Kofi Abrefa Afena, the spokesperson for Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, the Energy Minister, has rejected the call by the Institute of Energy Security (IES) for his boss to be ousted for his nonchalant attitude and ill-posture on the ongoing power outages popularly known as ‘dumsor‘.
He has labeled the call by Nana Amoasi VII, the Executive Director of the IES as being “borne out of ignorance. He says Amoasi’s claim is inaccurate since he does not know the steps the Minister has taken to address the challenge.
In a statement, Afena said “Dr. Prempeh is not the talk too much type but believes in results. Nana Amoasi has no idea the sleepless nights of the Minister aimed at addressing the current challenges.”
He says the removal of Dr. Opoku Prempeh will not solve the issue just as Kwabena Donkor’s resignation over dumsor in Mahama’s era did not resolve the matter.
“He [Amoasi] says the matter needs swift intervention, but I struggle to appreciate the logic in Amoasi’s position of removing the minister. When Kwabena Donkor resigned over the pervasive Dumsor under John Mahama, did it necessarily solve the matter? Amoasi should get serious. It is all about solutions. Dr. Prempeh continues to work with the technical people to find amicable solutions,” he added.
Reiterating the ECG and the government’s classification of the challenge as temporal, Afena craved the indulgence of Ghanaians over the crisis as his boss is engaging all stakeholders to bring finality to the issue.
Nana Amoasi VII had had asked for the appointment of a new leader to address the dumsor crisis indicating that the sector effective leadership is currently lacking.
The country has been grappling with frequent power outages in recent times, prompting widespread calls from Ghanaians for a structured timetable to manage these disruptions.
But when the Energy Minister was confronted with the matter, he said those who want a timetable should provide some for themselves.
‘Ask those who want it to bring it’ – Energy Minister replies those calling for ‘dumsor’ timetable
This, Nana Amoasi condemned in a Citi FM interview, saying the Minister’s posture was disrespectful to Ghanaians, calling for his head over his lack of solutions to the challenge and intolerable attitude.
“Today the power sector or the energy sector appears shepherdless. You don’t see a leader who is standing up to the issues, accepting them as they are and seeking to address them while calling for cooperation from Ghanaians.
“We have been asking for a timetable for quite a long time. The PURC intervened as an arbiter between the utilities and consumers and asked the ECG to provide one unfortunately the Minister of Energy [tells] all of us including the PURC to produce a timetable if we need one and why we wish the country evil by asking for a load shedding timetable,” he said.
Power crisis: John Jinapor fears ECG’s mess will be blamed on future NDC gov’t
