Keche Joshua, a popular musician and member of Ghanaian music duo, ‘Keche’, has expressed utmost disappointment in the authorities under whose watch, the Tema General Hospital, is experiencing a severe power crisis.
His reaction stems from a viral video in which some babies were spotted at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of the Tema General Hospital, battling for their lives as a result of electricity interruptions.
In the said video, newborn babies, some of whom were relying on oxygen, were struggling in the ward that had been engulfed in darkness.
A ‘worried’ female voice, purported to be one of the hospital staff drew the public’s attention to the development while capturing the babies laying in their beds helplessly.
She said, “There are lights out here at the Tema General Hospital. This baby is on CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) and all of it has gone off. While there is oxygen available, there is no flow meter to connect... If we don’t get light in a few minutes, the probability that we might lose a lot of babies is high.”
This development has since stirred several concerns from netizens, and Keche Joshua, who seems to have been keeping tabs on recent happenings waded into this discussion.
In a mixture of fury and disappointment, the Ghanaian musician took to social media to share his barrage of concerns over the issue, which according to him is fast becoming a menace.
“I see something online right now, I weak. A whole Tema General Hospital doesn’t have a generator. They experienced lights out and there’s no generator. I’m in shock! Kids and newborn babies who are on oxygens are dying. Light out and no generator. A whole Tema General Hospital? So, it means if someone is undergoing surgery and there’s a blackout, the person can die in the process. I’m shocked.
“What is this? So, who is in charge? People too dey pay money, so they can’t just have some generator for some corner wey go automatically bring lights on if e go off? We are jokers in this country!” he expressed his frustration, mixing English with Pidgin.
The incident is happening in the wake of growing concerns over the recent spike in power interruptions in the country.
Ghanaians have called for a load-shedding schedule to help adjust to the crisis but the Ministry of Energy and the Electricity Company of Ghana have remained adamant, insisting that the situation requires no timetable.