The Minister for Energy, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh has clarified that the current power outages hitting the country has nothing to do with lack of funds or fuel.
According to him, the outages are rather as a result of ongoing system challenges.
Addressing Journalists during an inspection at the GRIDCo Headquarters in Tema, he said "I think the issue of financial challenges doesn’t even come in here because they are doing the project, we can all see it, so, where does finance come in? The people don’t have money to buy lunch, or?”
The Minister also hinted that although the current outages are causing some few problems, it cannot be likened to the worse four-year of 'dumsor' which Former President Mahama and his party made Ghanaians suffer.
The Energy Minister who doubles as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Manhyia South Constituency said "I don’t know but as far as we can see, the project is an ongoing project, so, it’s not about finances, it’s just that if you’re renovating your house, sometimes, it’s more complicated and it’s more expensive than even building a new house”
He further explained that some lines got strung.
"Some in 1950, some from 1965, the power they were supposed to transmit, Accra has expanded tremendously, so, they are giving us lines that can improve the power situation in Accra. We just need the forbearance of Ghanaians because what we are planning and what we are implementing is the best for them” he mentioned.
Touching on the 2021 budget, he revealed that means have been put in place to ensure that provisions are made for the ongoing system upgrades.
“In the budget of this year, it is clearly talked about in system improvement all over the country, so, we are going to continue to improve the systems that have been strung since the 50s till we get it done”.
Napo as he is affectionately called debunked claims that the country had return to the era of dumsor.
Dr. Prempeh said “We should all be truthful in our communication. In 2016, the whole country, they gave us periods that we were off and on. In 2016, the government of the day told us that it was a generation problem. In 2016, even the opposition talked about the government not having money to buy fuel. This is not a generation problem, this is not about fuel, so, how could it be dumsor?”
Hammering on dumsor, the Energy Minister said “Is there dumsor? I would ask you. Is it the dumsor that you have known and come to live with that is happening in the country" he questioned.
Dr. Prempeh said “We have systems where lines are flickering, voltages are low and, sometimes, like it happened over the weekend, a line is down because a conductor has broken. And that is exactly why we are here today – the system upgrade that is ongoing – and, so, the challenges are what we are dealing with and all I can say is to plead with Ghanaians to be forbearing and we’ll coming out of the problem”, he noted.
He appealed to the general public to bear with the contractors to finish in time so all can enjoy the improvement each populace so desires.
Watch the video below:
Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith