Was Candidate Mills Electrician?

From: Stephen A. Quaye, Toronto-Canada.

Words are the most powerful drug used by mankind says Ruyard Kipling, which are explained by two great learned gentlemen first with Ernest Dimnet who says, “The history of the past interests us only so far as it illuminates the history of the present”.

Then with Emile DeGirardin who also says “The power of words is immense. A well-chosen word has often suffered to stop a flying army, to change defeat into victory, and to save an empire”.

Quotations from these great men whoever lived should put everything I want to say here today to an end if readers really understands what these great men wanted to mean. But for the sake of those who will still need explanation why I quoted from these great men I will do justice to the issue fairly.

It was accepted yesterday as welcome news when it was reported that the president John Atta Mills has paid another surprise visit to other state departments to check on them how they were performing.

Yes that was how the chief executive of the great land of ours should be performing and I do not have any problem at all for him going on surprise visits to state institutions and even certain private institutions ones they contribute towards national building as many workers these days are slacking off but want salary increment where as their job satisfaction falls far bellow the marks for salary increment.

However, I was disappointed after reading the full text of the reportage which has it that the president questioned whether he was an electrician to solve the persistent power outage? According to the story posted on Joy F.M. news page, the president in his remarks asked that question in response to the numerous complaints from the ordinary Ghanaian who can not bear with the situation anytime power goes as they screamed “oh Atta Mills” as if he is electrician who has been causing the power outage.

Whether it was his grand niece who corrected those who were accusing him wrongly for the power outage or it was his own style of comedies to responds to the accusation directed at him, the fact remains that Ghanaians are fed up with the persistent power outage and it is time the government which he is the chief executive find a lasting solution it.

Much in disbelieve whether the president did say that, I placed my palm on my mouth after reading the news titled is Atta Mills Electrician? I needed no one to provide me with the correct answer as I asked myself was John Agyekum Kufuor too an electrician when the power outage was severe in 2007?

Immediately this question crop up in my mind I opened my laptop and zoom straight to my sent folder to retrieve a reportage I did file with the Chronicle for publication when I was the eastern regional reporter for that paper when the then candidate Mills paid a visit to the Akosombo dam during the power crises in NPP administration and what he said.

It could be recalled that the year 2007 experienced severe power outage in the country which was blamed on dryness of the Akosombo dam due to draught up north of the country. All kinds of accusations were leveled against the then sitting president John Agyekum Kufuor and his NPP government for not doing anything to solve the problem and to score political points Professor Atta Mills then lacing his political boot to snatch presidency from the NPP quickly paid a visit to the dam to tell Ghanaians that he was concerned more than the president.

As I try to recollect what he said on April 2007, during his visit let me kindly reproduce what I file as reportage for publication in the Chronicle for readers to judge.

PROFESSOR ATTA MILLS ASK NPP TO TELL GHANAIANS THE TRUTH ABOUT THE ENERGY CRISIS.

From: Stephen A. Quaye, -Akosombo. April 11, 2007.

The National; Democratic Congress NDC, presidential candidate Prof. J.E.A.Mills, has observed that Ghanaians are very angry over the electricity load shedding because they are not being fed with the truth that we are in energy crisis.

He charged the management of Volta River Authority [VRA] to force government to accept whatever measures they have drawn to avert any problem that would occur since they occupy a very sensitive position in the country.

Prof.Mills,made the observation when he paid a visit to the Akosombo Hydro-Electric Dam to ascertain situation there which has created the load shedding in electricity supply in the country for several months now.

But the director in charge of the hydro generation department, Ing. I.Kirk Koffi, said various governments have been supportive to the VRA as far as electricity generation to feed the country has been concern.

Later speaking to the press after haven been taken round the generation site, Prof.Mills said his impression has not changed from the fact that we are as a country in crisis.” We are one as a country and has to know that we are in energy crisis so that we can know to solve it without doing politics about it” he commented.

He again said,” In every situation one needs to know that there is a problem before a solution can be found to it otherwise there would be no solution to a problem so Ghanaians should be told that we are indeed in energy crisis”.

Accordingly, the NDC are prepared to assist the government to solve the problem by offering their advice, knowledge and experience adding that the NDC had concluded the document on Bui Dam before leaving office, brought the Tanoso Oil Fields project for the gas programme and all that the government needs is to see to the immediate term solution to these energy crisis that we are facing.

The NDC presidential candidate, said for president J.A.Kufuor,to tell parliament that the problem would be solved in two weeks and still the problem remains unsolved was not the best in tackling the issue but the first thing for him to have done was to come down to his subjects and tell them the truth that we are in actual crisis but finding a solution to it.

“My government would be the first government to go down to the people to tell them the truth that we are in crisis but are finding solution to it” he assured.

He was welcomed to the Asuogyaman NDC party office with a large crowd of party members singing party slogans, beating drums and waving party colours.

Over there, he asked the supporters of the party to shun all the lies being peddled by the NPP activists which they are doing to sway them to their side.

According to him, he and the party has only one vision which is to win power and developed the country but not just go globe trotting whiles the country faces a lot of crisis.

“We are coming back to power not to wear big suits and go globe trotting where there so many problems to solve but demonstrate to all we care” he further assured his supporters.

In fact any body who will visit the dam site will realize that indeed there is energy crisis as the water level; has gone so low resulting in shutting down four turbines and operating only two out of the six.

As to whether the load shedding will continue till September this year, Mr. Kirk Koffi, could not say yes or no since hydro electricity depends on nature and for that matter rain fall.

He observed that the weather this year has not been stable whiles the rain fall has also not been encouraging but are working seriously to ensure that hydro-electric power is sustained in the way that they are expected. End of that reportage.

This piece of reportage on then candidate Mills should give anybody some idea to assess the situation and whether it is right to complain to government of the problem at hand or remain mute and continue to suffer the mess being created because the president want everybody complaining to understand that he is not an electrician to solve the persistent power outage.

Maybe after assuming office as the president has realized that the energy crisis and could not be solved by just going to the people to say we are in crisis as he said Kufuor failed to do but rather a big one which will need time and conscious approach with huge sums of money to solve.

But in clear face, he assured that his party was ready to offer advice, knowledge and experience to the NPP government to solve the crisis. Now his party is in power, so all that the good people of Ghana are expecting from him is to put those advice, knowledge and experience it was ready to offer to the NPP government in solving the power crisis to use in order to come out from the energy crisis one time thereby the complain.

Really words are the most powerful drug used by mankind as said by Rudyard Kipling ad manifested by what is currently going on in the country where because of the promise given to the people by the current president then candidate Mills that he was going to solve the crisis now the people are demanding answer from him and he is getting bad at the complaints being fired at him.

Let politicians know this and know what to say because they would be hold responsible according to what they say.

End Story. Two series more on the energy crisis coming soon.