The Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry has urged President Akufo-Addo to couple the extension of electricity to communities without power, with a significant reduction in the cost of power itself, across the country.
According to data from the Energy Ministry, access to Electricity in Ghana as at the end of 2020 was around 84 percent.
In his inaugural address in Parliament, following his swearing-in ceremony for his second term on January 7, 2021, President Akufo-Addo said his government will be committing enough resources to ensure power supply is extended to all communities that are lacking before he leaves office.
In an interaction with Citi Business News following the President’s promise, CEO at the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mark Badu-Aboagye said failure to reduce the cost of power will prevent small and medium-sized enterprises from full benefiting from the extension of electricity to their communities.
“I think it’s very good and welcomed news. For every business operation, electricity is very key, either in the services sector or agriculture sector. And also more importantly in the manufacturing sector. So electricity to all the other parts of the country for us, I think is going to open up a lot of businesses.”
“But let me also be quick and add that it’s not just enough sending electricity to these areas, I think the cost of electricity is also very key. If you look at the cost and compare to other parts of the world, especially even in West Africa, the cost of electricity to businesses in Ghana is very high. If it’s there and the businesses and the SMEs cannot use it, of course, they cannot benefit from it. So they should also consider the cost and affordability of electricity as well,” he added.