Re: VRA at the verge of collapse

Time for Resignations -Re: VRA at the verge of collapse; loses 3m daily

Electricity and pipe-borne water affects almost every aspect of modern day

living including communication, and health care delivery. It is not expected

that the people of Ghana can return to live in rural areas using candles,

firewood and fetch water from rivers; but that is what some are forced to do

in the city of Accra, contributing to further environmental pollution.

Electricity and water should therefore be priority number one!

It is quite unfortunate that Dr. Donkor has been part of the energy Ministry

or as Adviser for many years. In a report on Myjoyonline of May 29, 2013, he

seems to suddenly realize that Ghana was not producing enough energy or was

losing $3 million per day. In the 2004-2007 era Ghana was reported to be

rationing electricity due to a low water level at the dam, and the term

load-shedding was coined. In 2009 the water level was too much, leading to

an overflow causing flooding in some local villages. Electricity was still

being rationed. In fact the utility rate was adjusted higher at the time.

In the meant time the Transformer stations that were installed some 15 or 20

years ago are not upgraded whiles population in some parts of Accra have

grown three to four times during this time.

What the Ghanaian politician fails to realize is that you cannot fool all

the people all the time. Dr. Kwabena Donkor is not an Engineer but assuming

he learnt about energy on the job, what he forgets is that some of his

country men are equally educated and nobody has ever been asked to vote in

Ghana as to how much tariff or electricity rate to pay. It is therefore

absolute insult to the people of Ghana for the Member of Parliament to

suggest that when individual homes and businesses are losing an estimated $4

Billion per year in buying private Generators, fuel and appliance

replacement and lost businesses, they would prefer to do that or sleep in

darkness, be out of communication with the world, and suffer business

economic and personal losses than pay market rate or cost of production of

electricity.

The current President John Mahama was vice for three years and been

President for almost a year. Ghana is not producing but 60-75% of demand

electricity at best and Parliament has not approved budgets for upgrading

ECG transformers and equipment for decades. That is the truth! Ghana's

electricity delivery that is specified as 200 volts to 240 Volts have been

measured by independent study at sometimes below 200 Volts and at other

times more than 360 Volts, dangerous to appliances and capable of killing a

person. Our research shows that funds have not been approved by Parliament

to purchase basic components for step-down voltage transient equipment at

Transformer stations.

We believe that Dr. Donkor should resign his position, and so should the

Managing Directors of VRA and ECG, as well as Ghana Water Company. That will

be honorable. It appears they feel their positions allow them to look down

on and insult the people of Ghana who are suffering financial losses and

major inconvenience due to their false assumptions of what is good for the

people. This has been going on for at least nine years now as we remember.

When was the last time a survey was done and the people of say Abetifi,

Aburi, Accra, East Legon, Tamale or any part of Ghana voted to select what

rate of electricity or water they wanted to pay! Educated Ghanaians should

be careful about utterances that are deceptive, do not speak well and only

brings shame to our nation, especially where one expects better openness in

communication, integrity and managerial competence. We expect the President

to accept the resignations of these Managing Directors mentioned, whiles the

Chairman of the Parliamentary Select committee on energy can resign on his

own.

From: Dr. K. Danso,

(President, Ghana Leadership Union, Inc(NGO) and Moderator, GLU Forum.

Author: Leaderships Concepts and the Role of Goverment in Africa: The Case

of Ghana (2007))