Na Who Cause Am?
In a recent Parliamentary address on June 5, 2025, former Finance Minister Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam attempted to shift blame for Ghana’s growing energy sector debt onto the previous NDC administration, boldly asking: “Na who cause am?” But while Dr. Amin Adam defends the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) performance, a closer look at the facts paints a different picture — one that shows the NPP government significantly worsened the energy sector’s financial crisis, not inherited it.
1. “Take-or-Pay” Contracts: A Misrepresented Narrative
Dr. Amin Adam cited “take-or-pay” contracts signed under the John Mahama-led NDC government between 2012 and 2016 as the root cause of the current energy sector debt. While it’s true that such contracts were signed to address the crippling power crisis (popularly known as dumsor), the circumstances and intent were contextually justified.
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Fact: Between 2012 and 2016, Ghana was undergoing a severe energy crisis due to outdated infrastructure, a lack of fuel for thermal plants, and water shortages for hydropower generation. The “take-or-pay” model was a globally accepted emergency measure to attract private capital and power producers — necessary to restore power stability.
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Fact: In 2015, the Mahama government added over 800 MW of power capacity, including Karpower, AMERI, and Cenpower. These were vital to ending dumsor by late 2016. The real issue was not the contracts themselves, but how the incoming NPP government managed them.
2. The NPP’s Role in Exacerbating the Energy Debt
The Akufo-Addo administration, in power since 2017, failed to renegotiate most of the take-or-pay agreements or make strategic use of excess capacity — yet continued to commit to new power deals, many of which were also take-or-pay.
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Fact: According to the 2022 Energy Sector Recovery Programme (ESRP) report, the NPP government entered into new agreements totaling 1,200 MW, most of which were not immediately required. The IMF and World Bank flagged these additions as unnecessary and fiscally irresponsible.
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Fact: The Ministry of Finance’s 2023 Energy Sector Debt Report states that between 2017 and 2023, the energy sector debt more than doubled from $2.4 billion to over $5 billion — due to unpaid subsidies, fuel costs, and mismanagement under the NPP’s watch.
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Fact: The World Bank warned in 2020 that Ghana’s energy sector faced a “financial time bomb” due to the NPP government’s refusal to enforce cost-reflective tariffs while continuing to sign more contracts and subsidize electricity prices through borrowing.
3. Misuse of ESLA Funds and Revenue Claims
Dr. Amin Adam criticized the Energy Sector Levies (Amendment) Bill, 2025 — nicknamed the “Dumsor Levy” — as exploitative. But his argument conveniently ignores the NPP’s own mismanagement of the Energy Sector Levies Act (ESLA) funds.
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Fact: Between 2017 and 2022, the Akufo-Addo administration collected over GH₵20 billion under ESLA — but less than 40% was used for energy debt clearance. The rest was reportedly used for budget support or parked in the now-defunct ESLA PLC bond program, which lacked transparency and yielded little impact on the core debt.
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Fact: In 2021, the IMANI Centre for Policy & Education reported that energy sector levies were not ring-fenced, and that government borrowing against future levies worsened the debt problem rather than solving it.
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Fact: If the NPP had indeed terminated ESLA PLC in 2024 and gained access to full revenues, as Dr. Amin Adam claims, it begs the question: Why was Ghana still facing a $3.1 billion debt at the end of 2024? The simple answer — misallocation, arrears to IPPs (Independent Power Producers), and refusal to adjust tariffs for cost recovery.
4. The IMF’s 2024 Energy Sector Diagnostic Confirms the Truth
In its latest program with Ghana (under the $3 billion bailout), the IMF published a detailed Energy Sector Diagnostic in 2024. The report clearly outlined the major drivers of Ghana’s ballooning energy sector debt as:
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Post-2017 accumulation of arrears to IPPs;
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Non-payment of subsidies by the Ministry of Finance;
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Failure to restructure or cancel unutilized PPAs signed by the NPP;
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Tariff shortfalls and political interference in price setting;
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Excess fuel costs not budgeted for.
The report made it clear: “While some legacy challenges remain, the bulk of the current energy sector liabilities stem from poor financial discipline and a lack of political will to implement reforms between 2017 and 2023.”
Conclusion: Accountability, Not Propaganda
So, “Na who cause am?” The facts speak for themselves. Ghana’s current energy sector debt crisis is not simply a legacy issue — it is a crisis worsened by the inaction, mismanagement, and policy inconsistencies of the NPP government.
Blaming the Mahama administration without acknowledging the missteps between 2017 and 2024 is disingenuous. Rather than turning Parliament into a theatre of blame games, leaders like Dr. Amin Adam should support comprehensive reforms, transparent energy sector management, and a rethinking of how Ghana finances its power needs sustainably.
Let’s move past the slogans. Ghana deserves the truth — and accountability.
Sources:
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Energy Sector Recovery Programme (ESRP), 2022
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Ghana Ministry of Finance Energy Sector Debt Report, 2023
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IMF Energy Sector Diagnostic Report, 2024
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World Bank Ghana Energy Review, 2020
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IMANI Policy Brief on ESLA, 2021