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President Akufo-Addo Commissions Kumasi Thermal Power Plant, Genser Energy Kumasi Pipeline
The President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has commissioned the first phase of the 150 megawatt Kumasi One Thermal Power Plant and the Genser Energy Kumasi Pipeline, located at Anwomaso in the Greater Kumasi Metropolitan Area.
Interdependently, the Anwomaso Gas Pipeline undertaken by Genser Energy has been constructed to feed the plant with natural gas from the Western Region.
The project represents for the nation and particularly for inhabitants of the Ashanti Region, the innate quest of the government to provide sustainable electricity to meet the growing needs of the ever-growing prospects of the region and a key testament of the Akufo-Addo government’s commitment to boosting energy supply to meet the expectations of Ghanaians.
The first in Kumasi, and by extension, the Ashanti Region, President Akufo-Addo spoke of the project as “very significant, as it will improve the delivery of electricity to the middle and northern belts of the country and serve as further confirmation, if any was needed, of government’s resolve to ensuring that all parts of the country have the necessary infrastructure for development.”
According to him, the renowned attribute of the Ashanti Region as a hub of small and medium-scale commercial and industrial businesses will mean that, with enhanced electricity supply, these businesses will expand and offer employment opportunities to our youth.
He said that seven years of translating promises and assurances into result-oriented projects, including energy supply has required the delivery of affordable and reliable electricity to drive our nation’s industrialisation agenda, and position Ghana to become a net exporter of electricity in the ECOWAS region.
The President noted that, with the country’s national electrification rate of 88.8% one of the highest on the continent, the goal is to have full electricity access by the end of this year and ensure that the areas of power generation, transmission and distribution, receives significant investments towards the provision of reliable and competitively-priced electricity to ensure economic growth.
Whilst acknowledging the challenges that the people of the Ashanti Region, and, indeed, of other parts of this country, have had to endure in very recent times over the supply of power, President Akufo-Addo was grateful for the patience of Nananom and the citizenry through the said difficult times and commended the Asantehene, who, graciously, intervened with the authorities of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) to release a portion of their land for the construction of this power station and gas pipeline infrastructure, as well as, the Chiefs and people of Anwomaso, and, indeed, all stakeholders who contributed in diverse ways to make this project a reality.
The President was also proud of the work undertaken by the Volta River Authority (VRA) in bringing the generating units and their associated equipment to Kumasi and commended the Board, Management and staff of VRA for successfully relocating and re-installing the gas turbine units, the related switchyard, balance of plant equipment, control room, cables and all other aspects of the power plant on their own.
“They have demonstrated that Ghanaian engineers, from a publicly-owned institution, can rise to the task of finding engineering solutions to build our nation,”he said.
Congratulating GRIDCO, ECG and GNPC for the respective roles they have played in bringing this project to fruition, the President found it even more gratifying to note that “the gas transmission infrastructure for this power station was constructed from Prestea to Anwomaso through a collaboration between the Ghana National Petroleum Company (GNPC) and Genser Energy Ghana Limited, a dynamic Ghanaian-owned energy company.”
He concluded with an appeal to the investor community to take advantage of the improved electricity supply and put up viable commercial structures that would utilise the resources within the middle and northern belts to ramp up the government’s industrialisation agenda, thereby accelerating the growth and development of the country.
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GEXIM deepens relations with US EXIM Bank
A management team of the Ghana Export – Import Bank (GEXIM) led by the Acting Chief Executive, Sylvester Mensah met with the leadership of the Export–Import Bank of the United States (US EXIM) on Wednesday April 23, 2025 in Washington DC, United States of America.
The Acting President and Chairman of US EXIM, Mr. James C. Cruse and Vice President, International Relations, Ms. Isabel Galdiz received the GEXIM delegation, which included Deputy CEO for Banking, Mr. Moses Klu Mensah and Head of International Cooperation, Mr. Jonathan Christopher Koney at the headquarters of US EXIM.
The meeting offered the GEXIM team the opportunity to share the strategic direction of the Bank in line with the resetting agenda of the President of the Republic, His Excellency John Dramani Mahama for the repositioning of the Ghanaian economy into an export-led one by providing the requisite investment to Ghanaian businesses.
Mr. James C. Cruse expressed US EXIM’s eagerness to deepen its existing relations with GEXIM and proposed the signing of a new Cooperative Framework Agreement following the expiration of a Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2019 to utilize US EXIM’s medium term loan guarantees to procure machinery by GEXIM for qualified Ghanaian Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs).
Mr.Sylvester Mensah thanked the Acting President and Chairman of US EXIM for hosting the GEXIM delegation and reaffirmed the Ghanaian government’s commitment to strengthening trade and investment between Ghana and its global partners for economic transformation of Ghana with GEXIM playing a pivotal role.
The two teams will be meeting on the sidelines of the 2025 US EXIM Annual Conference on 29th and April 30, 2025 to explore possible areas of collaboration and matching Ghanaian businesses to American companies. The meeting ended with an exchange of gifts.
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Many SOEs have been used as mere instruments for personal wealth accumulation –Pres.Mahama
President John Dramani Mahama has expressed concern over the misuse of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) for personal financial gain by individuals in leadership positions.
Speaking during a meeting with Chief Executives of specified entities under the State Interest and Governance Authority (SIGA) on Thursday, March 13, the President directly attributed the dire state of SOEs to their leadership, accusing chief executives, management teams, and governing boards of prioritising personal enrichment over organisational efficiency.
He pointed to bloated budgets, unjustified allowances, and unnecessary expenditures as factors draining public funds while SOEs continue to rely on government bailouts.
“Many SOEs have been used as mere instruments for personal wealth accumulation by appointees. The chief executives, management, and boards of these enterprises are responsible for this situation. Some SOEs have become perennial loss-makers, draining public funds with bloated budgets, unjustified allowances, and unnecessary expenditures while relying on government bailouts as if entitled to them. Many of these entities are at their lowest point in the entire history of the Fourth Republic,” he said.
President Mahama further noted that many SOEs have been plagued by inefficiencies, corruption, and mismanagement, leading to consistent financial losses. He cited the 2023 State Ownership Report by the State Interests and Governance Authority (SIGA), which highlighted systemic inefficiencies and wasteful expenditures within these entities.
He therefore reaffirmed his commitment to reforming under-performing SOEs and ensuring they serve national interests.
He warned that loss-making SOEs will no longer be tolerated and will either be merged, privatised, or closed.
“I will assess you based on your performance. If you do not align with the pace of the reset agenda, you may be asked to step aside. If that adds to the horror movie, so be it,” he added.
Source: Myjoyonline.com
