President John Dramani Mahama has commended the Volta River Authority (VRA) for its swift response to the recent fire outbreak at the Akosombo control room, describing the incident as an opportunity to modernise the ageing facility.
During a visit to assess the damage and ongoing recovery efforts at Akosombo on April 30, the President expressed sympathy over the incident but praised the technical team for restoring power generation within a short time.
“We heard about the sad event, the fire outbreak in your control room, and of course, Ghanaians have felt the impact,” he said, adding that the Authority’s response reflected strong institutional capacity.
“I’m not surprised because VRA has some of the best human resources you can get anywhere. When I heard they were going to find a way of bringing it back, I was not surprised,” he stated.
Mr Mahama described the fire as unfortunate but significant, given the age of the facility.
“This is an act of God because who would have expected that a control room that has been there since 1964 would experience this kind of fire?” he noted.
He said the incident now creates room for improvement and long-term upgrades.
“They say adversity is an opportunity. Now that this has happened, it allows us to replace it with a more modern control room that will serve this plant for generations to come,” he added.
The President revealed that progress has already been made in restoring operations at the plant.
“I have been briefed that four of the turbines are back on, and work is ongoing to bring the remaining two back online. I am told more good news will follow soon,” he said.
He further commended staff of the VRA and its partners for their efforts, encouraging them to sustain the momentum towards full restoration.
“VRA will continue to be one of the foremost institutions, together with the Ghana Grid Company, and government will continue to support you,” he assured.
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