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Stakeholders call for deeper consultation on Ghana’s national energy transition framework
Participants in renewable energy and efficiency have called for deeper consultation on Ghana’s national energy transition framework to avoid dire financial consequences on local economies.
For them, energy transition was important as the whole world was moving towards that and Ghana could not be left out, however, there were a lot of implications in the quest to move towards cleaner energy.
In a day’s youth participation in energy transition and domestic resources mobilisation workshop organised by the Strategic Youth Network Development (SYND), they indicated that the energy transition model used by developed countries could not be used for African countries that were still struggling to grow.
Dr Robert Bright Mawuko Sogbadji, leading expert in Nuclear physics and renewable energy explained that Ghana’s National Energy Framework seeks to minimise energy related indoor air pollution and its related illnesses but Ghana was reliant on the oil and gas industry and that if we say we were going to hastily transition, it meant that we were going to lose out on revenue.
For instance, he said Ghana raked in $1.6 billion from petroleum revenue in 2022 and, therefore, any rush in energy transition would create financial loss to the country.
He said it was important for all countries in Africa to strive to achieve energy access because failure to do so would affect sustainable development.
In doing so, he said efforts must be made to put in place improved infrastructure along the value chain from generation to distribution.
Dr Sogbadji also said that even as African countries strived for the right financing for sustainable energy transition, there must be the political will to push through policies that would help to achieve net zero.
“The various governments must also ensure that there is ease of doing business, aside from implementing policies that will attract private capital,” she added.
Denis Gyeyir, Senior Programmes of Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI) said the energy sector was one of the high emitting sectors which was key if Ghana was to achieve its net zero ambitions.
This, he said, would have a significant impact on women and children who are the main gatherers of firewood.
However, he said limitations such as challenging investment climate, uncertainty of available resources, limited technology capacity, insufficient experience in renewable energy development, human and socio-economic challenges and information gap were some barriers to renewable energy development in the country.
He called for an information labelling to display information to be available to customers to help encourage energy efficiency in the country.
BY BENEDICTA GYIMAAH FOLLEY
News
NPP condems arrest of Okatakyie Afrifa Mensah
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has condemned the arrest and detention of Okatakyie Afrifa Mensah by operatives of the National Security.
In a statement signed by the General Secretary, Justin Kodua noted that “This unlawful action by the marauding operatives of the National Security is the latest installment of the ongoing series of state-sponsored attacks on the media by the NDC government, in their desperate attempt to silence the media and curtail press freedom.”
According to the him, “The Party condemns in no uncertain terms this state-sponsored lawlessness and commends the many well-meaning Ghanaians who spoke loudly against this shameful conduct by the National Security. We also commend the young people and the team of lawyers who stormed the National Security Secretariat this evening to see to the release of the abducted journalist.”
“The NPP wishes to remind President Mahama and his government that the Ghana that was bequeathed to them on January 7, 2025, was a free country. It was the bastion of democracy, underpinned not only by the existence of functioning democratic institutions but also by our unflinching commitment to upholding press freedom as enshrined in Chapter 12 of the 1992 Constitution,” they added.
Read the full statement below
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MARCH 19, 2025
*NEW PATRIOTIC PARTY CONDEMNS THE UNLAWFUL ARREST OF VETERAN JOURNALIST, OKATAKYIE AFRIFA MENSAH BY NATIONAL SECURITY OPERATIVES*
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) condemns the unlawful arrest and detention by operatives of the National Security, of Okatakyie Afrifa Mensah, a veteran journalist, who has been critical of the John Mahama administration.
This unlawful action by the marauding operatives of the National Security is the latest installment of the ongoing series of state-sponsored attacks on the media by the NDC government, in their desperate attempt to silence the media and curtail press freedom.
The Party condemns in no uncertain terms this state-sponsored lawlessness and commends the many well-meaning Ghanaians who spoke loudly against this shameful conduct by the National Security. We also commend the young people and the team of lawyers who stormed the National Security Secretariat this evening to see to the release of the abducted journalist.
The NPP wishes to remind President Mahama and his government that the Ghana that was bequeathed to them on January 7, 2025, was a free country. It was the bastion of democracy, underpinned not only by the existence of functioning democratic institutions but also by our unflinching commitment to upholding press freedom as enshrined in Chapter 12 of the 1992 Constitution.
In line with this commitment, the country also went through the painstaking process of repealing the Criminal and Seditious Libel Law in 2001, a process that was spearheaded by the immediate past President, H.E Nana Addo Akufo-Addo, who was then the Attorney General of the Republic.
It is therefore completely repugnant and unacceptable for the John Mahama administration to be using State Security to intimidate political opponents as well as media personnel in a bid to silence all critical voices This, in fact, is an egregious affront to our democratic and constitutional tenets.
We call on the Ghana Journalist Association, the Media Foundation of West Africa, Civil Society Organizations, and all stakeholders to join us in demanding an immediate cessation of this tyranny and growing culture of state-sponsored attacks on the media.
Enough is enough.
…Signed…
JUSTIN KODUA FRIMPONG
GENERAL SECRETARY
News
We have built enough buffers to pay all DDEP obligations – Finance Minister Ato Forson
Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson has assured banks that the government has built sufficient financial buffers to meet all Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP) obligations this year.
Speaking at a high-level meeting with over 22 Managing Directors of banks, he reaffirmed the government’s commitment to fiscal responsibility and restoring confidence in the financial sector.
“We do not intend to default,” Dr. Forson declared.
“All outstanding holdouts have been paid, and we have put in place the necessary buffers to ensure that every single DDEP obligation for this year will be met.”
The Minister explained that these buffers were created through fiscal discipline, strategic investment cuts, and prudent resource allocation.
As part of this approach, the government has reset goods and services expenditure to 2023 levels and is working to achieve a primary surplus of 1.5% to sustain economic stability.
He also announced plans to submit a fiscal responsibility rule to Parliament, which will set a debt ceiling that the Ministry of Finance cannot exceed.
This measure aims to prevent excessive borrowing and reinforce financial discipline.
Beyond ensuring timely DDEP payments, Dr Forson revealed that the government is taking deliberate steps to reduce reliance on the Treasury bill market.
By improving coordination between fiscal and monetary policies, the government aims to stabilize interest rates and ease liquidity pressures on the banking sector.
Source: Myjoyonline.com
