NDC left $2.4bn energy debt, NPP worsened it – Edward Bawa

The former Member of Parliament for Bongo, Edward Abambire Bawa, has revealed that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government left power in 2017 with an energy sector debt of approximately $2.4 billion, which has since ballooned under the current administration of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

According to Bawa, the NPP government’s failure to address the debt and meet its obligations to Independent Power Producers (IPPs) has worsened the financial challenges facing Ghana’s energy sector, contributing to the recent spate of power cuts and further deepening the sector’s fiscal crisis.

Ghana has been grappling with frequent power outages in recent months, which have been attributed to the mounting debt owed to IPPs.

These IPPs supply a greater portion of the country’s electricity, and the government’s failure to settle outstanding payments has left them in a difficult financial position, thereby affecting the reliability of power production and supply across the nation.

Speaking on The Big Issue on Channel One TV on Saturday, January 11, 2025, Bawa explained that while the NDC had left behind a significant debt when exiting office in 2017, the NPP’s handling of the energy sector’s finances had exacerbated the situation.

He claimed that the NDC’s debt, which stood at $2.4 billion, was primarily due to the need for a mechanism like the Energy Sector Levy Act (ESLA) to address the financial difficulties in the sector.

However, according to Bawa, despite the NPP government inheriting this debt, the current administration had failed to take appropriate action to manage it effectively, allowing the indebtedness to grow significantly.