The leading opposition political grouping in the country, the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has expressed grave concern over the deception by President John Mahama and his ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration regarding the current power outages, popularly called dumsor.
Like many Ghanaians, the party says it is alarmed dumsor still persists after the several promises by the president and his government.
In a statement, NPP Director of Communications, Nana Akomea, wondered, “Despite the many assurances and chest beating by President Mahama, Ghanaians still suffer from dumsor, four years after its onset in mid June 2012.”
He recalled, “At the end of 2014, standing before God and an assembly of bishops and other holy men and women, President Mahama proclaimed: ‘Presiding Bishop, my brothers and sisters in Christ, the year 2015 will be one filled with fruitfulness, joy, peace, good health and development’” to a loud applause.
Nana Akomea quoted the president as saying, ‘Now this is the interesting part; it will be one in which we banish darkness from our land. Bishop, l have added that prophesy. ..it will be one in which we banish darkness from our land. .. and put an end to dumsor forever!’
This prophecy, Nana Akomea said, was followed by another claim in early 2015, with the president beating his chest that his government had achieved the fastest mobilisation of emergency power in Ghana’s history.
Nana Akomea and the NPP could therefore not fathom the fact that “It is 25th July 2016. Despite the presidential prophecy before God and the bishops, and the presidential chest beatings, Ghanaians are still in dumsor.”
With dumsor having resurfaced in grand style and with a more biting effect, he wondered why President Mahama had refused to acknowledge the fact that Ghanaians are suffering, wondering what had become of the more confusing time table. “Even in this case where Ghanaians are living through dumsor, President Mahama and his government have chosen the path of deception of the Ghanaian people.”
To the NPP therefore, dumsor is not just a case of presidential deception, but still remains a classic example of deception of the Ghanaian people.
Nana Akomea also raised doubts about President Mahama and his government’s ability to keep to their promises to reduce electricity tariffs.
It follows an announcement by the president in mid June 2016 that government would secure reduction in the current ‘killer’ electricity tariffs imposed since December 2015.
That was followed by yet another announcement on 4th July by the Ministry of Power and the ECG in which they indicated that the reduction would be funded by a government subsidy of GH¢300 million.
Two days later, the head of the NPP Communication team recalled with nostalgia that “President Mahama announced there would be no subsidy, and that the reductions would be secured by some ‘realignment’ of electricity tariff and pricing bands.”
But a week later, the Minister for Finance restated that the expected tariff reduction would be through a subsidy.
It is for this and other pronouncements that Nana Akomea insists, “The rampant governance by deception should stop,” adding that “The good people of Ghana deserve better. They must be told the truth.”
By Charles Takyi-Boadu