Ghana's power sector could be in debt of US$24 billion by 2024 - Kwesi Pratt

Seasoned journalist, Kwesi Pratt says Ghana's power sector will be in debt of US$24 billion in 2024.

According to him, the indebtedness of the power sector is a major cause of the power cuts in the country.

He made this revelation during a panel discussion on Peace FM's "Kokrokoo".

Ghana Grid Company Limited, GRIDCo, announced to Ghanaians that some areas of the country, particularly in the Greater Accra and Ashanti Regions, will experience erratic power supply in the months ahead.

The energy provider says this is due to some maintenance works it is undertaking on some lines.

Kwesi Pratt expressed worry over the impact of the power outages on businesses.

"Those of us who you force to use generator to power our business, it increases our electricity cost sometimes by ten times. So, it is not the name that's important to us."

"To call it dumsor or not, it's insignificant to us. We need electricity for the nation's development. If we want lights to work for the nation to develop, the CPP is not in power, GCPP is not in power, NDC isn't in power; it's the NPP that's in power. It's the NPP that has the authority to make a change," he said.

He disclosed that, if the problem persists, the nation may have to brace itself for something worse futuristically.

He told host Nana Yaw Kesseh that he had an interview with the Chief Executive of the Africa Centre for Energy Policy, Benjamin Boakye who told him that the power cuts ''is about indebtedness. He told me that the debt at the power sector is overwhelming.

He said, if we're not lucky, by 2024, the debt will reach US$24 billion. That's part of the problem. That's why we're experiencing dumsor. He stated that clearly; that the level of indebtedness is part of the problem''. Read Full Story