SPEECH DELIVERED BY THE HON MINISTER OF ENERGY,
DR. J. OTENG-ADJEI ON THE OCCASION OF THE SIGNING OF AN AGREEMENT
FOR THE SUPPLY OF ELECTRICAL CABLES AND CONDUCTORS FOR THE
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SELF – HELP ELECTRIFICATION PROGRAMME
ON 10TH NOVEMBER 2011
Deputy Ministers present
Representatives of Tropical Cables and Conductor Ltd
Representatives of Nexans Kabelmetal (Gh) Limited
Representatives of Reroy Cables Limited
Directors and Heads of Units Present
Ladies and Gentlemen of the Media
Distinguished Invited Guests.
I am happy to welcome you all to this morning’s signing ceremony.
There has been gradual growth of interest globally in the generation and use of local and open
knowledge whereby involvement of local companies is paramount. Ghana cannot afford to
remain indifferent to this development. Ghana largely lags behind when it comes to local content
presence on the global scale, yet we have very rich culture, foods, technologies and skills which
can form extremely rich content. These areas can be a great source of income for our jobless
youths if harnessed and used properly. When we talk about local content and especially
indigenous knowledge, what comes into mind is something traditional or outdated but note that
the technologies we have today, be they of external or local origin, have been built on these
foundations. Hence it is critical and very important to preserve indigenous knowledge which has
been proven to beneficially work.
It is in the light of the above that I am pleased to be representing Government in today’s
function. A function that is showcasing the commitment of the NDC Government to local
content in all its activities. Thanks for being part of this occasion.
A major objective of the Government’s poverty reduction and growth agenda is the extension of
electricity infrastructure to support the operation of productive ventures, social projects and
activities, especially in the rural areas. The vehicle for attaining this objective is the National
Electrification Scheme (NES). It is anticipated that the extension of electricity will be a source
of accelerated growth, poverty reduction and general prosperity to the people of Ghana. The
active involvement of Ghanaians in the extension of electricity to rural areas, through local
content and participation, has become a major policy issue for the Ministry.
The NES which commenced in 1990 aims at extending the reach of reliable electricity supply to
all parts of the country over a 30-year period. Complementary to the NES is the Self-Help
Electrification Programme (SHEP), under which communities are to be connected to the national
electricity grid provided they satisfy the following three (3) conditions:
1. That they fall within 20km radius of an existing medium voltage (MV) network;
2. That they have provided the requisite Low Voltage (LV) electric poles for the project and
3. That they have wired at least one third (1/3) of their houses.
The Ministry of Energy is currently implementing some electrification projects under the SHEP
which are spread across of the country.
It is to be noted that installation works under the SHEP are on-going in various communities and
are at various stages of completion. And it is expected that the early procurement of electrical
cables and conductors would ensure the completion of these electrification projects in most of
the communities before the end of the year.
The number of communities and the respective regions where on-going projects are to be
completed under this programme are as follows:
Region
No. of communities
Ashanti
Central
Eastern
Volta
Western
Brong Ahafo
Northern
Upper East
Upper West
Total
98
130
75
39
88
145
38
36
140
789
In order to complete projects, and mindful of the fact that Local Companies must play lead roles
where possible in Government Projects, the Ministry of Energy, together with Ministry of
Finance and Economic Planning evaluated financial proposals from local manufacturers of
electrical cables and conductors, namely Nexans Kabelmetal (Gh) Limited, Reroy Cables
Limited and Tropical Cable and Conductor Limited. After obtaining approvals from Cabinet,
Parliament, the Procurement Authority and having conducted a-value-for-money audit these
three Local Companies have been awarded the contract to supply electrical cables and
conductors to the tune of Eighty Million Ghana Cedis.
This project is being funded by a credit facility from The Trust Bank. It is worth noting that the
Volta Aluminium Company (VALCO), another local entity, is expected to supply molten
aluminium that will be used for the manufacture of these cables and conductors.
This function is therefore to officially sign the agreement that would authorize Tropical Cables
and Conductor Limited, Nexans Kabelmetal (Gh) Limited and Reroy Cables Limited to supply
80 million Ghana Cedis worth electrical cables and conductors.
The hope is that this gesture involving, The Trust Bank, Tropical Cables Conductor Limited,
Nexans Kabelmetal (Gh) Limited, Reroy Cables Limited and VALCO – All Ghanaian businesses
- will help stimulate small and medium scale enterprises, capacitate local entrepreneurs and grow
their respective industries.
Government’s only counsel in this matter is that these companies should seize this opportunity to
tell all and sundry that given the chance the Ghanaian company can deliver on his contract
timeously and at a competitive price. The Ministry on its part will continue to involve Ghanaian
companies in all our activities to actualize the vision of His Excellency the President’s Better
Ghana Agenda.
On this note I wish to congratulate the Tropical Cables and Conductor limited and the other
participating companies for wining this contract and wish them luck in the execution of the
project.
Thank you and God bless us all.