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According to Andrews Agyapa Mercer, the Deputy Minister of Energy, commercial problems were the cause of the recent nationwide power outages.
John Dramani Mahama, the National Democratic Congress flag bearer, has charged that the government is manipulating the power crisis in order to pass the blame to the incoming administration, despite the fact that the issue was settled during his presidency.
As part of his two-day Building Ghana tour in the Volta region, Mr. Mahama addressed a stakeholders meeting in Sogakope and said that the country is currently in more of a mess than people in Ghana are led to believe.
He went on to say that in order for the next NDC administration to succeed, Ghanaians must not only have faith in them, but also work together and be patient with them.
Speaking with Joshua Kodjo Mensah on Starr Today, the Deputy Minister claimed that the current administration had addressed the problem of power outages, also referred to as “dumsor.”
“If there is a commercial issue like it happened two days ago and so WAPCo curtailed gas transportation on their system for about 24 hours or so and it is restored I am not sure that will qualify as dumsor. We have to have a definition. My understanding of dumor is what I have given you that it is when the issue is protracted.
“There is a schedule that runs into months like Mr. Mahama’s period. In fact, it has run into years but for the past seven years we have never had such a situation. So if anybody comes to you and say dumsor is back because of an incident that person must be explaining to you how that amounts to dumsor for which Ghanaians should believe him,” Mr. Agyapa Mercer
“And quickly add that we are differing it. So that in the very unlikely event that he comes to power just as he was unable to find the resources to buy the fuel to power the plants when he was president. That is what he is preparing your minds for to start accepting that if he comes he is not going to prioritize getting fuel to power the plants and so you sleep in darkness again.”
Following recent power outages, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, the deputy minority leader, has sharply criticized the government and called its seeming silence on the subject deafening.
On Tuesday, January 9, 2024, there was intermittent power supply in some parts of Accra; other parts have been suffering from a similar situation for months.
In response to the unsettling incident, the Ellembele MP voiced his dissatisfaction with the government’s unwillingness to provide Ghanaians with an explanation of what was going on.
He urged the Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo) to release a load-shedding schedule so that businesses and households could make plans.
“Compounding the situation is the absence of a load-shedding timetable, which hampers households and businesses from planning accordingly. The lack of transparency and communication regarding the power outage schedule only adds to the frustration and inconvenience experienced by the affected population.
“It is worth highlighting that even during the worst periods of Dumsor in the past, the power outage never reached the 500 megawatts threshold currently being shed yet the media associated with the NPP interestingly see this as no “Dumsor.” Their loud silence on the current situation is deafening.”
Source: Ghanatodayonline.com
