By: Franklin ASARE-DONKOH
The Finance Minister, Dr Cassiel Ato Baah Forson, says power instability across Africa continues to impose heavy economic losses and weaken manufacturing competitiveness.
According to him, Africa loses an estimated US$25 billion annually due to power outages, describing the situation as a major constraint on productivity and value addition.
“We cannot industrialise in darkness. Energy remains central to Africa’s transformation. Yet over 600 million Africans still lack access to electricity. Africa collectively loses an estimated US$25 billion annually through power outages,” he said.
Speaking at the Ishmael Yamson & Associates Business Roundtable on Thursday, May 28, 2026, Dr Forson said Ghana understands the continent’s energy challenges and is targeting 3,000 megawatts of additional installed generation capacity by 2030 to support industrial growth and stability.
According to him, the government’s energy expansion agenda is central to its industrialisation drive.
“President John Dramani Mahama recently announced that the government of Ghana is building 1,200 megawatts. Our goal is to achieve 3,000 megawatts of additional installed capacity by 2030. Of this, 30% of this will be renewables.”
Dr Forson stressed that the continent’s resource base makes the energy deficit unacceptable, given its endowment in gas, hydro, solar, wind, and critical minerals.
“This is unacceptable, in fact, in a continent endowed with abundant gas, hydro, solar, wind, and critical minerals required for the global energy transition.
How can Africa speak meaningfully about industrialisation without reliable and affordable power?” he asked.
The finance minister pointed out that the next phase of Africa’s industrial transformation will depend on shifting from raw exports to value addition across key commodities.
“The next quarter of a century will therefore become Africa’s industrial century, not just extracting lithium, but refining lithium, not just exporting bauxite, but producing aluminium, not just exporting cocoa, but processing and building competitive value addition and value chain,” he said.
Dr. Forson added that energy reliability is not only an infrastructure issue but a prerequisite for industrial competitiveness and job creation.
He also highlighted trade integration under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as a complementary driver of growth, noting its potential to reshape intra-African commerce and describing trade integration is an economic survival strategy.
