Ghana: Joint Effort Crucial In COVID-19 Fight-GRIDCo CEO

The Chief Executive Officer of Ghana’s power transmission company (GRIDCo), Ing. Jonathan Amoako-Baah says a collective global approach to tackling the Coronavirus pandemic is what will help the world win the fight.

COVID-19 cases continue to escalate across the world and Africa whilst the death toll does not appear to be easing anytime soon.

In Ghana, despite the rise in the total number of cases, there is general acceptance that the measures put in place by the government are making a huge difference and will go a long way to contain the spread.

Recently, the government extended a two-week lockdown of key cities in the country by another week, as it looks to flatten the curve of spread.

The West African nation has recorded 641 cases with eight deaths and 83 recoveries.

Contributing to a Utilities Crisis Management Webinar organised by the Utility CEO Forum and Smart Energy International, Ing. Jonathan Amoako-Baah said: “What is before us is a pandemic of ancient Egyptian proportions. Whilst the entire globe is threatened throughout every facet of its life, there’s an opportunity for us to come together to fight this. It is only the collective effort that will put this behind us; otherwise, we stand a chance of facing even greater challenges ahead.”

As a leader of an essential services company in Ghana, Ing. Jonathan’s job is quite cut out for him and he remains poised to steer the ship in the right direction.

“The situation has impacted majority in the power sector including GRIDCo; especially in the area of key projects that are crucial to maintaining an efficient grid system. However, we are looking to leverage opportunities and mitigate the challenges posed by the pandemic in order to strengthen our business model for a much better outlook. I want to also urge everyone to continue following the laid down precautions and measures in place in order for us to fight this head on and win,” he added.

The Webinar explored the readiness of the African power sector in dealing with the pandemic. Participants in the sector shared experiences in handling their operations in the midst of the pandemic and also embraced several best practices from industry experts.