You are hereby informed that the Minister of Energy would like to receive a load-shedding timetable from each of you.
This is to enable him facilitate the provision of electricity to your household at your convenience. This request has become necessary, because the Minister feels overwhelmed by the numerous requests from all of you for a timetable to enable you plan your lives.
The Minister is so concerned about your predicament that his frustration reached its peak when the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) asked, among others, for the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) to provide “Evidence of publication of Load management timetable…” to it due to the prevailing erratic power supply, commonly referred to as ‘Dumsɔ’.
You would recall that on 18th March, 2024, the PURC, pursuant to Sections 3 and 24 of Act 538, ordered the Electricity Company of Ghana Limited (ECG), to do the following among others:
“In respect of operational matters:
- Detailed Incident Reports of power outages for the period January 01, 2024 to date;
- The volume of load curtailed for each power outage incident, energy not served and number of customers affected segregated into the various customer categories;
- Copies of ECG publications informing the general public of power outages from 1 January 2024 to date.”
The last order is what seems to have angered the Minister so much so that he wants to ensure that all the over 32 million of you have a load-shedding timetable tailor-made for you.
It is for this reason that he said, “Ask those who want it [load-shedding timetable] to bring it.” Pursuant to this, if you know that you ever complained about the erratic power supply, please submit your timetable, or forever hold your peace. The deadline for submission of your ‘dumsɔ’ timetable is now.
Symptoms of frustration
Before writing this piece, I googled for ‘symptoms of a frustrated person’. Expectedly, “Losing your temper’ was number 1.
Otherwise, why would a minister of state of cabinet ranking, sitting at the ruling party’s regional campaign launch, a very happy occasion, get worked up by harmless questions relating to his ministerial portfolio, asked by a journalist?
Ooh! You are wondering why I think the Energy Minister is frustrated? If you tell yourself that it is possible to become the running mate of your party’s flagbearer, which possibility extends to becoming vice president of the republic of Ghana, and the universe conspires to disrupt a key deliverable under your ministry- electricity supply, why will you not be frustrated?
More so, when the erratic power supply situation has become so topical that it is making your bosses and detractors question your capabilities if assigned higher responsibilities. Not forgetting the fact that you have knelt down, genuflected and engaged in acts that seek to project you to the bearer of the ‘It is Possible’ vision, that if his running mate must come from the Ashanti Region, then he should look no further, because you are the humblest of them all.
Then, a regulatory body which is supposed to work in the interest of the public, but you expect to work in your favour, decides to crack the whip on your key implementing agency- ECG.
Here is a detailed quote, “If you are comparing four years- four years, NPP administration is 300 times better than John Mahama. Nobody has said we haven’t [experienced dumsɔ, I am just saying it is far much better than John Mahama ever did…Ask those who want it [load-shedding timetable] to bring it. I haven’t seen any timetable today. The ECG said that there is no timetable coming up. Why do you want to bring a timetable? For what purpose? Why would somebody get up and wish evil or bad for the country?”
To the extent of describing those of us asking for the timetable as evil wishers? Or the PURC? How, Napo? Anyway, some people disagree with me. They say what the Energy Minister displayed was arrogance of power. They cited his commentary on an incident at the Independence Square regarding the Computerised Schools Placement in September 2019, where some of the applicants reportedly collapsed.
“We opened the centre at the Independence Square to address the needs of Ghanaians who want to go to school, but some evil people have decided to pay GHc 20 and GHc 50 to people to go there and stage fainting and collapse. Yesterday, some of the collapses were fake. I’m even wondering why they brought little kids to the centre,” the then Minister for Education was quoted as saying.
I would have said that this statement is exaggerated, but the use of the word ‘evil’ here too, betrayed him. Yet, others say he is only taking a cue from his boss, the President who told some chiefs of Ekumfi Otuam that he intentionally ignored their developmental needs because they failed to vote for his appointee as Member of Parliament. The boss who visited distraught victims of the flood caused by spillage of water from the Akosombo and Kpong dams, that he only visited them because he had to, otherwise “when it comes to voting, you don’t vote for me.”
The Spokesperson’s Press Release
I have said it here before that Public Relations practitioners are really dealing with a lot. The bosses cause the crisis, and you are called upon to repair the damage. When you propose the strategy that will resolve the crisis, then the bosses will disagree with you. In the end, it is their solution that goes out with your signature. In the process, your peers see your final work and they cringe.
