Charles McCarthy Defends Government’s Handling of Energy Sector, Blasts NPP’s Criticism

Managing Editor of Hawk Newspaper, Charles McCarthy, has strongly defended the government’s handling of Ghana’s energy sector challenges, while criticizing the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) over what he described as selective memory and misplaced accusations.

Speaking on the ongoing power crisis at Kessben Maakye show, McCarthy argued that the NPP inherited an energy sector debt of about GH¢10 billion but left office with liabilities rising to nearly GH¢70 billion, raising concerns over the management of the sector during their administration.

According to him, several major energy projects, including the Ameri Plant, the Karpower initiative, the Aboadze Thermal Plant, and the Sino Hydro project, were initiated under the National Democratic Congress (NDC). He claimed that the only notable project undertaken by the NPP was the Bui Plant under former President John Agyekum Kufuor.

McCarthy further alleged that the Ameri Plant was relocated to Kumasi and rebranded as the Kumasi Industrial Power Plant, with government reportedly spending about GH¢36 million on transportation alone.

He also accused the previous administration of collateralizing the Energy Sector Levy ( ESLA) and criticized opposition voices for condemning the current government while overlooking past decisions.

Touching on the current power interruptions, McCarthy referenced earlier assurances by to he sector minister , John Jinapor that some transformers were being changed, which contributed to the temporary outages.

He described the recent incident at Akosombo as a technical failure rather than an “act of God,” adding that the challenge could serve as an opportunity to modernize the country’s energy infrastructure.

Responding to calls from some opposition figures for the Energy Minister to resign, McCarthy dismissed the demand, questioning whether critics had forgotten past events such as the Akosombo flooding when the then energy minister Matthew Opoku Prempeh insisted that if the victims are factored in the national budget for relief, he would stage a demonstration against it. Again on the same issue, the ex-president boldly said he had not wanted to show solidarity to the victims because they don’t vote for him.

He also challenged the NPP to account for the number of transformers they were able to replace during their tenure, insisting that the current administration must be given room to address inherited problems.

McCarthy urged policymakers to think ahead and invest in cheaper and more sustainable energy sources, stressing the importance of long-term planning for Ghana’s energy future.

He concluded by criticizing what he called “weak accountability arguments,” saying some individuals lack the credibility to speak on the sector given their own track records.