Vice President of the policy think tank IMANI Africa, Bright Simons, has raised concerns about Ghana’s long-term energy strategy following the commissioning of the LPG carrier MT Asharami Ghana by President John Dramani Mahama in South Korea.
The vessel, a 40,000-cubic-metre liquefied petroleum gas carrier built by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and owned by Sahara Group, was unveiled in Ulsan as part of efforts to strengthen Ghana’s LPG supply chain and support the country’s clean cooking ambitions.
But Simons argues that the milestone masks deeper structural weaknesses in Ghana’s gas policy framework.
In an extensive analysis of Ghana’s LNG and LPG sector, he said the country’s energy planning has been shaped by what he describes as “katanomics” — a system in which political commitments frequently outpace the institutional capacity required to implement them.
According to him, the country’s history with liquefied natural gas projects illustrates this disconnect. The Tema LNG terminal, which has been physically completed for years, is yet to receive a commercial cargo despite repeated commissioning announcements dating back to 2016.
Simons noted that Ghana has already paid heavily for failed energy agreements, citing arbitration awards running into hundreds of millions of dollars for projects that never delivered gas or electricity.
He cautioned that while the Asharami Ghana vessel may strengthen LPG imports and supply reliability, it should not be mistaken for a comprehensive solution to Ghana’s energy security challenges.
Simons argued that the key challenge for Ghana’s energy sector is whether the policy environment can sustain long-term infrastructure without being undermined by political and regulatory contradictions.