So, it turned out that the Energy Minister found the need to ‘clarify’ what happened in Kumasi. Under such circumstances, one would have expected a press release that gives the reader an indication of remorse over the statement which many have considered offensive – “Ask those who want it to bring it.” But no.
Instead, it was headlined – CALLS FOR LOAD SHEDDING TIMETABLE — ENERGY MINISTER WAS ONLY BEING FACTUAL. Yet when you read the release, the only semblance of FACTUAL you see in it is this, “The Minister’s comparison of the current energy sector to the one under former President John Maharna, where Ghanaians reeled under pervasive ‘Dumsor for 4 years, comes on the back of recent similar calls in the media space by the NDC Flagbearer for a load management timetable. This call, in the view of the Minister is borne out of the quest to score cheap political point. In fact, a careful listen of the interview will show that, the comparative template was set by the interviewer.” I see egualisation.
For me, what the above quote does, is to confirm my suspicion of frustration. Frustration that nature has afforded John Mahama an opportunity to pay him back in his own coin. That’s because as evidenced in the photo attached to this article, the Energy Minister was in the thick of affairs during the demonstration against ‘dumsɔ.’ In an audio I have heard play on Accra-based Joy FM, he really tore John Mahama into shreds over ‘dumsɔ’ in 2015.
In the aforementioned press release, there was no mention of the real reason why people are virtually insulting the spokesperson’s boss. Unless I missed it. May be, this is the quote that addresses that matter- “In the said clip, the Minister is clearly seen straining his voice because of the obviously noisy background, in order to be heard by his interviewer. This has unfortunately been misconstrued. Dr. Prempeh is known to be very media friendly.” What a spin?
The effects of ‘dumsɔ’
Clearly, it does not look like we will get a load-shedding timetable from ECG soon. That’s because it appears the centre is not holding within that company.
They keep blaming GRIDCo and the Independent Power Producers (IPP) for cutting supply due to their indebtedness. That is true. Customers, including government agencies owe ECG and must pay, yes. The question that begs for an answer though, is how a company that virtually enjoys monopoly in electricity distribution for most parts of Ghana, with significant number of prepayment meters, could find itself in such a financial quagmire.
Anyway, the resignation of the Chairman of the Board of Directors earlier this week, at such a crucial moment in the organisation’s life, should give one an indication of the goings on within the power distribution company. Mr Keli Gadzepko resigned citing personal reasons. So, if two days after this resignation, a cousin of Ken Ofori-Atta, business partner of Keli, Gabby Otchere-Darko posts this statement on social media, then your guess is as good as mine- “There is something mysteriously amiss somewhere. You have managed to keep the lights on for 7 years, even during the height of the economic crisis in 2022. Why now?” he quizzed.
The 8-page document containing orders issued by the PURC that i referred to earlier, does not help matters. Amid the furore, the father of the nation has kept mute over the subject. A muteness which may be attributed to distractions caused by preparations towards his 80th birthday bash today- 29th March 2024.
Meanwhile, individuals, table-top business owners, Small-Medium Scale enterprises and even some big firms are bearing the brunt of the ‘dumsɔ.’ Individuals are losing their fridges and freezers, besides having sleepless nights for enduring the heat, the stock of fish and meat of Cold Store operators are going bad, organisations are losing paid for man hours and the nation’s overall productivity is declining.
It’s time to go
Today is Good Friday, a Christian holiday commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary. There are three more non-working days left. Many families will use the occasion to reunite and have fun.
During such a festive occasion, entertainment is key. Watching TV/movies, playing music, using the rice cooker or microwave oven require electricity. Any ‘dumsɔ’ tendencies will only serve the purpose of transferring the Energy Minister’s frustration to all of us. But there is no guarantee that there will be no ‘dumsɔ.’ My advice to you therefore, is to respond to the request for load-shedding timetable. That is to say, if you need electricity this weekend by hook or crook, then get a generator set on standby.
As for the Energy Minister, he does not care about you. If he appreciates the fact that he owes his position to us, he would not have made that unfortunate statement. Sadly, or is it happily, unlike some of you who threaten this government with December 7, 2024, I am indifferent. Because I do not see any light at the end of the tunnel. All I see is ‘dum.’
I hope your Easter turns out to be a happy one afterall.
Urabeho Nawe – That’s goodbye in Rwandese language.
Let God lead. Follow Him directly, not through any human.
The writer is the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) Columnist of the Year- 2022. He is the author of two books whose contents share knowledge on how anyone desirous of writing like him can do so. Eric can be reached via email [email protected]