The West African Gas Pipeline Company Limited (WAPCo) aided this venture to enhance the smooth running of the energy sector.
“Through determined efforts, I can report that we have now averted the looming threat of power outages and began delivering fuel to the thermal plants in the east in advance of the shutdown of the West African gas pipeline,” President John Dramani Mahama said.
That was important to undertake the scheduled maintenance work on the West African Gas Pipeline, responsible for bringing in significant gas for Ghana’s thermal plants in the eastern enclave, he added.
President Mahama made the disclosure during the swearing in of his first batch of six ministers at the Flagstaff House in Accra on Wednesday.
The ministers, who took the oaths of allegiance, office and secrecy included Dr Cassiel Ato Baah Forson, Finance Minister, Mr John Abu Jinapor, Minister of Energy and Green Transition, and Dr Dominic Akurutinga Ayine, Attorney General and Minister of Justice.
The rest were Mr Haruna Iddrisu, Minister of Education, Mr Eric Opoku, Minister of Food and Agriculture, and Mr Kwame Agbodza, Minister of Roads and Highways.
The President noted that long before the elections, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) was aware of the powerless state of the economy, and made specific pledges to address same.
The energy sector was also riddled with many hydra-headed problems, threatening its very survival, he said.
“Already, we’ve been at work since my first day in office to tackle these problems.”
“Indeed, you elected us to confront and resolve such challenges. As you may all be aware, the previous government did not work to ensure the smooth running of the energy sector by neglecting to arrange enough fuel to power our thermal plants.”
He congratulated Mr John Abu Jinapor, the Minister of Energy and Green Transition, for working extremely hard to resolve the problem.
He reminded him (Mr Jinapor) that Ghanaians were looking for a stable and efficient power supply to facilitate their day-to-day activities.
“They’re looking to you to accelerate our upstream and downstream petroleum sectors in order that Ghanaians can reap the benefit of the potential that God has given us,” President Mahama said.
“They’re also looking to you to manage the energy sector debt and be able to remove it as an albatross around the neck of our economy.”
GNA
