Did Jubilee House forget to go solar by August? – Ablakwa quizzes government

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) MP for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, is questioning whether the seat of government, Jubilee House, has switched to solar power as promised by the President.

President Akufo-Addo in the 2019 State of the Nation Address to Parliament in February, assured that the Jubilee House will by August this year be powered by solar energy as an example to other public institutions.

As a cost-cutting measure, he said government’s target is to install up to 200 megawatts of distributed solar power by 2030 in both residential and non-residential facilities.

This, he believes, will reduce government’s liabilities to the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).

With August just ended, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa is asking whether this promise has been fulfilled.

According to him, the President did not only made the assurance in Ghana but “has since repeated the refreshing pledge at several international fora including quite recently at the R20 Austrian World Summit on Climate Change, specifically, on Tuesday 28th May, 2019.”

“This promise has generated considerable interest both home and within the international community,” he added.

The Ranking Member on Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee said the promise “is being followed keenly particularly because our President is Co-Chair of the UN Secretary-General’s Eminent Group of Sustainable Development Goals Advocates where he is expected to lead by example on such matters especially as regards SDG 7 and 13.”

He wants government to update the citizenry and the world with the progress made regarding the “important promise.”

“Having gone past the August deadline without any information on this important promise, I would hope that the Akufo-Addo-led government will urgently provide the much-needed update to, first of all, apprise Ghanaians on the status of this presidential declaration.

“And then to avoid environmental activists and climate change advocates all over the world embarrassing the President and our country at the President’s next international engagement on the SDGs,” he stated.