Dum-so is back

 
By Pascal Kafu Abotsi
([email protected]).
The opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) has launched an appeal to the Ghanaian electorate to unlock their mindsets from the deceit of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) that the perennial power outages across the country is a thing of the past.

Per its assessment, the NPP has concluded that the Mahama-led administration lacks the technical know-how to contain the power crisis, popularly called ‘dum-so’, which, in the party’s view, is back in full swing.

At a press conference in Accra yesterday, the Policy Advisor to the NPP campaign, Boakye Agyarko, anticipated the worsening of the power in 2017, should Ghanaians give the NDC the chance to rule for another four years.

His argument was that “the NDC has not demonstrated any measure of control in addressing the challenge,” adding that “many businesses and residential consumers of electricity are justifiably afraid that 'dum-so' will come back if the NDC is retained in power.”

According to him, “Gas supply from Nigeria stopped in June this year, and may not be resumed soon, due to government's failure to pay outstanding debts, in excess of US$160 million.”

He also said gas supply from the Jubilee Field would also stop, as the FPSO was expected to be shut down for repairs for between three to six months.

“With these developments, Asogli and AMERI will not be able to generate power. We are, therefore, estimating that Ghana will experience a shortage of up to 700 megawatts of power early next year, which may be dragged lower, as Akosombo [Dam] may be drafted in spite of the lower water level,” he stressed.

Mr. Agyarko further accused President Mahama and the NDC government of exploiting the energy sector to line the pockets of family and friends, saying, “The NDC sees energy as a money-making ‘pyramid’ scheme for friends and family of the President.”

When given the nod in the upcoming elections, Mr. Agyarko narrated, the NPP would strengthen governance of the power sector, whilst providing institutions like the Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo) and Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) better tools to operate at their fullest capacities.

Apart from the NPP government negotiating with its counterpart in Nigeria, and with the West African Gas Pipeline, to restore the gas supply from Nigeria, Mr. Agyarko also mentioned that: “An Akufo-Addo government, God willing, will shred into irretrievable pieces, John Dramani Mahama’s reckless technical move to export all our gas in return for $2 billion.”