Regional Population Director, Mercy Adomah Besseah
The Ashanti Regional Population Office is struggling to carry out its mandate due to a prolonged electricity crisis that has plagued the office for over four years.
According to the Regional Population Director, Mercy Adomah Besseah, the office has been without electricity since 2020, severely impacting their work.
"For about 4 years now, our offices haven't had an electricity connection. This is greatly affecting the progress of work over here."
In an exclusive interview, Ms. Besseah explained that the office had electricity when they first moved in but scrap dealers cut off all cables, leaving them without power.
"When we came to this office in 2020, we had electricity in our 3 offices but eventually, scrap dealers cut off all cables bringing us to this point."
Despite reporting the issue to their national office, no tangible solution has been implemented.
"When we came to this office in 2020, we had electricity in our 3 offices but eventually, scrap dealers cut off all cables bringing us to this point."
The office relies on alternative measures, such as charging laptops from home or seeking assistance from nearby departments, which often results in incomplete work and disrupted productivity.
"Mostly you have to charge your laptop from home and it goes off at any time. If you have incomplete work, you may have to charge from other close departments or perhaps close for the day."
Ms. Besseah emphasized that electricity is their biggest challenge, hindering their ability to embark on their critical work.
She highlighted that the Ashanti branch of the National Population Council (NPC) is the only department within the ministries, Block A, in Kumasi without an electricity connection, making their situation even more dire.
The Regional Population Director appealed to the government to intervene and resolve the electricity crisis, stating that their offices need to be re-wired to have electricity.
"Right here at the ministries, Block A, NPC is the only department that doesn't have an electricity connection.
We reported the case to our executive director at our national office, years back. He sent about 3 contractors who did an estimate and we were hoping that we could get help but unfortunately, we did not get any positive response."
Additionally, she requested renovations to their offices, which are in dire need of attention.
"We're pleading with the government to fix the situation. Our offices need to be renovated as well."
Ms. Besseah stressed that population matters are critical and require attention from the government.
She warned that neglecting population issues can have far-reaching consequences, emphasizing the importance of addressing underlying factors to ensure meaningful progress.
"I'm also pleading with the government to resort to institutions that are less central for the cost of it. Because the population is one key institution the government must pay attention to. There are so many issues surrounding the population, so if the government doesn't pay attention to them, at the end of the day we'll educate our people we'll give them opportunities, but the underlying factors won't be resolved. So population matters are very important." Ms Besseah told Joseph Marfo in an exclusive interview.
