Effects Of Power Crisis In Ghana

Ghana has been saddled with what is arguably the worst energy crisis in the country's history since independence. This has led to people christening the situation “DUMSOR”. The word DUMSOR has gone as far as finding its way in wikipedia (the world's largest encyclopedia) searches and Wikipedia defines it as, “Dumsor pronounced "doom-sore" (or more appropriately dum sɔ, "off and on") is a popular Ghanaian term used to describe persistent, irregular and unpredictable electric power outages”. This situation has led to public outcry and anger with some people going as far as destroying property belonging to the Electricity Company of Ghana as well as some of their staff.

The underlying cause of this crisis will obviously be the inability of the power producers to produce enough power to meet the demand of the consumers. Several explanations have been given for the power crisis that has lasted for almost half a decade now by the power producers. There are times when it has been blamed on low water levels in the Akosombo Dam; also, it has been blamed on the destruction of the West African Gas Pipeline, and even again, some have gone as far as saying it is an act of God.

There are some obvious effects of power crisis anywhere in the world. What readily comes to mind is the discomfort it creates for citizens in a country. Also, the quality of life of the people in the communities or country which is facing a power crisis will reduce largely. People who hitherto had access to television and radio for entertainment purposes or for news will be deprived of this privilege. Again, people may be forced to go to bed early because places where they could hang out at night may not operate because of the power crisis. There have also been a number of reported cases of fire outbreaks that came about because someone was using a candle or mosquito coil during the night due to DUMSOR. Afaglo Michael of the Today newspaper on 21^st July 2015 reported that, “The fire incident which claimed two lives at Tema Newtown early Monday morning has been blamed on the ongoing load shedding (otherwise known as dumsor) in the country. According to residents who reside in the area where the incident happened, the fire was as a result of dumsor”.

In the specific case of Ghana however, Lumumba (2015) in her article “Urbanizing in the Dark: Accra's 'Dumsor' Chronicles” says that “Since 2010, the economy has lost approximately 24 billion dollars due to the energy crisis, according to a report by the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER), a Ghanaian based think-tank”. But she does not end there in highlighting the negative effects of the power crisis in Ghana. According to her, “The 2013 World Bank Enterprise Survey reported that the ongoing rampant electricity supply is one of the biggest barriers to the growth of the country's economy and attractiveness for foreign direct investment.”

That is, for Ghana to truly take her place in the world and achieve its short term goal of becoming a middle income country, it must overcome the challenge of the power crisis first. As it stands now, political stability and the power crisis may prove to be the biggest hindrances to Ghana's quest to develop more than anything else. Torny (2015) for example reveals that “Rev. Dr. Adobea Yaa Owusu, touching on the highlights, described the power situation as a “major bottleneck hampering Ghana's development” and noted it has debilitating impact on growth and development”. Again, “Rev. Dr. Owusu further observed that the continuous fumes from generators used as alternatives for power generation in the country also affects the environment because of the carcinogenic material in it which could cause throat cancer and also has psychological effects”.

What may prove to be an effect that many in Ghana can associate with is the unemployment being created by the power crisis. With unemployment in Ghana between and 2012 and 2013 hovering around 5.7 percent, according to the The Ghana Living Standard Survey 6 with Labor Module conducted by the Ghana Statistical Service, which is relatively high. DUMSOR has further compounded the problem and according to a Starrfmonline news report, “Almost 13,000 people have lost their jobs as a result of the power crisis that has plunged the nation, the Ghana Employers' Association has revealed”. Again a news report in The Finder newspaper, pasted on the citifmonline.com website reports that, “Secretary General of ICU, Mr. Solomon Kotei, in an interview with The Finder newspaper, described as alarming the rate at which redundancies that are directly caused by the rolling power cuts are being carried out. “From January to date, 560 workers belonging to ICU have been laid off,” he said.”

Thus the stories and reports above have revealed that not only is the current power crisis in Ghana causing discomfort to the citizens, it has led to several other damaging effects like redundancies, poor cedi performance, and companies running at losses. Also among the problems associated with the power crisis are the health effects and fire outbreaks, that occur as a result of people trying to find a solution to the problem of the power crisis.

The solutions to reducing the effects of the power crisis will obviously be finding a permanent solution to the power crisis. Those who use generators should also be minded to keep it away from people as far as possible to prevent health effects. Social intervention programs must be provided for workers who are laid off as a result of the power crisis and the government can also consider giving companies tax holidays at least until the problem is eliminated. This will help business avoid laying off workers in order to balance their books.

References
Afaglo, M. ( 2015). Dumsor Caused Tema Fire Deaths. Retrieved 12^th December, 2015. From http://www.todaygh.com/dumsor-caused-tema-fire-deaths/

Lumumba, J. (2015). Urbanizing in the Dark: Accra's 'Dumsor' Chronicles. Retrieved 12^th December, 2015. From http://www.urbanafrica.net/news/urbanizing-in-the-dark-accras-dumsor-chronicles/

Ghana Statistical Service. (2013). Ghana Living Standards Survey 6 with Labour Force Module (GLSS6/LFS). Retrieved, 16^th October, 2015. From http://www.statsghana.gov.gh/glss6.html

Starrfmonline. (2015). Dumsor Causes 13,000 Job Cuts In Four Months. Retrieved 12^th December, 2015. From http://www.starrfmonline.com/1.2899912

Tornyi, E. (2015). Dumsor Caused Ghana Nearly GHc1b In 2014 – ISSER. Retrievd 12^th December, 2015. From http://pulse.com.gh/news/dumsor-collapse-business-dumsor-caused-ghana-nearly-ghc1b-in-2014-isser-id3644532.html

The Finder. (2015). Over 500 Lose Jobs Over Dumsor – ICU. Retrieved 12^th December, 2015. From http://citifmonline.com/2015/03/16/over-500-lose-jobs-over-dumsor-icu/

Wikipedia. Dumsor. Retrieved 12^th Decmber, 2015. From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dumsor.