A Former Attorney-General Betty Mould-Iddrisu believes that the Mahama administration managed the power crisis better than how the New Patriotic Party administration is doing. She said the erratic power supply (Dumsor) that Ghanaians experienced under the NDC was not as bad as what is currently happening under the Akufo-Addo administration.
Speaking on the Hot Issues on TV3 on Sunday, April 28, she said “The Dumsor we’re experiencing now is unparalleled, even our time wasn’t as bad” Her comments come just a few days after the Former Rector of the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), Professor Stephen Adei, also stated that the current power outages are not as severe as the one experienced under the Mahama administration.
Prof Adei however said if the current situation is not dealt with appropriately the challenge will escalate. “The power crisis is not as bad as the Dumsor days but if we don’t take care it will only get worse,” he told TV3’s Beatrice Adu in an interview on Monday, April 22.
Prof Adei further provided the government with ideas on how to tackle the current challenges. He said “so the first thing is that if there are bottlenecks which are not allowing us to use the existing capacity to the fullest, they must be addressed. But in the long run, we must have a national strategic agenda. You can go solar, immediately the government should allow all solar panels and anything to do with it import duty-free because in the end the country and the government will win. We must have a strategy to make sure that we have a long-term solution nd the efficiency of the ECG must also improve.”
Also commenting on the energy situation, the Director of Communications for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Richard Ahiagbah admitted that the power outages in parts of the country are frustrating. However, he said, there is light at the end of the tunnel for the challenge. Mr Ahiagbah attributed the situation to the maintenance work being carried out by the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).
He assured that the work will soon be completed. “The recent power outages have been understandably frustrating. However, there is an end in sight. The maintenance works are almost complete, and we can soon expect access to an uninterrupted power supply around the clock, as we have become accustomed to under the Akufo-Addo-Bawumia Administration.”
Regarding the criticism the members of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) have made against the government over the outages, he said “The NDC is the last political organization to point fingers because Ghana has not forgotten the hurts of the ‘real dumsor,’ suffered under H.E. Mahama.
By: Laud Nartey
