Power Outages Stall Ghana SMEs Growth
By Savious Kwinika
Accra — SMALL and Medium Enterprises (SME) in Ghana have bemoaned the incessant power blackouts saying they were affecting viability.
They expressed concern in interviews with CAJ News during the tour of Accra, Ghana.
Fish retailer, Oscar Nuamah, said power outages hampered his project.
"My simple request to the Ghanaian government is to build new hydro-electric power station that will never fail the nation, otherwise the economy will be rendered stagnant.
"The government should prioritise energy as key economic driver for Ghana," Nuamah said.
Muhammed Sulemani, whose business thrives on selling refrigerated meat acquired from surrounding farms, echoed his sentiments, stressing on the need for consistent power supply.
"I buy cattle, pigs and sheep for slaughter, but when there is no power after slaughtering these animals, I end up losing big business since the meat will rot.
"This is why I pray that our government would start finding ways of generating adequate power for the nation," Sulemani said.
Several other SMEs said the country had potential to increase or double productivity for 2015 provided the electricity challenge was resolved.
Ghana, like any other African countries such as South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, among others, encounter power outages.
This is a negative development economists say hinders growth and sustainability.
Accra — SMALL and Medium Enterprises (SME) in Ghana have bemoaned the incessant power blackouts saying they were affecting viability.
They expressed concern in interviews with CAJ News during the tour of Accra, Ghana.
Fish retailer, Oscar Nuamah, said power outages hampered his project.
"My simple request to the Ghanaian government is to build new hydro-electric power station that will never fail the nation, otherwise the economy will be rendered stagnant.
"The government should prioritise energy as key economic driver for Ghana," Nuamah said.
Muhammed Sulemani, whose business thrives on selling refrigerated meat acquired from surrounding farms, echoed his sentiments, stressing on the need for consistent power supply.
"I buy cattle, pigs and sheep for slaughter, but when there is no power after slaughtering these animals, I end up losing big business since the meat will rot.
"This is why I pray that our government would start finding ways of generating adequate power for the nation," Sulemani said.
Several other SMEs said the country had potential to increase or double productivity for 2015 provided the electricity challenge was resolved.
Ghana, like any other African countries such as South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, among others, encounter power outages.
This is a negative development economists say hinders growth and sustainability.
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