Energy Crisis: Korle-Bu CEO Blames Past Leaders

DR. KWABENA Frimpong Boateng, Chief Executive of Korle Bu Teaching Hospital and one of the presidential aspirants of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has said that Ghana is suffering from leadership crisis.

He said it was unfortunate that as a nation, we continue to glorify the resources the country is endowed with without practically doing anything to tackle the problem of poverty millions of Ghanaians were grappling with.

For instance, Dr. Frimpong Boateng observed that the energy crisis confronting the country could have been resolved with ease if the country had planned far ahead.

He pointed out that immediately the Akosombo Dam, which is the main supplier of the country's energy was constructed, the leadership of the country should have proactively planned to devise means of generating energy from other sources to augment the dam.

He therefore mentioned wind, solar and geothermal energy as some of the possible energy sources the leadership of our country could have optimized to augment the Akosombo Dam.

As a result, the challenge the country was facing in the energy sector was nothing but lack of competent leaders with skills to tackle issues pragmatically.

To him, "it was time for Ghana to reflect on this and decide on the kind of people who should lead the country, instead of the crisis that has engulfed the country through leaders who have all failed the country while we continue to depend on foreign aid", he told a gathering at the @50 symposium in Takoradi over the weekend.

Continuing, Professor Frimpong Boateng called for the establishment of technical and science based universities to help develop the capacity of manufacturing machines for our own domestic use.

He added that the Technical institutions in the country were poorly equipped, and lacked the necessary facilities to handle the manufacturing of machines to cater for the country's domestic use.

On his part, the Corporate Affairs and Social Development Manager of Goldfields Ghana, Mr. Tony Aubyn whose speech was read on his behalf, suggested the establishment of a Regional Development Finance Institution that would provide financial support for viable projects within the Region and improve on mining which, according to him, was basically the hub of the economic fortunes of the Region.

He however cautioned the people of Western Region against negative attitude towards work and advised against chieftaincy disputes adding that all efforts must be placed on deck to develop the Region.

The theme for the symposium which brought sons and daughters of the Region together, as well as some government officials, was "Western Region@50: The way forward".