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When some communities in his region without power will be connected onto the national system, Hon. Nicholas Amankwah, the Member of Parliament for Wassa Amenfi East Constituency in Western Region Region, has sought explanations from the Minister responsible for Energy.
The energy minister, Mathew Opoku Prempeh, appeared before the August house to address inquiries about rural electrification projects because many residents in the twelve communities in the Amenfi East constituency were having difficulty accessing power.
On Thursday, March 9, 2023, the Amenfi East MP, also known as Home Boy, asked the sector minister questions on the floor of the House of Representatives. He asked for the Ministry of Energy to expedite the provision of power to the underserved areas.
“Mr. Speaker, I rise to ask the Minister for Energy when the stalled Rural Electrification Projects (SHEP) in the following communities in Amenfi East constituency will be completed (I) Abeneso (ii) Saa-Anwiam (iii) Ethiopia Forest (iv) Togi (v) KTK (vi) Camp OPV (vii) Asomdwe (viii) Mangoase (ix) Nyame-Tease (x) Beposo-ChiefKrom (xi) Kumawu (xii) Krofrom, I thank you Mr. Speaker.”
Hon. Mathew Opoku Prempeh responding to the questions said, “the affected communities forms part of self projects for the Amenfi East district. 276 high tension poles for the Communities have been supplied to the site but are yet to be planted” he told the house.
The minister claimed that 561 of the 650 low tension poles that were needed for the villages had already been delivered and installed.
However, the minister discloses that the primary causes of the ongoing delays in the stopped projects are a lack of some “key materials” needed to finish them.
In the meantime, Dr. Opoku Prempeh assured the house that his sector is receiving the necessary materials to finish the rural electricity projects, and that it is anticipated for completion by the end of 2023 this year, providing some respite to the wired MP.
In the instance of Kumawu, the minister claimed that the community had been left out of the rural electrification program, but he also acknowledged that he had made a notation for the completion of later stages.
The Amenfi East MP probed further after hearing the minister’s response, noting that the aforementioned projects have been left to the mercy of rain and scotch since 2016 without being attended to; as a result, he questioned the minister to be honest and provide evidence to support his claim that the projects are still being abandoned.
The sector minister reiterates in his concluding remarks that the difficulty in obtaining critical materials, such as transformers, metering systems, and other electrical apparatus, is a problem that the ministry is trying to resolve.
In order to accomplish this, Mathew Opoku Prempeh reassured the MP and the House that the ministry was prepared to mobilize efforts and attention to finish the projects as planned and provide energy for his constituents as soon as possible.
Source: Ghanatodayonline.com/Kaakyire Kwasi Afari
