IMANI Africa Vice President cites high electricity costs, water supply concerns and lessons from past technology projects, urging government to subject the initiative to rigorous scrutiny
Vice President of IMANI Africa, Bright Simons, has challenged the feasibility of Ghana’s proposed artificial intelligence (AI) compute centre, raising concerns about electricity costs, reliable power supply, water requirements and the country’s track record with locally developed technology projects.
Speaking at JoyNews’ Digital Economy Forum on AI and the Ghana Economy on Wednesday, October 21, Mr Simons questioned whether the country had the necessary infrastructure and institutional capacity to operate the facility efficiently and sustainably.
He argued that the government must demonstrate how it intends to overcome these practical challenges rather than assume the project will succeed.
Mr Simons identified electricity costs as one of the biggest obstacles, warning that Ghana could struggle to compete with international AI computing facilities if its energy prices remained significantly higher than the rates required for efficient operations.
“Nobody builds an AI centre unless the energy, say, the price of energy is roughly 3 cents to 5 cents. So if Ghana does it from 10 cents to 12 cents, that AI data computing centre will not be efficient,” he said.
According to him, the high cost of electricity could force the facility to charge customers more for its services or rely on government subsidies to remain operational.
“If it doesn’t charge more, the government will have to subsidise it,” he added.
Beyond pricing, Mr Simons questioned whether Ghana could guarantee the consistent electricity supply required to operate an AI computing facility of significant scale. He maintained that competitive energy prices would offer little advantage without reliable power.
“Even in terms of the power itself, even if you had the pricing right, the actual availability of power in a country where we were struggling with so-called capacity issues is important. You have to mention that as well,” he said.
Water supply raises further concerns
Mr Simons also questioned whether the government had adequately considered the volume of water required to support a large data centre, noting that water infrastructure would be another important factor in determining the project’s viability.
“The amount of water you need for a big data centre of that sort is unbelievable,” he said.
He pointed to Ghana’s experience with managing a desalination plant as an example of the difficulties associated with operating major infrastructure projects, arguing that the government must carefully assess the practical demands of the proposed facility.
Lessons from Ghana’s technology projects
The IMANI Africa Vice President further challenged the government to explain what had changed in Ghana’s technology ecosystem to make the proposed AI initiative more likely to succeed than previous attempts to develop and adopt locally built digital solutions.
He cited earlier efforts involving locally developed government email services and payroll management software, referencing technology entrepreneur Herman Chinery-Hesse’s reported difficulties in securing the desired adoption of local software solutions.
Drawing a comparison between those experiences and the current initiative, Mr Simons questioned why the proposed AI compute centre should be expected to succeed where previous projects had encountered difficulties.
“So the question is, why did Herman fail and why would the Honourable Sam George succeed? I want to understand that dynamic. What has changed? What is new? What new ideas have completely transformed that ecosystem?” he asked.
He argued that the government must identify the institutional, technical and policy changes that would prevent the proposed facility from facing similar challenges.
Calls for rigorous public scrutiny
Mr Simons urged the government to open the project to broader public scrutiny and invite contributions from think tanks and other relevant stakeholders before making final decisions.
He called for a process grounded in evidence, technical analysis and open debate, rather than one driven by political enthusiasm or uncritical support for government initiatives.
“My argument is, let’s learn from history. Let’s do these things analytically, open up, ask think tanks to submit memos, debate it rigorously, finally choose something that is well grounded and robust,” he said.
He criticised what he described as a tendency to praise government initiatives without adequately examining their feasibility, stressing that investments in major technology infrastructure require careful planning and a clear understanding of operational realities.
Mr Simons maintained that his reservations should not be interpreted as opposition to technological development, but as a call for a more evidence-based approach to public investment.
“It’s not that I’m pessimistic. I’m empirical, I’m pragmatic, and I’m a realist,” he said.
His comments place the proposed AI compute centre under renewed scrutiny, particularly over whether Ghana can provide the affordable energy, dependable infrastructure and effective institutional support necessary to make the investment economically sustainable.
