Koforidua: President John Dramani Mahama has commended engineers of the Volta River Authority (VRA) and the Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo) for their dedication and technical ingenuity in restoring the Akosombo Hydroelectric Dam to full operation. The President gave the commendation at the 2026 May Day celebration held at Jackson Park, Koforidua, in the Eastern Region.
According to Ghana News Agency, President Mahama shared his recent visit to the Akosombo Dam, where he inspected the damage caused by a devastating fire in the Switchyard Control Room. Despite the disruptions to the electricity supply, he announced that the engineers from GRIDCo and VRA had successfully bypassed the damaged control room and restarted all six turbines, bringing the dam back to full operation as of last night.
The President used the occasion to celebrate the engineers' tireless efforts, describing them as a testament to Ghanaian workers being the nation's most valuable asset. His visit to the region forms part of a two-day 'Resetting Ghana Tour,' set to conclude with a town hall meeting in Koforidua. This meeting will gather students, artisans, teachers, nurses, traders, and traditional and religious leaders from across the region.
Addressing the theme for this year's May Day celebration, 'Pivoting to Growth, Jobs and Sustainable Livelihoods: Resetting Ghana Beyond Macroeconomic Stability,' President Mahama highlighted the roadmap of his administration. He detailed the government's priorities upon taking office, which included stabilizing the economy by addressing currency depreciation, inflation, interest rates, and fiscal discipline.
President Mahama reported significant progress in these areas, noting that the country has restored fiscal discipline, reduced inflationary pressures, stabilized the cedi, lowered interest rates, and renewed investor confidence. While acknowledging that the gains were modest, he emphasized their importance as a turning point for the economy, marking a transition from recovery to transformation and from economic fragility to resilience.
The President stressed that macroeconomic stability, while necessary, was not an end in itself. He highlighted the importance of building on this stable foundation to move from surviving to thriving, and from debt distress to economic surplus. With the restoration of macroeconomic stability under the Resetting Ghana Agenda, the government is now focused on aggressively pursuing growth and job creation, reaffirming its commitment to expanding the economy and improving living standards for all Ghanaians.