There’s no “dumsor”; we’re working on present power challenges – Energy Minister insists

The Energy Minister, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, has promised to work on the recent power outages, popularly known as “dumsor,” faced by Ghanaians, although he has refused to admit that dumsor is back.

Speaking to Accra-based Joy FM on March 24, 2024, the Dr. Opoku Prempeh stated that the energy sector is still working on it to make it better, as it takes certain processes to achieve that.

He furthered that power outages faced under the current administration, that is, the New Patriotic Party (NPP), are better than power outages faced under the previous administration, the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

“I have promised you that we are going to work on it, and it’s not a single event. It’s a process, and we will continue to work on it for the energy sector to become better.”

“If you are comparing four years, the NPP administration’s energy sector is 300 times better than John Mahama.”

Touching on the call for load schedule timetables, the Energy Minister disclosed that he has not seen any timetables as the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) has not yet released any.

He added that those calling for the timetable should bring it if they have it, since they are insistent on getting one.

“Ask those who want it to bring it, if there is one. I haven’t seen any timetable, so if you say you will bring a timetable, what do you mean?”

“The ECG says that there is no timetable coming. Why do you want to bring a timetable? For what purpose? Why will somebody get up and wish evil or bad for the country? When it’s not planned, you can’t tell the person.”

In a recent development on these words uttered by the Energy Minister, a press statement dated March 26, 2024, was released to clarify his utterances.

According to the press statement, the dismissal of the load schedule timetable by Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh was a result of the necessary actions put in place by the energy sector to address the issue.

The press statement also noted that the comparison of the energy sector under the previous government and the current government was staged by the interviewer.

“The Minister dismissed the need for a load management timetable because, in his view and as indicated by the Electricity Company of Ghana, the causes of the temporary power challenges are being addressed.”

“The Minister’s comparison of the current energy sector to the one under former President John Mahama, 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 points. In fact, a careful listen to the interview will show that the comparative template was set by the interviewer.”