True, Akufo-Addo’s administration has so far improved access to electricity by 5.6%

The Minister of State designate at the Ministry of Energy, Herbert Krapa has rejected claims that the incumbent Akufo-Addo administration has abandoned electrification projects of the previous government adding that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government has increased Electricity coverage by 5% since coming into office in 2017.

Mr Krapa, who was recently announced as Energy minister-designate by President Akufo-Addo, is reported to have made the claim yesterday, July 4, 2024.

Minister of state designate for the Energy Ministry, Herbert Krapa says Pres. Akufo-Addo’s administration has increased electricity coverage by 5% since assuming office, and rejects assertions that government abandoned electrification projects started by the Mahama… pic.twitter.com/0rq1dtcQC3

— GHOne TV (@ghonetv) July 4, 2024

Fact-Check Ghana has been asked by many people under the social media posts of Accra-based GHOne, who reported the story, to verify the minister designate’s claim. Some social media users have labelled the minister-designate’s claim as false.

Fact-Check Ghana has verified the claim and presents the facts below.

Claim: The Nana Addo administration has increased electricity coverage by 5% since assuming office in 2017.

Verdict: Mostly true

Explanation:

The Energy Commission of Ghana publishes the Energy Statistics report annually. The report among other things presents the growth in the national population electricity access rate

Using the Energy Statistics report, Fact-Check Ghana tracked the national population electricity access rate growth since the NPP came into office in 2017.

By the end of 2016 when the erstwhile John Mahama administration was leaving office, the electricity access rate was 83.2%. The latest Energy statistics report which was published in 2023 for the period of 2022 reported the national population electricity access rate to be 88.8%. The difference between the electricity access rate as of 2016 (83.2%) and 2022 (88.8%) is 5.6%. The figure may change when the 2024 Energy statistics report which will cover the previous year is published provided more access was added in 2023.

Below is a table presentation of how much the Akufo-Addo administration has added to electricity access:

Source: Energy Commission

From the data above, the minister-designate’s claim that the NPP has increased electricity coverage by 5% since 2017 is true.

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