General News of Sunday, 15 March 2015
Source: Starrfmonline.com
Communications Minister Dr Edward Omane Boamah has called on the leadership of the Presby Church to advise their Moderator to be civil in his criticisms of the government.
According to him, the nature of the attacks on government by Professor Emmanuel Martey desecrates the authority of his office.
“I want to state that his comments amount to desecration or near desecration of the Presby Synod and I think that as the head of the Presby church he will have to do an introspection, listen to his tapes; and I’m sure there are descent-minded people in the synod who may want to advise him about the way he goes about his criticisms.
“Constructive criticisms are welcome but a man of his stature; by virtue of the office that he occupies, I think that he can do better,” the acting Presidential spokesperson stated on Radio Gold Saturday.
The remarks follow a recent attack on the Mahama-led government by the cleric.
Professor Martey has stated that he could fix the severe energy situation facing the nation within three months if he were the President.
“Listen, Ghana is not a big country to fix this problem. [In] four months you can solve it; at most [in] six months…
“If I were in charge, within three months I will solve the problem,” the plain-talking Chairman of the Christian Council of Ghana told a congregation in the Eastern region last week.
Ghana is currently shedding between 400 and 700 Megawatts of power during off-peak and peak periods, respectively.
The crisis has come about as a result of poor water levels in the three hydro-electric power stations; lack of gas flow from the West Africa Gas Pipeline in Nigeria to thermal plants in Ghana for production; as well as the breakdown of some plants.
The crisis is taking a toll on Industry, businesses and domestic consumers. Power Minister Dr Kwabena Donkor has promised to resign if he fails to resolve the crisis by the end of December this year.
The Government is taking some short term measures to rectify the crisis. Among the actions being taken is the importation of some emergency plants: two 450-Megawatt capacity barges (225 Megawatt each) from Karpower at a cost of $250 million; 250-Megawatt generating units from Dubai which are being brought into the country; in addition to a 300-Megawatt emergency plant by General Electric.