A leading member of the NPP Gabby Otchere Darko believes that a short-term solution to the power crisis is possible if the president can be honest with Ghanaians and ask consumers to pay more for power.
He argued that it is costing consumers much more using generators than it would cost if they were paying more for government to import crude oil needed to power thermal power generation plants.
“Tell Ghanaians that look for the next six months or two years, we need to buy crude oil, it will be difficult but this is the extra cost you may have to pay”, he said on Joy FM’s Newsfile.
It would also allow government to plan for long-term solutions, he suggested.
“Wouldn’t that be wiser, smarter”? He sought to use the president’s words against him.
President Mahama on May Day suggested that smart businesses are not laying off workers but rather investing in increasing productivity despite the energy crisis.
Drawing the analogy further, Gabby taunted that it is equally not smart for government to lay off workers in 2017 as part of an IMF programme.
He believes government has not really considered the cost of the energy crisis on Ghanaians.
“Do you know how many operations that go wrong because they don’t have light? We don’t know the social cost. Kids are failing their exams because they cannot do their homework?
“Are we thinking about the noise pollution, we are not thinking about the fumes. We are not thinking.” Gabby said.
He believes that government handling of the persisting power crisis has exposed it to “harsh” commentary from frustrated consumers.
The latest wave of protest is being led by some celebrities who are preparing to hold a Dumsor Vigil on May 16.
Gabby says criticisms of the celebrities by some government functionaries show government “has lost touch with the realities on the ground”.
“We should be able to apply some modicum of humility as a government because you don’t pour insults on an injury caused by yourself”, he explained.
According to the NPP man, actress Lydia Forson was spot on in her view that the President is like a school boy who has been consistently failing his exams.
It is harsh but not derogatory, he said. The politician warned government not to underestimate the move by the celebrities.
He acknowledged that entertainers often come out to back politicians in an election year. But for these celebrities to come out during the “mid-term” of a government shows that the dumsor vigil by the celebrities should not be underestimated.
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Story by Ghana|myjoyonline.com|Edwin Appiah|[email protected]
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