Show us a single intervention of yours in the energy sector - Minority to Bawumia

The Ranking Member on Parliament’s Mines and Energy Committee, Adam Mutawakilu, has called on Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia to show evidence of any intervention the ruling government has initiated in the energy sector after assuming power.

Addressing a press conference today [Wednesday], asked the Vice President to respect the holy month of Ramadan and it’s restrictions before making such utterances.

He was reacting to the Vice President’s recent address where he made claims that the "weak economy” under former president Mahama could not mitigate the energy crisis.

The former President last week claimed the economy under the leadership of Nana Akufo-Addo is weak and has been exposed in just one month by the Coronavirus pandemic, which has affected several countries around the world.

Speaking to journalists at the Jubilee House on the sideline of a Covid-19 meeting on Monday, Vice President Bawumia wondered how a former President whose administration and economy could not handle dumsor for four years would be making comparisons with a global pandemic like the Coronavirus.

“If you want to test the robustness of an economy, you test it in a time of crises. Thankfully, we have had two crises. Under the NDC, it was an internally-generated crisis, which was dumsor. Under the Presidency of Nana Akufo-Addo, there has been an externally generated crisis, which has been the global Coronavirus pandemic.”

“I just want you to ask yourself, how have these two crises been managed? The dumsor crisis which crippled this economy for four years. What were the mitigating measures offered to businesses and individuals during the dumsor, an internally generated crisis?” the Vice President asked.

“We saw that even during dumsor, electricity prices were being increased, fuel prices were being increased, teacher trainee allowances were being cancelled, nursing trainee training allowances were being cancelled. All of that was happening during that particular crisis.”

“You look at the Coronavirus crisis and you look at the difference in terms of what has happened. The President has reduced electricity prices and has made it free for lifeline consumers. He has given free water to all Ghanaians for three months, has made sure that there is a stimulus package of 600 million Ghana Cedis for businesses and we have seen domestic production of PPEs (personal protective equipment) for our health workers locally,” the Vice President said.

But the NDC MP reacting to the comments said: “This is the period of fasting and expects all Muslims to be truthful for at least a month because the Ramadam fasting is not only limited to the stomach but what you say, what hear and what you see. I want to refer to 2016 March, Dr. Bawumia did indicate that Ghanaians should not thank president Mahama for ending dumsor and that it is his responsibility to make sure he ends dumsor and I’m surprised that four years down the lane, the same Dr. Bawumia is telling Ghanaians that President Mahama couldn’t manage dumsor. What level of hypocrisy is that and this is a man he wants Ghanaians to trust?”

“He also did indicate how President Akufo-Addo has done well in the power sector. I can mention the interventions that President Mahama brought because he increased generation to the extent that we have more than we need as a country. He also brought in the Energy Sector Levy Act to raise money to settle the energy sector debt and also had the largest investment under his (Mahama) regime in the oil sector in sub-Saharan Africa to have our own domestic gas and all these took place under the NDC regime of eight years.”

“I want Vice President Bawumia to tell us just one intervention that he and his boss had done in the energy sector to take credit in any case, even with these huge investment President Mahama did we still have dumsor not because we don’t have generation capacity but just because we cannot buy fuel to power the plants. He should go and rethink and consider the month of Ramadam and come and apologise to the people of Ghana.”