REMARKS BY THE HONOURABLE MINISTER FOR ENERGY, PROF. MIKE OCQUAYE AT THE OPENING OF THE 15TH UPDEA CONGRESS AND EXHIBITION, SCHEDULED FOR JUNE 7, 2005

Your Excellency, The President of Ghana,
The Chairperson of the African Union Commission,
The president of UPDEA
The Secretary General UP-DEA,
Ministers of State,
Colleague Members of Parliament,
Honorable Members of the Council of State,
Members of the Diplomatic Corps,
Heads and Chief Executives of various Corporate Institutions,
Nii Mei, Naa mei,
Members of the Media,
Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen:

It is a pleasure for me to be part of this occasion which marks the opening of the 15th Congress and Exhibition for the Union of Producers, Transporters and Distributors of Electric Power in Africa (UPDEA).

First of all, let me extend my warmest welcome to all of you especially to those who are visiting Ghana for the first time.
Ghanaians are known to be exceptionally warm and friendly people and it is my expectation that you will have the opportunity to enjoy the proverbial hospitality before you leave Ghana.

We at the Ministry of Energy are privileged to be part of such an important Congress which has brought together expert in the fields of electric power generation, transmission and distribution. I am also advised that at the end of this Congress, Ghana will assume the leadership of this important institution next three years. I wish to place on record that as the Minister of Energy, I pledge my support to ensure that the objectives to be set during our tenure are fully met.

Mr. Chairman, a major benefit of a congress such as this is the opportunity it offers for a dialogue in finding solutions to electricity supply problems in Africa. It also provides platform for operators in the energy industry, academics and other specialists to deliberate on the pressing issues in the energy sector in our various countries with experts from other international institutions such as the United Nations, World Energy Council, the African Union, ECOWAS, and the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) inintiative.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the theme for the Congress namely: "Access to Electricity for all peoples of Africa through a pooloing of energy resources" is highly relevant and is a perspective the Government of Ghana shares. The issue of access to modern forms of energy is one that confronts all the Governments in Africa and is considered to be one of the major obstacles to the development of the African continent. Clearly, if we have to meet our developmental aspirations, then we need to confront the issues on energy. We in the Ministry of Energy are pursuing a path that will ensure that adequate, competitively priced and reliable energy is available to support the Government's economic and development objectives.

Your Excellency Mr. President, the economic objectives of our Government in the short to medium term revolve around private sector development, human resource development and good governance. The provision of energy is central to the achievement of these objectives. Consequently we are in the process of implementing programmes to assure the accessibility and availability of energy for development. Over the past 13 years, we have pursued an aggressive electrification programme that has resulted in a significant increase in access to electricity. Our objective is to ensure that access is increased from the present level of about 60% to universal coverage in the next 15 years.

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, in our global world today, the provision of electricity is better carried out in partnership with others.
That is the reason why the Government of Ghana has taken a leadership role in the sub regional initiatives on Energy namely, the West African Gas Pipeline Project and the West African Power pool project. These two projects have the potential to transform the economies of the participating countries. For Ghana in particular, when the West African Gas Pipeline Project delivers natural gas to the Takoradi Power Station in early 2007, we shall have more cost effective fuel for power generation to support our manufacturing and industrial sectors and consequently make them more competitive in the sub regional and the larger world market.

Ladies and Gentlemen, our efforts at energy provision are not restricted to the extension of the national grid alone. We are also exploring other renewable forms such as solar, small to medium scale hydro, wind and others. These forms of energy are not only indigenous and create employment, but also afford our rural folk who live in the remotest parts of the Country access to modern forms of energy.

Ladies and Gentlemen, while those of us in Africa are endowed with abundant energy resources it is regrettable that our people continue to live in poverty. The challenge for us is to cooperate and develop regional projects such as the Inga in the Democratic republic of Congo or Felou in Mali. It has become increasingly clear that given our small and fragile economies and small power markets, we cannot develop our energy resources alone. The importance of sub regional projects then cannot be overemphasized.

His Excellency Mr. President, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, the solution to electricity accessibility in Africa lies in renewed commitment to pooling our energy resources for development. It is my view that UPDEA is ideally placed to build productive partnerships with Governments, sub regional bodies such as ECOWAS or COMESA as well as other international institutions to develop projects and also address the pressing issues of rural poverty.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the Government of Ghana is committed to ensuring the availability , adequacy and reliability of energy supply to meet economic growth. The creation of the enabling environment to meet economic growth. The creation of the enabling environment to attract local and foreign capital into the energy sector is indeed a real challenge for all of us. It is also a challenge that demands active collaboration and enormous ingenuity. Your presence here assures me that it is a challenge that is surmountable.

Mr. Chairman, Distinguished Guests, it is my singular privilege to once again welcome you to Ghana. And also wish you fruitful deliberations.

God bless you all.