Ghana reformed its electricity sector by the book but has lurched from blackouts between 2012 and 2015 to a glut of energy which costs government about 5% of GDP. Fitch ranks the energy sector as the biggest driver of national debt. How did this happen? It’s a classic case of implementing the “standard reform model” – a one-size-fits-all approach – that ignores a country’s political realities.
Ghana is not alone in reforming its electricity sector as it was a key requirement of the “good governance agenda” of the 1990s, nor is it the only country where reforms have caused crises. Rwanda and Mozambique are other examples.
