Former Minister of Power, Dr. Kwabena Donkor is appalled by claims of World Bank Country Director Pierre Frank Laporte seeking to suggest that Ghana’s current energy debt crisis is attributable to the previous government led by Former President John Dramani Mahama.
Pierre claimed that the Mahama led administration embarked on the signing of some harsh Power Purchasing Agreements which has now incurred more debts as Ghana has to pay for energy it did not need.
Rebutting the claims, Dr. Donkor said Mr. Laporte only seeks to “throw hammer into the works with a blame game ,” and is becoming partisan although he belongs in an international body.
“The current Energy Minister, Dr. Mathew Opoku Prempeh, will tell you that on the NDC’s’ side, a number of us were quietly working together as a team, as a country to find a way out of our energy conundrum. And then this gentleman [Pierre Frank Laporte] comes in, in the cloak of the World Bank but as a partisan to throw a hammer into the works with a blame game.”
According to him, the incessant blame on the previous administration on the back of current economic downturn after 6 years of handing over to the current New Patriotic Party administration is unfortunate.
“NPP has been in power for at least 6 years into the 7th year and to still blame the past administration, blame the PPAs for all the challenges especially relating it to the fact that Ghana has its debt situation because of Independent Power Producers (IPPs) is unfortunate,” he said.
He therefore lamented that Mr. Laporte is merely “seeking friends in the neighborhood for his political ambitions.”
The former energy minister said contrary to the World Bank Country Director’s claims over the PPAs, it has been proven by a PWC value for money review that the Ameri Power Plant “levelised over the 20 years is still the cheapest thermal plant in Ghana,” adding that the current energy debt crisis is rather as a result of the worsening exchange rates.
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