Wind power is Ghana’s next ‘Akosombo’ - Greenstreet
A Convention People’s Party (CPP) government will fix the country’s energy challenges by relying on wind power and other cheap energy generating alternatives, the party’s flag bearer, Mr Ivor Kobina Greenstreet, has said.
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He said the party had already completed a comprehensive research into the proposal and it was ready to roll out a plan to generate 9,900 megawatts (MW) of wind power as soon as it was voted into government.
With a wind outage of 66 per cent over the whole stretch of 1,000 kilometres from Ada in the Greater Accra Region to the north, he said, it should guarantee the country 9,000MW at all times.
That, he pointed out, would meet the energy needs of the country cheaply, with sufficient left for sale to neighbouring countries to rake in additional revenue for the government.
IEA hosts Greenstreet
The CPP presidential candidate stated this when he took his turn at the Evening Encounter organised by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) in Accra yesterday.
Mr Greenstreet used the occasion to share his thoughts on energy, job creation, the economy and making government work again should he be voted as President of Ghana at the November 2016 polls.
The 2016 evening encounters with presidential candidates of political parties with representation in Parliament commenced with the presidential candidate of the People’s National Convention (PNC), Dr Edward Mahama, last week.
Next week, the flag bearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, will take his turn at the encounter.
CPP’s position on energy
Mr Greenstreet said the CPP’s position on energy was informed by the fact that hydro power was no longer reliable in the provision of sustainable power as a result of climate change which had affected rainfall patterns and the level of water in dams for hydro power.
He said Ghana’s energy should be a mix of wind, solar, hydro, thermal and crude oil, as well as bio-mass and perhaps even nuclear.
Growth strategy
On the growth strategy for Ghana’s economy, Mr Greenstreet said the country could potentially generate an additional $300 billion from growing tropical African almond trees.
California, USA, alone, he mentioned, produced about 80 per cent of the world’s supply and earned income running into billions of dollars.
A rough estimate based on all of the above, he said, could potentially produce 30 million tonnes of oil, adding that multiplied by $10 per litre, “Ghana’s economy could potentially generate $300 billion. Yes, it is that serious, $300 billion”.
Mr Greenstreet said the ingenuity of Ghanaians, with or without government, had proved that “we are capable of developing many valuable niche markets”.
He, however, regretted that both the NPP and National Democratic Congress (NDC) had misgoverned the country’s niche markets like shea butter, cashew, bamboo and other cash crops.
He gave an assurance that a future CPP government under his watch would take a real approach to the economy, saying: “We have already studied even more opportunities in the niche economy.’’
Education
Touching on education, Mr Greenstreet said “what we need in our educational system is a seismic curricular shift and re-direction”.
“We must teach skills. After all, the essence of education is to give the citizens basic skills and values that will enable them to lead decent lives. We shall ensure that those educated are linked to all facets of our economic and social life,” he reasoned.
To make that possible, he said a future CPP government would drastically improve the working conditions of teachers and educational workers at all levels and re-orient them towards the overall national agenda and plan.
“The debate between the NDC and the NPP over duration, free, cost and classrooms is the least of the problems bothering Ghana's educational system,” he added.
Disability
According to Mr Greenstreet, Ghanaians were disabled in so many ways.
“If you can’t access proper health care, education or employment, you are disabled by your circumstances. How much more someone with an additional disability?” he asked.
“Let us re-orient our whole mindset on disability,” he said, and gave an assurance that a CPP government would make sure the Disability Act and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities were fully implemented.
He chided those who put up the Flagstaff House, the highest office of the land, for making no room for the construction of a ramp.
“Those who constructed it never thought for a second that one day the President of Ghana would be in a wheelchair,’’ he predicted.
Health
On health, he said the CPP would continue to support and enhance the NHIS and look at innovative ways to increase funds for the scheme, adding: “We shall ensure that politicians aren’t able to meddle with the NHIS and that health professionals run the scheme and professional managers of money run the fund.’’
The CPP, he said, would also improve access to maternal health care because although there was antenatal care, many pregnant women were not receiving treatment in time when in labour.
Housing
Besides education and health, Mr Greenstreet identified affordable housing, both in terms of ownership and rental, as a key consideration for the implementation of the CPP’s social policy.
The CPP, he said, would also review the Rent Control Act immediately it assumes office, adding that the Rent Act clearly stipulated that “you are only supposed to pay six months’ rent to a landlord, but despite this law, we have all come to accept the practice of paying between two and three years’ rent”.
Women, children & the aged
“A CPP government would be committed to implementing the important 2016 Affirmative Action (Gender Equality Bill) currently before Parliament, since the act is to ensure the achievement of gender equality in the political, social, economic and educational spheres in society,’’ he said.
Furthermore, Mr Greenstreet said, the Ghanaian child was vulnerable due to the high infant mortality rate and child trafficking.
“The CPP will honour all laws, including the ‘child cannot wait’ programme designed to improve their welfare. It is also committed to implementing the spirit and letter of the 1992 Constitution under Article 37 (2) (b), especially in respect of old women being accused of witchcraft, and that shall protect the dignity, well-being and happiness of the aged,’’ he said.
According to the CPP flag bearer, the party in government would create a just society where everyone had a fair and equal chance of success and make the sky the limit for those who wanted to change their destiny.
“I represent the party that believes in the oneness of Ghana, not tribal ‘World Banks’ but a ‘World Bank’ of truth, hope, justice and opportunity.
“Unfortunately, the behaviour and policy choices of both the NDC and the NPP in government have made Ghanaians lose hope. Many Ghanaians think all is lost and that all politicians are the same. But all is not lost,” he declared.