In a bid to help countries like Nigeria, Ivory Coast and other nearby countries that lag in the power supply sector, the authorities of Ghana have revealed their plans to export several megawatts of electricity to them.
This was made known by the president of Ghana, Mr. John Mahama on Wednesday, October 01, 2014, during the Africa Global Business and Economic Forum in Dubai. He made people realize that their administration had made huge investments in power generation that would enable the country to export excess electricity to Nigeria and others.
Mahama said, “We have given priority to electricity generation in our country. We have prioritized energy in such a way that we want to become the hub for power production in West Africa. We want to generate electricity to the point that excess power can be exported to Nigeria, Ivory Coast and other countries that have power deficit”.
While revealing that a third hydropower dam project was progressing he disclosed that Ghana has gotten an import-export financial backing from China and also special funds from Abu Dhabi to start several power generating projects.
The Ghanaian leader spoke in a panel discussion along with President Paul Kagame of Rwanda and President Mulatu Wirtu of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, as reported by Punch.
Mahama added, “Where Africa faces some of its challenges lies its biggest opportunities. We are leveraging on public-private sector partnership to build infrastructure. Be it roads, electricity, ports or communication systems; if we create the right environment, investors will come.
“Creating the right environment that will attract foreign direct investment is key.”
However, the president together with Kagame and Wirtu called on officials of the government in Africa to reinforce anti-corruption agencies.
“Issues of accountability and transparency are very important. There must be mechanism to fight corruption. We all have institutions but the major thing is resourcing them to effectively fight corruption and perform effectively,” he noted.
African governments must create a system that is not sympathetic to corruption, saying this would help drive the required Foreign Direct Investment into the continent, Kagame said.
He added, “It is one thing to have the institutions; it is another thing to allow them to work. Governance and structure must be in place to make them to work,” he said.
“African governments must fix infrastructure, investment in development of education and skills, and also enhance connectivity among African countries.”
