The National Democratic Congress, NDC, has been criticizing President Akufo-Addo for his decision to rename the AMERI Power plant to the Kumasi 1 Thermal Power plant.
The AMERI power plant was procured in 2015 under a build-own-operate and transfer arrangement to produce a total of 250 megawatts of power to shore up Ghana’s energy generation capacity.
Under the said arrangement, Ghana was to take full ownership of the 250-megawatt capacity power plant after paying 510 million within five years.
But according to the NDC, the decision to rename and relocate the plant to Anwomaso in the Ashanti Region is unrealistic and costly.
They are alleging a 35 million investment in the relocation of the plant from Takoradi to Kumasi.
“How on earth does the mere relocation of the Ameri Power plant from Aboadze in the Western Region to Kumasi cost $35million which is over three times more than the $ 10 million Otumfuo Osei Tutu is soliciting to renovate the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital? The more questions we ask, the more confused we become as to the true intentions of this government.
Need we say that the Akufo Addo/Bawumia govt, having borrowed so much with very little to show is seeking to rebrand and take credit for most of the projects initiated by the visionary John Mahama just to create a false sense of performance”
The Ashanti Regional Communications Officer, Abass Nurudeen says the Government intends to discredit former President, John Mahama by changing the details of the deal.
“But let it be known that when Dumsor was collapsing the businesses of inhabitants of the Ashanti Region and beyond, it was John Mahama’s Ameri Power plant(howsoever it is called) that was brought in to save the situation.
This affirms the widely held view by many that indeed President Mahama took bold and decisive steps to solve Dumsor and even eight years after leaving office, it is his interventions that continue to sustain the energy sector” he affirmed.
Meanwhile, President Akufo-Addo is expected to commission the plant in the Ashanti Region tomorrow.