The “won gbo” demo is not about dumsor.

It is about corruption and incompentence, the causes of dumsor-dumsor and the wahala in the country.

The NPP has scheduled a major public demonstration for February 18th, 2015 against the harsh economic conditions in the country. The demonstration dubbed “Won Gbo,” meaning “we are dying,” is also aimed at exposing the government’s gross incompetence, corruption and mismanagement of the economy. The media, on the other hand, has labelled the planned protest as a “dumsor-dumsor” demo to expose the socioeconomic hardships arising from the ongoing “dumsor-dumsor” or energy crisis in the country.

True, dumsor is killing Ghanaian businesses. The dumsor is making life difficult for everyone irrespective of their political affiliations. For example, factories are shutting down or relocating to the neighboring countries leading to mass layoffs. Small business owners such as welders, barbers, hair dressers and mechanics cannot ply their trade because they don’t have the electricity to do so. It is therefore reasonable for Ghanaians to attribute all the problems in the economy to the dumsor, and the media can hardly be blamed for labeling the protest as a “dumsor” demo instead of “Won Gbo”.

Indeed, the media headlines reflect people’s disgust and anger towards the dumsor situation in the country. The question, however, arises: is the dumsor the source of our problems or a symptom of a more fundamental problem? The answer is that the dumsor is a mere consequence of the unprecedented levels of corruption, mismanagement and gross incompetence of the ruling NDC government.

The NPP re-echoed the data Dr. Bawumia recently released as the basis for the planned protest:

Between 2009 and 2014, The NDC government borrowed the equivalent of some $27 billion, which is more than four (4) times the amount of money the NPP borrowed during its 8 years in power.

The NDC government collected GHC62 billion as tax revenue in the last six years, which is in contrast to the NPP’s GHC15.2 billion between 2001 and 2008.

A similar comparison can be made with regards to Gold and Cocoa export. In the same period (6 years), the NDC has exported $14.5billion worth of cocoa as against $8.7billion in the 8 years period of the NPP.

The export of Gold in the 8 years of the NPP amounted to $9billion, whereas, in the 6 years of the NDC, Gold export amounted to $25billion.

Moreover, no government in our history has had the benefit of oil revenue, except the current NDC administration. The total amount of revenue accruing from this source is something they (NDC) are uncomfortable to clarify. However, it is estimated that Ghana has exported some $13.7billion in the last 4 years.

Despite these significant inflows, the Mahama led government continues to default in statutory payments like the NHIS, GETFUND, and the DISTRICT ASSSEMBLY COMMON FUND, which are all several months in arrears. (NPP Press Release-February 10, 2015)

Clearly, these unprecedented revenue inflows in the last six years of NDC government render the dumsor and the economic hardship in the country a travesty. This revenue data shows that corruption, mismanagement and incompetence are the root causes of all the “wahala” in the country. Dumsor is just a symptom.

The sad reality is that the government and its functionaries may be incompetent, reckless, greedy and extremely corrupt, but they are not stupid. They are astute politicians and clever in political scheming as well as electoral manipulations. While Ghanaians are suffering on an unprecedented scale, they are planning how to win the next elections without being held accountable for their corrupt practices and economic mismanagement. They are doing so by strategically making dumsor the root cause of all the “wahala” and defining the issue for the 2016 elections.

The dumsor situation has, for example, been attributed to a number of factors including the falling water levels in the Akosombo dam and the sporadic gas supply from Nigeria to power the plants. The government has never accepted blame for the power crisis. Thus, by making the dumsor the main cause of our economic problems, the government is trying to absolve itself of its mismanagement and indulgence in corrupt practices such as GYEEDA, SUBAH and WAYOME. Moreover, by narrowing the issue to dumsor, the government is denying the opposition parties the opportunity to build a broad coalition with diverse interests groups in the upcoming elections.

The lights will come on again in 2016 because we are dealing with people who are only interested in the power to amass wealth instead of serving the people. They will release some of the stolen money stashed away in foreign banks to purchase power or gas and to fuel the plants, thereby creating the impression that they have fixed the economy and the major problems facing the nation. Ghanaians should not fall into the government’s trap and play along to make dumsor the core issue. We are suffering from dumsor because of the unprecedented levels of corruption and economic mismanagement in the country. Kwame Abrefah. Edmonton, Alberta.

NPP Canada Communications Team.

Contact Info: NPPCanada@outlook.com/647-800-3585