The Minister for Energy and Green Transition, John Jinapor, has revealed that government is taking steps to evacuate all Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) containers to support national electricity expansion projects.
Speaking at the Government’s Accountability Series held at the Jubilee House on Wednesday, July 16, Mr. Jinapor disclosed that he has already received approval from the Chief of Staff and held a fruitful meeting with the Minister of Finance on the matter.
He explained that a taskforce, led by the Deputy Minister of Energy and involving Customs, the Ghana Revenue Authority, National Security, ECG, and other relevant agencies, has been constituted to oversee the process.
“We intend to establish a custom-bonded warehouse where we would evacuate all the containers to take full stock and reconcile the figures to determine the exact number retrieved,” he stated.
Mr. Jinapor added that the Ministry will seek Cabinet and Parliamentary approval to exempt taxation on these containers since they contain critical items needed for electricity projects. He emphasised that ECG will utilise some of the materials while the Ministry leverages others for ongoing and future electrification programmes.
According to him, the project is not only focused on rural electrification but also targets urban areas where new developments lack electricity supply.
“We cannot have all these containers stuck there while we spend taxpayers’ money to buy additional material,” he stressed.
Earlier this year, in March, the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) informed the Minister that it had 2,491 uncleared containers stocked with cables and other vital equipment at the Tema Port. To verify this claim, Mr. Jinapor set up a committee chaired by Professor Innocent Senyo Acquah to investigate.
However, the committee’s report uncovered a huge discrepancy as an independent audit at the port found only 1,134 containers, leaving 1,357 containers unaccounted for. The Minister expressed deep concern about this revelation and assured the public that the matter would be thoroughly investigated.
The retrieval and deployment of these containers is expected to fast-track Ghana’s electricity expansion drive and improve access in both rural and urban communities.
Source: Starrfm.com.gh
