President Mahama’s acting spokesperson, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, has addressed criticisms surrounding the new government’s initial focus on forming its cabinet, emphasizing that immediate action was necessary to address critical issues upon taking office.
During an interview on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show on Tuesday, 21st January, Mr. Kwakye Ofosu explained that there were urgent threats requiring swift attention.
He pointed to the energy sector as one of the major challenges that needed to be tackled immediately.
“Right after the transition, when the President was sworn in, we discovered that there were major, major threats that needed to be eliminated immediately. Otherwise, we would face some crisis. One of them was the power situation,” he stated.
He elaborated that the energy sector was struggling with excessive debt and other issues, such as outstanding payments to Independent Power Producers (IPPs) and inefficiencies in the delivery of energy sector services. According to Mr. Kwakye Ofosu, the sector was in a state of disarray, and without urgent intervention, it risked spiraling into a crisis.
“The sector was burdened with excessive debt that was basically strangling the life out of the sector. IPPs were owed in excess of 5 million dollars, several other players were owed, there were problems with the purchase of fuel to fire thermal plants, and there were issues with efficiency in the delivery of some energy sector utilities,” he explained.
Despite these challenges, he acknowledged that the president also needed to focus on forming his government.
According to Mr. Kwakye Ofosu, tackling both issues simultaneously was critical to stabilizing the country.