*AS calls for Minister’s sack deepens
The current energy crisis and last Monday's heavy downpour have caused immense havoc at the Ministry of Transportation as some offices of the Ministry closed down for work due to theses factors.
On a visit by two Gye Nyame Concord reporters to the ministries to observe the impact of the energy crisis on work at the MDAs, it was noticed, for example, that the Director of Operations at the Ministry of Transportation had ordered that some heavy electrical gadgets be shut down following directives from the ECG.
The notice read: "As a result of yesterday's downpour, the electrical system of the Ministry has been compromised. Upon consultation, the ECG has advised that all heavy electrical gadgets such as the air conditioners, refrigerators should be switched off until further notice."
Due to this, some had to leave work by 11:00 am on Wednesday – two days after the downpour - with some of the affected offices being the Public Relations Department and the Director of Operations Unit.
An official of the Ministry, who spoke to this paper on condition of anonymity, said a critical look ought to be given to petty issues of this nature as they pose a lot of threat to labour output.
He said this also shows that most public sectors have not been able to institute the right structures to address critical situations such as these, noting whether with this lacklustre administrational approach, we should expect good output from the public sector.
Meanwhile, a snap survey carried out by these reporters in the Greater Accra Region on Wednesday indicate that many people are not happy at the way the energy crisis has been handled by the Ministry and Minister of Energy, Mr Joseph Adda.
Nana Ansah, who deals in electrical appliances at Cowlane in the central business district, says the Energy Minister should be fired for non-performance, describing the problem as a shame to the Kufuor administration.
In his view, part of the problem stem from leadership deficiency.
A student of the Ghana Law School, Mr Obed Mensah, said this is not the time for taking adhoc measures, citing for example, the purchase of 50 megawatts of power plants at the Kotoka International Airport as part of measures that betray the lack of prudence by the Ministry.
The plants were purchased by the government at a cost of $26 million through Marison Energy Systems and Ring Power, two energy companies based in Massachusetts and Florida respectively.
Continuing, Mr. Mensah noted that this last-minute contingency demonstrates bad management on the part of the Minister, insisting that there should have been a more durable plan instead of this ‘rush business.’
“It is a shame that we should be taking such wasteful decisions at this ripe age of 50 years”, he pointed out, arguing that Mr. Joseph Adda should resign or be pushed away.
