LET’S CO-OPERATE FOR THE GAS TO FLOW

Page 7: Daily Graphic, May 9, 2012 THE role of energy in the economic transformation and development of any nation cannot be overemphasised. Indeed, it is one of the most critical factors that have the capacity to drive up or drive down an economy and, by extension, undermine or improve the standard of living of the people. For many years, this country, in the face of rising crude oil prices, has sought to explore the greater use of gas as a cheaper means of meeting its energy requirements. In particular, given that power generation at the Aboadze Thermal Plant using crude oil has proved to be more expensive and, therefore, not cost effective for consumers of power, the resort to gas has been widely touted as the panacea, largely on account of its lower cost. However, this solution has, on many occasions, proved elusive as the supply of gas, mainly from the much talked about West African Gas Pipeline, has, at best, been erratic. In critical periods when the system has been relied upon to deliver the gas, it has failed woefully and, in so doing, disrupted energy production at Aboadze and other areas. For this reason, it is great news that the government has been able to secure $1 billion from the China Development Bank (CDB) to fund the development of gas infrastructure in the Western Region, work on which has commenced in earnest. There is no doubt that the scaling of this hurdle is a huge commercial and financial feat chalked up by the government. The completion of this gas project in the Western Region will, among key objectives, ensure a steady and reliable supply of gas from the Jubilee Field to the Aboadze plant. This will reduce the cost of generating power at the plant, bring down the cost at which power will be sold to the Volta River Authority (VRA) and eventually significantly reduce the electricity bill of consumers. Additionally, the new gas infrastructure will help ensure the steady and reliable supply of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to consumers all year round and thereby bring more relief to consumers and also promote socio-economic development. This is in addition to the thousands of jobs and the huge incomes it will provide for Ghanaians, particularly those in the Western Region. It is against such a background that we appeal to farmers and other stakeholders at Domunli and other areas in the Western Region where the gas infrastructure is being developed to co-operate with the contractors executing the job to finish it on time. We urge those computing the payment of compensation to the farmers to do a diligent and transparent job, so that the requisite level of peace and tranquillity will exist to facilitate the timeous execution of the project. This, undoubtedly, is one of the biggest national projects which will help transform and bring bigger dividends to the country and we all have a duty to work towards its success.