Parliament’s Committee on Energy has urged Aburi New Energy Company Limited (ANECL), a Free Zones company that manufactures solar panels, to consider supplying their products to the local market.
According to the committee there was a growing demand for renewable energy in Ghana and the company must pay attention to that.
The committee made the call during a visit to the company’s factory, located opposite the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) yesterday, to gain first-hand knowledge of its operations.
Currently, the company exports 100 per cent of its solar panels to the United States, despite the Ghana Free Zones policy framework, which requires companies to export 70 per cent of production and reserve 30 per cent for the local market.
Speaking to the media after a tour of the facility and discussions with management, the Chairman of the committee, Mr Emmanuel Kwesi Bedzrah, said the company’s exports contributed positively to Ghana’s economy through foreign exchange earnings and job creation.
He explained that the committee would engage the company on supplying the local market after it obtains certification from the Energy Commission and the Ghana Standards Authority.
“For now, it is not mandatory that they should produce for the local market. Even though it is in our laws that they should have 70 per cent and 30 per cent, it not mandatory. So, for now they are satisfying the international market and they are waiting for the Energy Commission and the Ghana Standards Authority, then they can start producing the 30 per cent for the local market,” Mr Bedzrah said.
Mr Bedzrah also urged the company to prioritise the safety and health of its workers, noting that the committee observed limited availability of some safety equipment, including hand gloves, during the tour.
For his part, a freight forwarder and partner of the company, Mr Bismark Laweh Ocansey, identified delays in cargo clearance at the ports and tariffs on imported raw materials as major challenges facing the company.
He explained that the 4 p.m. clearance deadline for Free Zones companies often resulted in delays and additional costs.
Mr Ocansey appealed to the government to allow Free Zones companies to operate around the clock or extend the clearance period from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.
He also called for tax exemptions on imported raw materials to help make the company’s solar panels more accessible to the local market.
The Deputy Director in charge of Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency at the Energy Commission, Mr Ken Frederick Appiah, in his remark said some have justified that the taxes on raw materials could be used for other products.
He explained that such taxes on raw materials made it impossible for companies to compete with the local market.
FROM BENJAMIN ARCTON-TETTEY, TEMA
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