The Ministry of Energy and Green Transition has donated 100 streetlights and a cash donation to the 16 metropolitan, municipal and district chief executives (MMDCEs) in the Central Region to support their streetlighting project and efforts to improve security and visibility in communities.
The presentation took place during a meeting between the ministry and the MMDCEs in Accra, where discussions focused on electricity access, street lighting, renewable energy opportunities and other energy-related concerns in the region.
Presenting the items, the Deputy Minister for Energy and Green Transition, Richard Gyan-Mensah, said the donation formed part of the ministry’s efforts to support local authorities in addressing street lighting challenges and improving public infrastructure in their respective districts.
He also assured the MMDCEs that districts which had not benefited from previous solar streetlight interventions would be considered under subsequent phases of the ministry’s streetlight programme, while plans were underway to rehabilitate existing non-functional solar streetlights across the country.
The Deputy Minister further announced that the Central Region was among the first four regions selected to benefit from electricity intensification and improvement projects under the government’s Big Push agenda, which would cover electricity extension, transformer installations and meter provision in all districts of the region.
The meeting was attended by directors and senior officials from the Ministry of Energy and Green Transition, as well as 16 MMDCEs from metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies across the Central Region.
Engagement
Mr Gyan-Mensah, who is also the Member of Parliament for Gomoa West, explained that the Minister for Energy and Green Transition was out of the country on official assignment and had delegated him and the ministry’s directors to engage the visiting MMDCEs.
He said the engagement formed part of efforts to strengthen collaboration between the ministry and local authorities in addressing energy-related concerns at the district level.
Responding to the issues raised, Mr Gyan-Mensah first addressed concerns regarding petroleum facility approvals and decentralisation.
He explained that several agencies under the ministry already operated decentralised structures at regional and district levels and cited ECG and the NPA as examples.
The Deputy Minister stressed that no fuel station or gas station should be established without the involvement of the relevant assembly.
On employment concerns raised during the meeting, Mr Gyan-Mensah clarified that the ministry did not directly recruit staff.
He explained that ministry personnel were recruited through the Office of the Head of Civil Service, while agencies under the ministry undertook recruitment through their respective governing boards and established procedures.
Addressing concerns about streetlights, he explained that the ministry had implemented the first phase of a solar streetlight distribution programme in selected districts.
He said the approach was intended to create a visible impact in beneficiary districts rather than distribute limited quantities across all assemblies.
The Deputy Minister further disclosed that the ministry was considering a programme to rehabilitate existing solar streetlights by replacing faulty batteries, panels and lamps.
Under the proposed arrangement, the ministry would provide streetlights while assemblies would engage local contractors to undertake installations.
Appreciation
Speaking on behalf of the delegation, the Dean of the Central Region MMDCEs, Ishmael Nana Asamoah, thanked the ministry for granting them the opportunity to engage and commended it for previous interventions, particularly the distribution of streetlights to assemblies.
The delegation described the Central Region as a strategic location for government programmes because of its land availability, coastal resources, expanding settlements and strong community structures.
The MMDCEs, however, expressed concern about the growing demand for electricity extension in many communities as a result of rapid settlement expansion and population growth.
They appealed to the ministry to prioritise electricity extension projects in underserved and newly developing communities throughout the region.
The delegation also highlighted challenges relating to overloaded and faulty transformers, which they said were contributing to prolonged power outages in several communities, including parts of Kasoa.
