What Akufo-Addo said about ‘dumsor’ in 2015

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo whilst campaigning to unseat John Dramani Mahama made the intermittent power supply described as “dumsor dumsor” a major campaign issue.

Many pundits believe this contributed to Akufo-Addo's election victory in December 2016.

On his official verified Facebook page, the then-candidate Akufo-Addo put out a long post on April 19, 2015, with the caption “Dumsor borders on Ghana’s Survival – Nana Akufo-Addo”.

In the post, he stated that “dumsor dumsor” wrecking Ghana goes beyond opposition or government talk, as the cost of the erratic nature of power supply borders on the very survival of the citizenry and businesses in the country.

The NPP presidential candidate wondered why “government apologists are saying that after the government resolves the ‘dumsor’ crisis we, as opposition people, will have nothing to talk about”.

“I am astonished by this proposition,” Nana Addo said, adding that dumsor “is not a campaign weapon. It borders on the very survival of our country.”

Akufo-Addo who was addressing students of the University of Cape Coast indicated that the cost of ‘dumsor’ was estimated by the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER) in excess of 1 billion Ghana Cedis.

He added that if the nation considered the fact that ‘dumsor dumsor’ had been going on since 2012, “then we are talking about a national loss of some 4 billion Cedis”.

"Today, industries are folding up, workers are being retrenched, livelihoods are being lost, people are dying needlessly in our hospitals, our economy is in serious decline, all of which add up to the ravages of poverty and disease. These are not matters about which a nation can recover with the wave of a hand or with the resolution of the crisis of ‘dumsor’," candidate Akufo-Addo observed.

“How does the resolution of the crisis of ‘dumsor’ resurrect the many Ghanaians who have lost their lives in hospitals across the country? How does the resolution of the crisis of ‘dumsor’ restore the livelihoods of the thousands of workers who have lost their jobs? How does the resolution of the crisis of ‘dumsor’ restore the loss of productivity over the past three years?”

He continued, “I know of a group of investors who have their factories around the Achimota Brewery, and who manufacture plastic products. They have closed shops and are leaving for Ethiopia. There are many, many such stories. Today, investor confidence in our country is at an all-time low. The 4 billion Ghana Cedis that this nation has lost to the crisis of ‘dumsor’ can per the calculation of this government build about 60 Senior High Schools.

Already, the health insurance scheme which the NPP government under President Kufuor introduced has collapsed and to think that we will have to pay extra to take care of “dumsor” is unimaginable.”

Read below the full post of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.