Who is telling the truth about the power crisis?

I honestly don’t think the government of President John Dramani Mahama is committed in doing anything substantial to end the current power crisis which has effectively crippled the economy.

The government and its appointees are rather bathing Ghanaians with cocktail of irritating lies about when the killer Dumsor crisis will end if at all. The problem in my view is about the unprofessional way that various Ministers of the same government are commenting differently about the same issue. I am not going to talk much about government communication in this article because it is in tatters.

The meaning of a good communicator and good communication strategy under the President who is supposed to be a communicator by training is availability on partisan radio stations and the State Television to be churning out either half-truths, insults or organised noise.

Almost every person who talks for the current government of Ghana has either no track record in communication or has no qualification in communication and Journalism. Perhaps the reason they are unaware that you don’t have to talk to every microphone when it is planted on your table

The Power Minister of Ghana, Dr Kwabena Donkor, had given the fullest assurance yet to Ghanaians that the electricity troubles were to end from Monday December 14, 2015. It must be stated that this particular Minister is notorious and famous for telling naked lies about when the power crisis will end.

His promise was given adequate publicity and Ghanaians thought the man called in some circles as a serial liar was to be truthful for once. This promise to end the power crisis was dealt a big blow when the Minister of Communication, Dr Omane Boamah, stated on Joyfm’s News file programme on Saturday that it was impossible for the crisis to end next week!

The dilemma now is whose word Ghanaians must trust. Is it the Power Minister or the Minister who speaks for the government? How did the two ministers under the same government manage to double speak on the same issue? Is there not synchronisation of government communication? Or this government has no respect for Ghanaians. When is the power crisis actually ending?

Is the power crisis attributable to lack of money, mismanagement or both? Why do government spokespersons tell Ghanaians that the power crisis is a natural disaster or caused by dwarfs?

The Deputy Power Minister, John Jinapor, on the same Joy FM also contradicted what his boss, the Power Minister, said in respect of ending the crisis. Jinapor is counting on some ghost analysis of big factories going on Christmas break and power likely to be saved for domestic consumption and other fairytales! This is not only churlish but also unbelievable!

Why can’t the Power Minister and his Deputy even agree on what communication is send out to the public? Are they not in the same ministry? Don’t they consult themselves about issues as serious as the power crisis?

Ghanaians must know from now that this government is not committed to ending the power crisis. The government doesn’t care about the collapse in businesses occasioned by their inability to end the crisis. The government is rather showing gross insensitivity to Ghanaians by increasing the cost of the power they are not even getting in the first place at the very time they are grappling on how to celebrate Christmas.

There is no excuse to continue to keep this government in power after next year’s elections. Incompetent John Dramani Mahama must be rejected. It is clear at this stage that the problem of the crisis in the power sector is money as was hinted by Dr Mahamud Bawumia at the Central University College during one of his lectures.

If the government had shown serious commitment to fighting the empire of corruption in the country, lots of cash would have been saved to end this crisis. The government must be truthful to Ghanaians about the predicament. It must be willing to listen to experts who are not members of his government. After all we are all Ghanaians and want the very best for our country.

I wish all a Dumsor free Christmas and the determination to vote out the man who is only competent at destruction of the economy next year.

Very best

By Akilu Sayibu

Email: Akisayi@yahoo.com