The rural poor and electricity in Ghana

But less than 60% of the population has access to electricity. This energy poverty has been acute since the 1990s. It’s especially alarming for a country that boasts a resource of a bllion barrels of offshore oil.

The connections between rural development and electrification were noted in a Ministry of Energy report over a decade ago.

In my view, the use of electricity as a tool for political parties is incompa tible with addressing provision to the rural poor. Around 2.99 million people in Ghana live in extreme poverty, themajority in rural areas.

The country’s energy “futures” appear tethered to donor-driven aid and investment. The political wherewithal or impetus to develop a framework that meets differing energy needs remains absent, as I demonstrate in my work.