The Minority in Parliament has rejected claims by President John Dramani Mahama that his administration resolved the power crisis, popularly known as “dumsor,” in 2016.
Addressing the press on Monday, March 3, former Finance Minister Mohammed Amin Adam called on President Mahama to release a load-shedding timetable as parts of the country continue to experience intermittent electricity supply.
President Mahama, in his first State of the Nation Address (SONA) of his second term, attributed the current challenges to a huge debt in the energy sector.
However, Dr. Amin Adam dismissed this assertion, arguing that the previous administration, under Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, successfully stabilized power supply.
The Minority insisted that an official load-shedding timetable would allow businesses and households to plan effectively and mitigate economic losses.
“Mr. President, you did not fix ‘dumsor’ as you claimed in your address. Your record on ‘dumsor’ is abysmal, unlike your predecessor, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who kept the lights on. As we are back to ‘dumsor’ in another Mahama term, Ghanaians remember with fear and anxiety the potential devastation this could cause for them and their businesses, especially small businesses like hair salons, welders, dressmakers, and many more who earn their daily bread from these vocations,” Dr. Amin Adam stated.
The Minority emphasized that the return of power outages is severely affecting small businesses that rely on stable electricity, such as hair salons, welding shops, and dressmaking enterprises.
They further pointed to the increasing reliance on generators in shops, clinics, and social events as clear evidence of worsening power supply issues.
“Many people and businesses have already felt the pinch and the pain of living with the current ‘dumsor.’ We have also seen the return of electric generating sets in shops, clinics, and at social events.
“Mr. President, this is the true state of our nation! To mitigate the impact of these erratic power supplies, we, the Mighty Minority, call on the government to publish a load-shedding timetable to help people and businesses plan effectively and offset some of the losses the economy is currently suffering from,” the Minority stated.
