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Dr Nyame Baafi, Senior Fellow astatine the Institute for Energy, Resources and Public Policy (IERPP) and Senior Lecturer astatine the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), has pointed retired that the ruling NDC medication led by President John Mahama had recorded a worrying 16.6 percent show successful biology absorption and vigor reforms during its archetypal 120 days successful office.
Addressing journalists astatine a property league astatine the Ghana International Press Centre connected Wednesday, May 7, 2025, nether the taxable “The 120-Days Accountability Showdown: Are We Resetting oregon Repeating the Past,” Dr. Baafi presented a broad reappraisal of the government’s efforts truthful far.
Dr Baafi explained that the assessment, conducted by IERPP, reviewed twenty-five cardinal manifesto promises crossed 4 thematic areas utilizing verifiable implementation information and a weighted scoring strategy aligned with planetary benchmarks for evaluating authorities performance.
He stressed that Ghana stands astatine a captious juncture and tin nary longer spend argumentation incoherence, reversals, oregon delays.
According to him, the authorities indispensable enactment existent to its committedness to support wood reserves and uphold biology laws. He emphasized the urgent request for the medication to code the vigor situation done competent enactment and structural reforms, consolidate erstwhile tourism assemblage gains, and behaviour a credible probe into the Akosombo dam spillage disaster.
Reflecting connected the 2024 wide elections, Dr. Baafi recalled that the National Democratic Congress, led by then-flagbearer and present President John Mahama, unveiled a 120-Day Social Contract with the radical of Ghana.
This papers outlined important commitments successful sectors including energy, environment, and tourism.
Among them was a pledge to enforce a prohibition connected amerciable and caller mining activities wrong wood reserves, coupled with initiatives specified arsenic the Tree for Life and Blue Water Initiative, which aimed to rehabilitate degraded ecosystems and reconstruct polluted h2o bodies.
Another committedness centered connected the motorboat of the Black Star Experience to revitalize the tourism industry, portion a further committedness was made to initiate a broad probe into the Akosombo and Kpong Dam spillage disaster, which displaced thousands and devastated livelihoods crossed aggregate regions.
Dr Baafi pointed retired that the vigor sector, 1 of the astir captious pillars of Ghana’s economy, was not explicitly highlighted successful the archetypal declaration but was subsequently included nether the extremity of resolving the powerfulness crisis.
Unfortunately, helium noted, the state continues to grapple with predominant and prolonged powerfulness outages, wide referred to arsenic “dumsor,” which endanger economical stableness and productivity.
Drawing comparisons to planetary experiences, helium referenced however adjacent precocious economies specified arsenic Germany person faced macroeconomic challenges owed to precocious energy costs, fto unsocial persistent powerfulness shortages.
Dr Baafi underscored that the International Monetary Fund has identified Ghana’s vigor assemblage arsenic a large economical risk. He recounted how, betwixt 2013 and 2015, the authorities signed galore powerfulness acquisition agreements connected a take-or-pay basis, saddling the federation with excess capableness charges amounting to astir 1 cardinal dollars annually since 2017.
These fiscal burdens, helium stressed, person diverted much-needed nationalist funds distant from indispensable sectors similar healthcare, infrastructure, and education, raising superior concerns astir the country’s fiscal sustainability.
Despite assurances from the existent Minister for Energy, Dr. Baafi said, the vigor situation persists with terrible consequences for businesses, employment, investment, and healthcare delivery.
He warned that without bold reforms and improved efficiency, peculiarly successful the gross postulation efforts of the Electricity Company of Ghana, the state risks falling abbreviated of targets nether the ongoing IMF program.
While acknowledging that caller tariff increases by the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission are intended to enactment outgo recovery, Dr. Baafi criticized the information that these adjustments efficaciously transportation inefficiencies from state-owned vigor enterprises onto consumers, worsening the already precocious outgo of living.
On biology issues, Dr Baafi expressed disappointment implicit what helium described arsenic a U-turn connected the promised prohibition connected amerciable and caller mining wrong wood reserves. He indicated that, alternatively of banning mining, the authorities is reportedly seeking to amend the legislative model that allows specified activities, a determination helium condemned arsenic contradictory and dangerous.
He described the biology harm caused by mining arsenic alarming, citing wide contamination of h2o bodies with dense metals and toxic chemicals, demolition of farmlands, and threats to cultivation productivity.
Dr Baafi stressed that agriculture remains cardinal to Ghana’s system arsenic the largest employer, a cardinal contributor to GDP, and a superior root of export revenue, making immoderate argumentation that jeopardizes the assemblage a nonstop menace to nationalist stability.
Turning to the tourism sector, Dr Baafi acknowledged the motorboat of the Black Star Experience arsenic a commendable inaugural with the imaginable to boost home economical enactment and make jobs.
However, helium questioned the contented of launching a caller marque alternatively than gathering connected the globally recognized "Year of Return", which had already brought successful important economical benefits.
He further expressed interest that the inaugural was launched connected the aforesaid time that energy prices surged by implicit fourteen percent, adding unit connected businesses and threatening the viability of the tourism industry.
The IERPP Senior Fellow besides mentioned the government’s unfulfilled committedness to behaviour a afloat probe into the Akosombo and Kpong Dam spillage disaster. He questioned whether the government’s pledge to resettle displaced persons, arsenic announced successful the 2025 Budget Statement, had seen immoderate meaningful progress.
He further called connected the authorities to enactment existent to its commitments, prioritize competent leadership, undertake urgent vigor assemblage reforms, safeguard the environment, consolidate past tourism gains, and guarantee transparency and accountability, peculiarly successful addressing the aftermath of the Akosombo disaster.
Dr Baafi added that Ghanaians merit amended a authorities that is transparent, consistent, and accountable, and that places the payment of its radical supra governmental expediency.
AM/KA
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