Member of Parliament for Ellembele Constituency and Deputy Minority Leader, Hon. Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah, has described the rebranding of the Ameri Power Plant as an insult to Ghanaians.
The Akufo Addo-led government announced a few days ago that the Ameri Power Plant, which was procured under the erstwhile John Mahama administration between 2013 and 2015, will be recommissioned as Kumasi 1 Thermal Power Plant (K1TPP), on Wednesday, April 17, at Anwomaso, in the Oforikrom Municipality of the Ashanti Region.
According to the Volta River Authority (VRA), the relocation of the plant is to address voltage and power quality issues in Kumasi and the northern parts of Ghana by boosting system voltages and thus improving overall system stability.
However, according to Hon. Buah, the move was to conceal government’s failure and incompetence in the power sector over the years. In a social media post, the MP said “By shamelessly rebranding the Ameri Power Plants as the Kumasi 1 Thermal Power Plant, they are attempting to conceal their incompetence and lack of substantive progress with a facade of false achievements.”
He said the decision does not only lack “integrity but also insults the intelligence of the Ghanaian people.” Kofi Buah added that Ghanaians “deserve leaders who are committed to honesty, accountability, and genuine progress, not hollow promises and superficial gestures.”
Below is the statement by Armah Kofi Buah on the Ameri Power Plant
The Akufo-Addo and Bawumia administration’s latest stunt in the energy sector epitomizes their penchant for deception and lack of originality.
By shamelessly rebranding the Ameri Power Plants as the Kumasi 1 Thermal Power Plant, they are attempting to conceal their incompetence and lack of substantive progress with a facade of false achievements.
This blatant move to rename existing infrastructure in a bid to claim 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, the Ameri power plants were strategically deployed to combat the debilitating power crisis known as ‘dumsor’.
These plants, each capable of generating 25 megawatts of electricity, served as a vital lifeline for the nation during a time of dire need.
However, rather than acknowledging 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 hurriedly decided to renegotiate the Ameri agreement by extending the five-year deal with Africa and Middle East Resources Investment Group (AMERI) Energy the operator of the the 300MW emergency power plant in Ghana to 15 years and dubiously bringing onboard a new company from Greece, Mytilineous International Trading Company, to manage the plant for the remainder of the contract period.
But for the vigilance of the NDC minority in parliament and civil society organisations, Ghana would have ended up paying over Ghc1 billion under the new arrangement.
When the President was caught, he shifted blame by claiming that he was “misled” and consequently fired the then Energy Minister, Mr. Boakye Agyarko.
Fortunately, the Ameri plant is now fully paid for and rightfully owned by the people of Ghana.
But that was not the end of the drama, the Akufo-Addo-Bawumia administration made the decision to relocate six units of the plant to Anwomaso in the Ashanti region, a move intended to generate 150 megawatts of electricity for the middle belt of the country.
By generating 150 megawatts of electricity for the middle belt of the country, the government sought to create a facade of progress while conveniently sidestepping the broader challenges plaguing the energy sector.
The Akufo-Addo-Bawumia government’s renaming spree is not limited to universities but now extends to the power sector.
The rebranding of the Ameri Power Plants as the Kumasi 1 Thermal Power Plant 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.
It is however important that the people of Ghana do not forget the history of the Ameri power plant.
The Akufo-Addo-Bawumia government’s pattern of renaming projects initiated by previous administrations is a clear reflection of their lack of innovation and leadership in the energy sector.
The once-thriving energy sector that was bequeathed to this government by President Mahama has regrettably been eroded under their watch. We are currently struggling with Dumsor due to the indebtedness made worse by this administration.
The good people of Ghana deserve leaders who are committed to honesty, accountability, and genuine progress, not hollow promises and superficial gestures.
