Former Member of Parliament for Sekondi Andrew Agyapa-Mercer has sounded a serious alarm regarding the collapsing state of Ghana's national power grid.
He warned that simply putting temporary fixes on the country's extremely old transmission infrastructure will not end the recent wave of blackouts if state authorities fail to secure massive capital investments immediately.
Speaking on JoyNews, the former lawmaker painted a grim picture of the physical cables and switchyards responsible for keeping the lights on.
Successive governments have certainly attempted to replace decaying portions of the network over the years. However, Agyapa-Mercer stressed that those efforts are essentially a drop in the ocean compared to the monumental gaps that still exist.
Public frustration reached a boiling point after another nationwide power disruption crippled parts of the country on Thursday, August 20.
The Ghana Grid Company Limited essentially blamed the mess on tripped power lines. Unfortunately, this was not an isolated incident. It marked the second major blackout just this August, forcing serious questions about the sheer resilience of the national grid.
The Legacy of Old Equipment
Agyapa-Mercer did not hold back in diagnosing the root cause. He pointed out that bringing the grid up to standard is fundamentally a cash issue.
"We have extremely old transmission infrastructure. Governments over the years have tried to replace some of them. It's not complete. There's still a lot of work that has to be done," he explained to the television panel.
He also raised serious doubts about the integrity of specific installations. Recalling a severe fire that destroyed a major control room and switchyard on June 29, the former MP demanded transparency on whether the damaged equipment was ever properly replaced or merely patched up.
"I'm not so sure whether the switch yard that got burnt on 29 June thereabout itself has seen any replacement since what was installed, and we need to be informed as to whether, indeed and in fact, that switchyard or control room had seen some rehabilitation right from the very beginning when this this thing was put in place." - Agyapa-Mercer
Moving Beyond Partisan Politics
The problem is too severe for cheap political points. Agyapa-Mercer bluntly stated that a broken grid does not care which political party holds power. Whoever is in government will face the exact same technical nightmares if the underlying resource deficits are ignored.
"And so yes, I'm because of the fact that I've been there before. I'm not going to play the politics game because you never know.
"Tomorrow I may be back there, and these issues, to the extent that we are unable to find the resources to invest in the transmission infrastructure to carry our power from point A to B, will still persist." - Agyapa-Mercer
While the government has promised Ghanaians some relief by next month, the former MP remains highly skeptical about the financing.
He pointed out that state officials have been completely silent on exactly where the money for these massive upgrades is coming from.
"I will give you the benefits of the doubt. He's indicated to the rule of Ghana that hopefully by next month we'll see some improvement in the in the power situation.
"I hope that the requisite investment is being put in there, where they're going to get the resources from. He's not indicated." - Agyapa-Mercer
He added a critical follow-up question regarding the financial muscle of the state grid operator, noting, "I'm not sure whether Gridco itself can finance this on this balance sheet, and so that clarity ought to be provided."
In the meantime, pressure is mounting on the sector minister. Agyapa-Mercer backed demands from the Deputy Ranking Member of the Energy Committee for a full parliamentary briefing.
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