Prioritised Power Supply During Lockdown – Minority To Gov't

The Minority in Parliament has called on Akufo-Addo government to prioritise the constant supply of power during the period of lockdown.

Speaking to Citi News, the Minority Spokesperson on Mines and Energy, Adams Mutawakilu, Adam Mutawakilu stressed that the unscheduled power cuts experienced in parts of the country over the last month must not continue.

“We have enough generation [capacity]. The government should not complain of a lack of fuel and therefore, we should not expect the dumsor that we have been experiencing up until today to continue. That is why we are calling on Nana Akufo-Addo to make the constant supply of electricity a priority,” he said.

Matawakilu in a statement also said: Given that more Ghanaians will be staying and working in their various homes, and with kids having to connect with their academic tutors via e-learning platforms, reliable but stable supply of power is required to keep life together in times like this. By this statement, we request the President

and by extension the government to assure Ghanaians of a stable supply of electricity in order to allow for life in their homes worthy to live”.

The recent power challenges have been met by calls for a load-shedding time table.

But the government has downplayed these calls with the Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo) for example insisting that the power shortfalls are not persistent or consistent.

GRIDCo blamed the lack of sustained financing to fuel the various dual power generation plants for some of the recent power cuts.

The lack of fuel for plants in the western and eastern enclaves had been identified as the cause of the shortfalls.

The Minister of Energy, John Peter Amewu, however, said his sector has enough financial backing to generate enough power for the country.

The Bongo MP, Edward Bawa had claimed that the country's energy sector was confronted with severe financial challenges coupled with unprecedented net arrears of about US$4 billion and indebtedness of US$1.5 billion owed to private power producers.

Ghana has begun a partial lockdown of Accra, Tema, Kumasi and Kasoa as part of measures to fight the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The affected areas in the lockdown are some of the most densely populated in Ghana.

During the two-week partial lockdown, citizens in affected areas are advised to only leave their homes in search of essential items or activities.

Read the Minority’s Statement below:

---citinewsroom