Full article: Thirty years ago the village of Aboadze in western Ghana was sustained almost entirely by fish.
Most men went out on wooden canoes each day to catch sardines, anchovies and tuna. Women would smoke the fish and sell them at local markets. They’d feed their children with cassava, sweet potatoes and aubergine grown on small farms along the coastline.
What started as a state-run enterprise to improve access to electricity has now expanded into an industrial zone with multiple power plants and a gas pipeline.
*The i Paper* travelled to Aboadze to find out what life is like living in the shadows of Ghana’s foreign-backed fossil fuel industry.
# A tale of two citiesÂ
On first impression, Aboadze serves as a symbol of Ghana’s economic success in recent decades. On the approach to the village, there’s an eerily quiet estate containing rows of white bungalows, each with their own driveway and manicured lawn. Two schools, a hospital and playing fields complete the enclave.
This is the Volta River Authority’s (Ghana’s state-owned power firm) township, built in the 1990s for the workers of the new Takoradi Power Station – a mix of Ghanaians and expats from Europe and Asia who all came to live in Aboadze.
But this is only part of the story. The township is private, guarded by security, and sits on a hill overlooking the old fishing village below.
As you arrive in the village, the paved roads become strewn with potholes. People spill out of tightly packed homes and shops with corrugated metal roofs. The air is filled with a pungent mix of smoked fish and raw sewage.
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Full article: Thirty years ago the village of Aboadze in western Ghana was sustained almost entirely by fish.
Most men went out on wooden canoes each day to catch sardines, anchovies and tuna. Women would smoke the fish and sell them at local markets. They’d feed their children with cassava, sweet potatoes and aubergine grown on small farms along the coastline.
But the building of[ Ghana’s](https://inews.co.uk/topic/ghana?srsltid=AfmBOoqQYa_aiaoBMK77P6RURYS0_nAMbEmPles9Zyl_wkRQ_4F7lFUm&ico=in-line_link) first fossil fuel power station in the late 90s brought change to the village. Coconut plantations were ripped up and replaced by pipes and generators.
What started as a state-run enterprise to improve access to electricity has now expanded into an industrial zone with multiple power plants and a gas pipeline.
This has been funded by international development banks, including British International Investment (BII), a for-profit arm of the UK’s [Foreign Office](https://inews.co.uk/topic/foreign-office?srsltid=AfmBOorfEXMGtgn3Xop-PhPSMRaFW97tfJ8veOui1IUn9H0yJeYAgCJ7&ico=in-line_link).
These investments occurred as the UK stepped up efforts to curb [carbon emissions](https://inews.co.uk/topic/carbon-emissions?srsltid=AfmBOoo_VahTHKfpkN04iVG34DR-bK9d0W4tYfsII-L1ZHKXn_UQpcIZ&ico=in-line_link). BII and others have justified investments by arguing the plants would bring a stable electricity supply and jobs to the region.
*The i Paper* travelled to Aboadze to find out what life is like living in the shadows of Ghana’s foreign-backed fossil fuel industry.
# A tale of two citiesÂ
On first impression, Aboadze serves as a symbol of Ghana’s economic success in recent decades. On the approach to the village, there’s an eerily quiet estate containing rows of white bungalows, each with their own driveway and manicured lawn. Two schools, a hospital and playing fields complete the enclave.
This is the Volta River Authority’s (Ghana’s state-owned power firm) township, built in the 1990s for the workers of the new Takoradi Power Station – a mix of Ghanaians and expats from Europe and Asia who all came to live in Aboadze.
But this is only part of the story. The township is private, guarded by security, and sits on a hill overlooking the old fishing village below.
As you arrive in the village, the paved roads become strewn with potholes. People spill out of tightly packed homes and shops with corrugated metal roofs. The air is filled with a pungent mix of smoked fish and raw sewage.