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…NDC furious
The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) is highly outraged by the name change of the African and Middle East Resources Investment Group’s 250 megawatt (MW) power production plant, also known as AMERI Power Plant, to “Kumasi Power Plant.” , calling it misleading and disgraceful.
The Volta River Authority (VRA) has announced plans for President Nana Akufo-Addo to commission what would now be known as the Kumasi 1 Thermal Power Station at Anwomaso in the Ashanti Region.
The move has since caused a stir as some members of the NDC have accused the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) of deploying deceptive means to rename the Ameri power plant.
In a Facebook post shared by the Authority confirming the president’s attendance at the commission, he wrote; “There are five days left until the commissioning of the Kumasi 1 Thermal Power Plant (K1TPP) at Anwomaso in the Oforikrom Municipality of the Ashanti Region. Stay tuned for more updates.”
Reacting to the development in a Facebook post, the Director of the NDC Legal Directorate, Godwin Edudzi Tameklo, accused the Akufo Addo-Bawumia administration of misleading the Ghanaian people, especially the people of the Ashanti Region.
He mentioned that the government has decided to change the name of the Ameri Power Station to Kumasi 1 Thermal Power Station.
He maintained that the name change of the power station is a deliberate ploy to mislead Ghanaians, particularly those residing in the Ashanti region where the plant is located.
He also called for vigilance among Ghanaians and urged them not to fall for what he considers a deceptive tactic by the current administration.
He further stated that the Ameri Power Station, initially acquired by former President John Dramani Mahama, was intended to address the country’s persistent energy challenges, and had a capacity to generate 25 megawatts of electricity.
Edudzi Tameklo in his role also acknowledged John Mahama’s role in the acquisition of the power station as part of efforts to alleviate the country’s energy crisis during his tenure.
“Bawumia and Akufo-Addo, embarrassed, have decided to repackage and rename the AMERI plants as Kumasi Thermal Power Station 1. This is what they plan to commission.
“This corrupt, incompetent, useless and wasteful government is determined to deceive the voters of the Ashanti region with the name and presentation change.
“This administration has failed to do anything significant regarding energy generation,” he posted.
On February 1, 2021, the government resumed ownership of the 250 megawatt (MW) thermal power plant from Africa and Middle East Resource Investment (AMERI) under the terms of the agreement.
The Dubai-based firm arrived in the country in October 2015 to help solve the current energy crisis.
The former John Mahama government then signed a deal for a total cost of $510 million on a Build, Own, Operate and Transfer (BOOT) basis.
But Edudzi is not alone, as Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, Minister of Energy and Petroleum in the John Mahama administration from 2013 to 2016, also waded into the matter writing that “the latest trick by the Akufo-Addo administration and Bawumia in the energy sector personifies his tendency towards deception and lack of originality.
He insisted that “by shamelessly rebranding Ameri Power Stations as Kumasi 1 Thermal Station, they are attempting to hide their incompetence and lack of substantial progress with a façade of false achievements.
“This brazen move to rename existing infrastructure in a bid to take credit for the hard work of their predecessors not only lacks integrity but also insults the intelligence of the Ghanaian people.
“Under the visionary leadership of John Dramani Mahama, Ameri power plants were strategically deployed to combat the debilitating energy crisis known as ‘dumsor.’
“These plants, each capable of generating 25 megawatts of electricity, served as a vital lifeline to the nation during a time of dire need.
“However, instead of recognizing the foresight and proactive measures taken by the previous administration, Akufo-Addo and Bawumia chose to discredit, vilify and undermine Mahama’s initiatives for their own political gain at the time.
“Fast forward to the second year of the AKUFFO Addo/Bawumia government. They rushed to decide to renegotiate the Ameri deal by extending the five-year agreement with Africa and Middle East Resources Investment Group (AMERI) Energy, the operator of the 300 MW emergency power plant in Ghana, to 15 years and, dubiously, incorporating a new company from Greece. Mytilineous International Trading Company, to manage the plant for the remainder of the contract period.
“Without the vigilance of the NDC minority in parliament and civil society organisations, Ghana would have ended up paying over Ghc1 billion under the new agreement.
When the President was caught, he blamed him, claiming that he had been “deceived” and consequently sacked the then Minister of Energy, Mr. Boakye Agyarko.
“Fortunately, the Ameri plant is now fully paid for and is the rightful property of the people of Ghana.
“But that was not the end of the drama, the Akufo-Addo-Bawumia administration took the decision to relocate six units of the plant to Anwomaso in the Ashanti Region, a move aimed at generating 150 megawatts of electricity for the Middle Belt of the country.
“By generating 150 megawatts of electricity for the middle part of the country, the government sought to create a façade of progress while conveniently avoiding the broader challenges plaguing the energy sector.
“The wave of name changes by the Akufo-Addo-Bawumia government is not limited to universities but now extends to the energy sector.
“The renaming of Ameri Power Stations to Kumasi 1 Thermal Station is not merely a superficial change but a cynical attempt to distort historical facts and mislead the public about the true origins of this critical infrastructure.
“However, it is important that the people of Ghana do not forget the history of the Ameri Power Station.
“The Akufo-Addo-Bawumia government’s pattern of renaming projects initiated by previous administrations is a clear reflection of its lack of innovation and leadership in the energy sector.
“The once thriving energy sector that President Mahama bequeathed to this government has sadly been eroded under his watch. We are currently fighting with Dumsor due to debt aggravated by this administration.
“The good people of Ghana deserve leaders committed to honesty, accountability and genuine progress, not empty promises and superficial gestures.
But Ben Boakyea of the African Center for Energy Policy (ACEP) also reacted to the relocation by focusing more on its cost.
He wrote: “The Ministry of Energy signed a sole source operation and relocation contract to relocate the Ameri Power Plant to Kumasi for $71 million, which the PPA approved. When we exposed it, the ministry said there was no contract.
“We were told that VRA engineers were not capable of managing Plant 2. It would have cost us $71 million if Mytilineos had proceeded with the relocation and management contract.
“Interestingly, the PPA responded to say the information was exempt from disclosure. Now, VRA has relocated the plant using its engineers, with support from the Manning Group. It will still be relevant to know how much was spent on the relocation, in particular that;
“We requested information under the RTI from the PPA on the justification for the sole-source contract. The PAA wrote to us to pay 1,000 cedis for the information. “We challenged the payment of 1,000 cedis because we thought it was incompatible with the RTI and the Fees and Charges Act,” the ACEP boss concluded on his X platform.
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