VRA Boss (Right) recieves plaque from Mr Anane of ACID (Left)
THE
VOLTA River Authority (VRA) has through the West African Power Pool (WAPP)
priority project, begun preparations towards the supply of power to Mali and
its environs in the Sahel Region by 2023.
The
project which was approved in 2011 and funded by the European Commission consists
of establishing a regional power interconnection line of about 800km linking
Tumu-Bolga in northern Ghana to Sikasso-Bamako in Mali through Bobo-Dioulasso
of Burkina Faso.
This
is to allow for power exchanges between coastal countries with access to
cheaper energy resources and landlocked Sahelian countries, which in effect
will contribute to the creation of a regional network and market for energy in
West Africa in the medium to long term.
Chief
Executive Officer of VRA, Emmanuel Antwi Darkwa, who granted an interview after
receiving an integrity award at the maiden Annual Public Service Excellence
awards on Friday, said; “Once that is done, we will supply power to Mali, and
once we get to Mali then we are in Senegal, once we are in Senegal we are in Guinea
and once in Guinea then we are in Liberia through Sierra Leone, Cote D’ ivoire
and then back to Ghana.”
He
indicated that the VRA was poised to become a dominant power supplier in the
West African Sub region as it had an efficient modus operandi, comparative
advantage in indigenous power generation and also currently exports power to Burkina
Faso, Togo and Benin.
“We
are not going to limit ourselves to only Ghana because we have provided a solid
foundation for economic growth as we have power available and we want to look
beyond Ghana,” he said.
The
awards scheme was initiated by the Africa Centre for Integrity and Development
(ACID), a civil society organization that is focused on strengthening systems
of integrity in the country.
Spokesperson
for ACID, Francis Anane said that the decision to commend the CEO of VRA was
based on the performance of the organization which had made enormous
contributions in terms of its power generation and supply to Ghanaians and also
its corporate social responsibility.
“We
have also seen the quality of leadership in the set up of VRA and so wanted to
award them for their leadership role and also set an example for the youth,” he
said.
By Issah Mohammed
