President Akufo-Addo
PRESIDENT AKUFO-Addo has indicated his readiness to push for a third power compact from the US government.
The President made this known when the Board of Directors of Millennium Development Authority (MiDA) led by its Chairperson, Professor Yaa Ntiamoa-Baidu, called on him at the Jubilee House yesterday to thank him for the opportunity.
“The real issue before me now is compact three; what will be the basis. I am due to travel to America soon and I will raise it at the highest levels,” President Akufo-Addo said.
Professor Ntiamoa-Baidu, presenting the report of the board to the President, said “We are happy to say that a lot has been accomplished under the compact. By the revised compact end date of June 6, 2022, all projects retained and prioritised for implementation had been completed, commissioned and handed over to the beneficiaries, including ECG, GRIDCo, the Ghana Standards Authority, the Energy Commission, PURC, Ministry of Education, Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, University of Ghana, Accra Technical University, KNUST, and University of Energy and Natural Resources, among others.”
Known as the Ghana Power Compact II, the US$536 million programme was used to develop the energy sector of the country.
President Akufo-Addo further assured the board that he would continue to count on their experience should he manage to secure a third compact with the United States government, since they did a yeoman’s work in executing the programme.
In March 2017, President Akufo-Addo inaugurated the board and charged them with the responsibility of providing oversight to the management and activities of the Millennium Development Authority.
Projects undertaken following the revised Compact funding of US$347 million, according to Professor Ntiamoa-Baidu, was fully and prudently disbursed. These include the two bulk supply points in Pokuase and Kasoa, currently the largest and second largest substations in Ghana, providing a total of 1015-megavolt amperes (MVA); the two vital primary sub-stations, with interconnecting circuits to serve electricity consumers and major health facilities, namely the 37 Military Hospital, the Greater Accra Regional Hospital at Ridge, the University of Ghana Medical Centre, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, Jubilee House, and communities in the environs of these facilities. These handle 130-megavolt amperes (MVA).
The Board Chair also talked of “a refrigerator and air conditioner testing laboratory for the Ghana Standards Authority, the only such facility in the West African sub-region and a Low Voltage Bifurcation Project in six districts of ECG’s Accra West and Accra East Regions.”
Others are “streetlights replacement and refurbishing work on 528km of selected streets in 20 MMDAs in Greater Accra and retrofitting of seven major government buildings in the Ministries, including interventions at Korle Bu and at the University of Ghana.”
The project also covered an internship for some 650 ladies undertaking STEM studies in various tertiary, technical and vocational institutions in Ghana, together with the establishment and resourcing of three SECS in selected universities, as well as training centres for electricity auditing, reviewing and passing into law of 20 Legislative Instruments for Energy Sector Regulations.
In addition, the programme also provided to ECG, a state-of-the-art Meter Management and Geographic Information Systems, all of which will support efforts aimed at loss control and improved profitability.
Professor Ntiamoa-Baidu said all the compact funds, including some US$31 million which government contributed as counterpart funds, were fully utilised within the compact term.
Aside that, she indicated that “All projects were completed at very high standards and handed over to the beneficiary agencies whilst numerous employment opportunities were made available to the youth and vital skills transferred to them.”
BY Charles Takyi-Boadu