General News of Tuesday, 30 July 2013

Source: radioxyzonline

Ghana's energy sector is not in crisis - Gov't

The Energy Ministry has denied allegations by the New Patriotic Party that the country’s energy sector is in crisis and being run into the ground by the NDC administration.

At a Press conference on Monday, Minority Spokesperson on Energy, K.T. Hammond stated that “The energy sector is so riddled with corruption, inefficiency, indecision, self-interest and misguided and inappropriate policies that it has become a drag on the economic transformation of the country.”

“It is obvious that under the NDC Government, the Energy sector of Ghana has clearly become unfit for purpose and in need of a massive outbreak of sanity” he added.

According to the NPP, instead of ensuring the delivery of energy services to all consumers in a secure, efficient, reliable, sustainable, safe and environmentally-friendly manner as promised by government while it was in opposition, it has rather compounded the plight of Ghanaians by failing to acknowledge the challenges being faced by the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).

K.T Hammond also noted that among other things, the denial of the NDC government to pay Bulk Oil Distribution Companies an amount of US$700m was posing a threat to both the BDCs and the commercial banks in the country.

But in a reaction, the Head of Communications at the Energy Ministry, Edward Bawa, described the allegations by the NPP as unfortunate.

Mr. Bawa added that members of the NPP are in the position to know better and should not have come out with an inaccurate statement to deceive Ghanaians.

Speaking in an interview on Radio XYZ’s Strict Proof programme, Mr. Bawa stated that Ghana’s energy sector is rather growing and has improved a lot under the NDC administration.

According to him, all revenues that the country has accrued from the oil sector can be accounted. He also added that the Finance Minister, Seth Terkper, has provided to Parliament details on how the oil revenue had been disbursed.