Just three months after taking office, Akufo Addo made his first major headline when he announced plans to start building the 400-megawatt Bridge Power project, dubbed the largest LPG-fired power plant in the world, and the Ghanaian government's ambition to achieve industrial and residential electrical self-sufficiency, at a ceremony in Tema on April 27, 2017.
The bridge power project, which was said to help Ghana become electricity self-sufficient by satisfying its immediate and long-term energy requirements, hasn't yet been finished. Ghanaians trusted Akufo Addo enough to vote for him in 2016 for a variety of reasons. These include his promises to better the lives of Ghanaians, fighting illegal mining and corruption, and resolving the nation's electrical issues, dubbed "Dumsor."
In Ghanaian politics, greed and hypocrisy prevent the truth from ruling; otherwise, the nation would have advanced. Even though the truth can be painful to hear, it must be endured since it can inspire individuals to act morally, but not in Ghana. In a democratic country, many people are afraid to criticize Akufo Addo, but those who are strong enough to defy his intimidation and repression often find themselves in uncomfortable circumstances.
President Akufo-Addo noted that while the government he leads is a natural supporter of the private sector, it will do so within the framework of protecting the public coffers, amid difficulties in negotiations with private power producers, especially because such agreements were negotiated during emergencies and times of power shortages, so how did the state disintegrate as a result of widespread, unchecked corruption?
"These agreements are primarily important to us laypeople because of their affordability, dependability, and flexibility. The fact that the plant will be able to run on LPG, natural gas, and diesel makes me happy because it will give it the flexibility it needs to keep generating electricity even when things are disrupted. The project has been expressly created to transition to Ghana's natural gas once it becomes available, which I am happy to note, added Akufo Addo.
Ghanaians should pay close attention to what happened six years after the sod was cut for the project.
On December 21, 2020, three years after the project had not yet started construction, it appeared again in the press: "The Bridge Power, Tema, Bridge Power project is a combined cycle power plant running on liquefied petroleum gas ( LPG) capacity of 400 MW, being developed in Tema, Ghana. This is the first project of its kind to be undertaken in Africa and the $953 million power plant is being built in two phases, the first phase with a capacity of 194 MW and the second phase with a capacity of 194 MW. 206 MW.
I don't understand why Akufo Addo enjoys manipulating the public's perceptions. If a promise is made but cannot be kept, it is preferable not to lead Ghanaians to believe he is capable when he is not. This infuriates the populace and makes them believe the president thinks they are stupid. That has always been the case; I have never seen a president treat people with such disdain that he even goes against the law by upholding democracy or the constitution.
As always, according to the publication, the $953 million power plant is being built in two phases, the first of which has a capacity of 194 MW and the second of which has a capacity of 206 MW is currently underway. The project, which is the first of its kind to be undertaken in Africa, has three of the first five GE turbines delivered and funded by Hungary, the gas turbines for phase 1 became operational and the project will be completed in 2019. If the project was supposed to be finished in 2019, why are there still light problems in Ghana?
Ghana has had significant intermittent electrical problems under Akufo Addo's administration, which have affected several locations, including the Kotoka International Airport. Since the present administration utilized the electrical issue to campaign against the previous administration, the NPP has been embarrassed to the point where they have attempted to persuade people that the issue the government is currently dealing with is not "Dumsor." If it is not "Dumsor," then what is it?
In another development, Akufo Addo refused to let up even though the project had failed. The following article was published in “Ghana's Business News” on September 24, 2023: "Privately initiated Bridge Power builds $900 million 400MW LPG-powered plant for Ghana." It goes on to say that power generation and distribution in Ghana are well-known facts; Ghanaians have endured power rationing for a long time since there was once a time when there was not enough power to go around.
The purpose of this is to raise awareness of historical events that many Ghanaians have forgotten about even though they all involved substantial quantities of money, either taken directly from the government coffers or loans that were given. We cannot overlook the fact that when money is not used for the right purposes, it is wasted, and as a result, people suffer. This is precisely what has happened in Ghana under the NPP regime.