Vice President Mahama
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11th June, 2010
Hike In Tariffs Will Be Cushioned By December - Veep
Vice-President John Mahama has said the recent hike in utility tariffs will be cushioned before the end of the year, with the coming on stream of gas from Nigeria under the West African Gas Pipeline Project.
“There is light at the end of the tunnel,” he said, stressing that gas flow from Nigeria to feed the country’s thermal plants before the end of the year would reduce the cost for generating power considerably and bring down the tariffs.
Contending that government did not take pride in inflicting pain on the people, he said the recent increases in utility tariffs were necessary to ensure that the power utilities survived to produce power.
Vice-President Mahama said these when he interacted with the Tema branch of the United Cadre Front of the ruling National Democratic Congress at Tema.
The meeting afforded the party’s foot-soldiers an opportunity to voice their concerns about some developments in the party and to express their views and seek clarifications about the country’s economic situation from the Vice-President.
Mr. Mahama stated that contrary to the impression that the recent power outages in the country were due to insufficient power generation, there was sufficient generation of power, with the excess being exported to Cote d’Ivoire.
He explained that the outages were due to the fact that cables for the transmission of power were obsolete and needed to be replaced. The increases in the utility tariffs would enable government to address the problem, he said.
The Vice-President said a hedging policy would soon come on stream to enable the government to stabilize the fluctuations in crude oil prices.
He catalogued the phenomenal strides being made by the Mills administration since coming to power in the fields of agriculture, housing and education and the positive economic indicators with respect to the reduction in inflation, stabilization of the cedi and the lowering of interest rates.
He announced plans by the government to enhance the National Youth Employment Programme to offer skills training for the youth and also ensure more local participation in the oil and gas industry.
Turning his attention on the party, he expressed concern about divisions in the high echelons of the party, which he said, did not augur well for party unity.
“Divisions in the party have already seeped to the grass roots level,” he said and pointed out that the only way the government and the party would function progressively was to manage its disagreements and strive for consensus building.
“There is light at the end of the tunnel,” he said, stressing that gas flow from Nigeria to feed the country’s thermal plants before the end of the year would reduce the cost for generating power considerably and bring down the tariffs.
Contending that government did not take pride in inflicting pain on the people, he said the recent increases in utility tariffs were necessary to ensure that the power utilities survived to produce power.
Vice-President Mahama said these when he interacted with the Tema branch of the United Cadre Front of the ruling National Democratic Congress at Tema.
The meeting afforded the party’s foot-soldiers an opportunity to voice their concerns about some developments in the party and to express their views and seek clarifications about the country’s economic situation from the Vice-President.
Mr. Mahama stated that contrary to the impression that the recent power outages in the country were due to insufficient power generation, there was sufficient generation of power, with the excess being exported to Cote d’Ivoire.
He explained that the outages were due to the fact that cables for the transmission of power were obsolete and needed to be replaced. The increases in the utility tariffs would enable government to address the problem, he said.
The Vice-President said a hedging policy would soon come on stream to enable the government to stabilize the fluctuations in crude oil prices.
He catalogued the phenomenal strides being made by the Mills administration since coming to power in the fields of agriculture, housing and education and the positive economic indicators with respect to the reduction in inflation, stabilization of the cedi and the lowering of interest rates.
He announced plans by the government to enhance the National Youth Employment Programme to offer skills training for the youth and also ensure more local participation in the oil and gas industry.
Turning his attention on the party, he expressed concern about divisions in the high echelons of the party, which he said, did not augur well for party unity.
“Divisions in the party have already seeped to the grass roots level,” he said and pointed out that the only way the government and the party would function progressively was to manage its disagreements and strive for consensus building.
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