initiatives for their own political gain at the time.”
“Fast forward to the second year of the Akufo-Addo-led Government, they hurriedly decided to renegotiate the Ameri agreement by extending the five-year deal with Africa and Middle East Resources Investment Group (AMERI) Energy, the operator of the the 300MW emergency power plant in Ghana, to 15 years”.
Mr Buah, a former Energy Minister, said the Government brought onboard a new company from Greece, Mytilineous International Trading Company, to manage the plant for the remainder of the contract period.
“But for the vigilance of the NDC Minority in Parliament and civil society organisations, Ghana would have ended up paying over Ghc1 billion under the new arrangement,” he said.
He said the President’s attention was drawn to that, and he consequently fired the then Energy Minister, Mr Boakye Agyarko, for “misleading”.
Fortunately, the Ameri Plant was fully paid for and rightfully owned by the people of Ghana.
However, the NPP administration decided to relocate six units of the plant to Anwomaso in the Ashanti Region, a move intended to generate 150 megawatts of electricity for the middle belt of the country.
“The rebranding of the Ameri Power Plants as the Kumasi 1 Thermal Power Plant was not merely a superficial change but an attempt to distort historical facts and mislead the public about the true origins of this critical infrastructure,” he said.
Mr Buah said it was important that the people of Ghana did not forget the history of the Ameri Power Plant.
He said the once-thriving energy sector bequeathed to the government had been eroded while Ghana currently struggled with power outages “Dumsor” due to indebtedness.
“The good people of Ghana deserve leaders who are committed to honesty, accountability, and genuine progress…,” he added.
GNA
ABD
14 April 2024
Caption:
AMERI Power Plant
