Ghana’s Electric Dreams
Features employees of the Volta Aluminium Company, the main beneficiary of Akosombo power
Ghana’s Electric Dreams
Features employees of the Volta Aluminium Company, the main beneficiary of Akosombo power
Ghana’s Electric Dreams
Features employees of the Volta Aluminium Company, the main beneficiary of Akosombo power
This episode of Ghana’s Electric Dreams features residents of two rural communities who share their experiences of “waiting for light.” Since the completion of the Akosombo Dam in 1965, some Ghanaians have waited for decades for the promised “electricity for all.” The film visits residents of Besease and Hweehwee, small towns in the Eastern Region of the country, who eagerly share their stories. They explain how communities organized to get connected to the power grid, and how electricity impacted men and women very differently. Dr. Rose Mensah-Kutin, gender advocate and journalist, explains the complexities and contradictions of this ambitious development project. Her wry analysis provides a political lens through which to understand how rural people strive to improve their living standards with the modernizing power of electrification.
This episode of Ghana’s Electric Dreams explores the unique relationship between the Volta Aluminum Company (VALCO), and the government of Ghana, as the country strives for energy independence and industrialization. A subsidiary of Kaiser based in California, VALCO was the main beneficiary of the electricity generated by Akosombo and provided revenues that enabled the financing of the dam. Its smelter enjoyed below market rates for electricity, making the enterprise extremely profitable. VALCO offered its largely Ghanaian workforce high wages and an American-style corporate culture offering security and benefits, to the envy of many Ghanaians, during years of political instability and economic hardship. Former VALCO workers and managers explain to what extent the company delivered on these promises, and how workers organized to improve their situation.
This episode of Ghana’s Electric Dreams explores the unique relationship between the Volta Aluminum Company (VALCO), and the government of Ghana, as the country strives for energy independence and industrialization. A subsidiary of Kaiser based in California, VALCO was the main beneficiary of the electricity generated by Akosombo and provided revenues that enabled the financing of the dam. Its smelter enjoyed below market rates for electricity, making the enterprise extremely profitable. VALCO offered its largely Ghanaian workforce high wages and an American-style corporate culture offering security and benefits, to the envy of many Ghanaians, during years of political instability and economic hardship. Former VALCO workers and managers explain to what extent the company delivered on these promises, and how workers organized to improve their situation.