Government committed to Green Ghana, EV projects — Deputy Energy Minister

The Deputy Minister of Energy, John Sanie, says the government will create the right environment and the necessary infrastructure to ensure the viability of e-mobility and make it a reality in the country.

According to him, to realise this objective, the state increased its power generation to 2000 megawatts, with renewable energy accounting for 34.65 per cent of the electricity mix.

“Ghana is suitable for the introduction of Plug-in Electric Vehicle (PEVS) and the government has set out a waiver of import duties on EVs designated for public transportation for eight years,” he stated.

He made these comments as the guest speaker of the maiden EV Revolution Africa Mobility International Conference held at the Movenpick Ambassador Hotel in Accra last Tuesday.

He said the government will scale up the four EV level two charging stations currently in Accra to other regions and work assiduously to reduce the cost of EV vehicles.

“Electric vehicles represent the future of transportation, which is already with us. We have no choice but to step up and be counted,” he stated.

Propelling e-mobility sector

The CEO of Cubica Energy, Lesley Arthur, whose outfit organised the event, noted it will propel the e-mobility sector while creating awareness of the emergence of the industry in the country.

“We seek to ensure that Africa will not be left behind this time in this new initiative and developing industry of EV mobility vehicles,” she stated.

She added that Ghana can reap the needed economic benefits from EV vehicles while achieving the required carbon objectives for a cleaner environment.

A former CEO and chairman of the Volta River Authority (VRA), Kweku Awotwi, charged the private sector to lead the EV revolution by creating an avenue for entrepreneurs to collaborate and advocate for both local and foreign partners to realise an e-mobility industry in the country.

“Africa is the fastest growing demographic and it is predicted to reach 1.5 billion in population in 2050, which calls for the need for mobility solutions. Companies must look at manufacturing e-mobility locally and collaboration is key in the private sector,” he stated.

He entreated local e-mobility companies to overlook the bureaucracy in the government sector and create a synergy for an effective take-off of the e-mobility industry.

Incentives

The United Nations Resident Coordinator, Charles Abani, called on the government to offer incentives to companies in the e-mobility business to encourage them to make affordable vehicles to ensure motorists flip to environmentally friendly vehicles such as e-mobility vehicles.

He encouraged the training of the Ghanaian youth in electronic mobility to foster a faster understanding of the industry among the youth.

“Building skills through educational outfits such as Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) is an opportunity to inculcate in the youth the emergence of e-mobility vehicles.

He further revealed that the electronic vehicle market is expected to reach 1.5 trillion in a decade and challenged Ghana to take advantage of the growth of the e-mobility industry to create its own industry.