Yvonne Nelson, Lydia Forson and Mahama agree on Dumsor

There have been a lot of disagreements on the right to voice out about the current electricity problems plaguing the country. A number of our movie stars and musicians have voiced their disapproval about the harsh economic conditions due to the added cost of using generators to power their homes and as well as their businesses. I quite remember when Robert Mensah our number one goalkeeper was admitted at the Tema General Hospital after he was stabbed and subsequently passed away from his wounds. This incident happened in 1971 and I remember we blaming his death on the failure of consistent electricity now renamed Dumsor. That was my earliest memory of Dumsor. I am not holding brief for our present Dumsor situation. I believe that we should have consistent electricity supply because energy is the soul of every nation.

I am of the opinion that Yvonne Nelson, Lydia Forson and the all the other movie stars, ordinary Ghanaians and musicians have the right to voice out their dissatisfaction about our present power outage situation due to the discomfort it brings to the whole citizenry. I believe that we can tackle the present situation in a unified way in order to bring in the needed response. President Mahama has on countless occasions promised to fix the Dumsor situation due to the pressure being mounted on him. One may argue that the movies stars, musicians, fellow Ghanaians and the President are all fed up with the Dumsor situation hence their resolve to voice out their displeasure howbeit in a different approach.

I am of the opinion that we can all brainstorm about our present electricity situation and find sustainable solutions to them. I believe that every citizen can contribute their quota to move the nation forward. May I digress and bring in the story of Tetteh Quarshie who bequeathed to Ghana a global cocoa industry which has yielded billions and billions of foreign currency to our country. Tetteh Quarshie lived under colonial rule but yet foresaw the need to introduce cocoa seedlings into the country. He was a generational thinker who thought about a better Ghana for future generations. Cocoa has been our economic backbone for over 100 years due to the initiative and foresight of one ordinary Ghanaian. That’s how much power we have as ordinary citizens to change the destiny of our beloved Ghana.

We are living in a better political dispensation where we can thrive and do a lot for our country. Accessing information is just a click away; information gathering and processing has become an essential commodity needed to craft a sustainable future for generations yet unborn. I believe that we can move the nation forward in many ways such as agreeing to disagree on issues as well as coming into strategic agreements to implement sustainable decisions that are linked with the collective prosperity of our country. We can have our own Tetteh Quarshie moments to move our nation to the next level of development. Let’s aspire to be generational thinkers and make sustainable decisions that will yield positive dividends for our future countrymen. God Bless Our Homeland Ghana!

Written by: Kofi Otabil