In a satirical take on the ongoing power crisis in Ghana, activist and convener of the FixTheCountry movement, Barker-Vormawor, has humorously jabbed the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
In a post on X platform he wrote, “ Ready! Set! Go! ‘My Dumsor is better than your Dumsor”.
Both the NPP and the NDC have been apportioning blame on each other regarding the current state of the country’s energy sector.
Parts of Accra and other regions have been grappling with inconsistent power outages for several weeks commonly referred to as ‘dumsor’.
Former president, John Dramani Mahama has asserted that he assumed responsibility for resolving the power crisis that gripped the nation before his taking a bow in 2016.
Mahama has emphasized that his leadership merits recognition for putting an end to the intermittent power outages.
In an interview with Ugandan-based NBS television, Mahama acknowledged the existence of intermittent power outages and stressed that he took accountability for addressing the challenge.
He highlighted that relying solely on the Akosombo Dam was not a perpetual solution to resolve ‘dumsor.’
Mahama clarified that he refrained from assigning blame to past administrations for the crisis but, instead, embraced the responsibility of rectifying the power dilemma.
He expressed, “What did I do? I took responsibility. I didn’t blame previous governments. I said yes you call me ‘Mr. Dumsor’…I inherited this problem but I take responsibility because you voted me into power to take responsibility and fix things and so I said I’m going to fix this and by 2015 I had added an additional almost 3,000 megawatts to Ghana’s generation.”
“I was actually accused of putting in an excess generation…more generation than we needed. We are consuming 2,600 megawatts. Today we are consuming 1000 megawatts more and so if I didn’t put in that excess generation we probably would have started having an energy crisis again and it’s beginning to happen.
“Outages every day because the consumption has caught up the amount of energy that is available and we are beginning to have problems,” he added.
On the other hand, president Akufo-Addo has emphasized his achievements in ensuring a consistent power supply for Ghanaians, countering recent outages affecting parts of the country.
During his State of the Nation Address (SONA) on February 27, 2024, the President dismissed claims of intermittent power supply amid the financial crisis, asserting that the country has not experienced the phenomenon known as DUMSOR over the past seven years.
“Mr Speaker, between 2012 and early 2017, there was nothing more demoralising than the phenomenon we called DUMSOR. It was symptomatic of a dysfunctional system, and it caused widespread depression amongst businesses and households.
After that experience, my government was determined that DUMSOR would not be inflicted upon Ghana and Ghanaians under an NPP government, and I am glad to be able to say, SO FAR, SO GOOD, we have managed to keep the lights on these last seven (7) years, even in the midst of a financial crisis. We have managed the energy sector with discipline and expertise, to avoid a repetition of the hardships inflicted on Ghanaians some years ago.”
Meanwhile, Managing Director of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), Mr Dubik Mahama has pointed out that the intermittent power outages are due maintenance issues rather than fuel-related problems as reported.
He revealed that much can not be done when a power plant producing 360 megawatts begins to develop problems with its gas emergency safety valve.
Mr. Mahama assured that ECG is working diligently to resolve the challenges and restore power to affected areas.
Ready! Set! Go!
‘My Dumsor is better than your Dumsor.’#GyimieRepublic
— Osagyefo Oliver Barker-Vormawor (@barkervogues) March 1, 2024
tigpost.co
