Saturday,
May 9, 2015
Folks, have you read the news
report attributed to Dr. Kwabena Donkor that electricity tariffs will be raised
despite the persistence of “Dumsor”? I have, and I am outraged by that
intention. Before it become a damaging reality, I want to caution the
government against doing anything of the sort.
It shouldn’t push the people to
the wall; they can be dangerously resilient in times like these when there is
much already happening to set them on edge. (Read the news report here:
http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/artikel.php?ID=357393 )
Indeed, this “Dumsor” crisis will
go down in history as the worst-ever challenge to have rocked the government.
How it is going about solving it is irritating. Promises upon promises and
declaration of grand designs on paper haven’t helped in any way. Neither have
they allayed public concerns, apprehensions, and resentment against the
deprivations resulting from the “Dumsor” evil. So, against this negative
background, should a social-democratic government go ahead to increase
electricity tariffs? No!!!!!
The “Dumsor4” crisis is the
result of decades of mismanagement, incompetence, and lack of vision on the
part of the various governments and the managers of the energy sector. It is
not John Dramani Mahama’s creation; but in his tenure, it has become a major
political issue that will either make or mar his political fortunes, especially
now that it has proved 6to be intractable and is daily assuming ugly
dimensions.
To the opposition, the “Dumsor”
crisis is a clear manifestation of the government’s inability to solve
problems; to the government, it is a challenge that it thinks it can solve,
which is why it has engaged all kinds of damage controllers to spew out just
anything to salve its conscience. But that “just anything” isn’t solving any
problem as far as public sentiments are concerned.
As of now, the unpalatable
message for the government is that this “Dumsor” crisis is an albatross that
will weigh it down at Election 2016, even if it is solved sooner than
predicted. It will be so because it has already wreaked much havoc on the
domestic and business sectors of national life.
As businesses couldn’t function, they
laid off workers; as electricity supply for domestic use became erratic and
annoyingly unavailable when most needed, the citizens have resorted to any
means to eke their livelihood and suffered adverse consequences. They won’t
forgive the government for disrupting their lives.
We can tell from the barrage of
criticisms and open attacks on the government (especially President Mahama
himself) that this “Dumsor” crisis has very deep political ramifications.
Whether those launching the attacks are political opponents, so-called Ghanaian
celebrities, the business community, the clergy, or whatever doesn’t really
matter at this point. It doesn’t have to lie with any identifiable group of
people. It is certainly a matter of grave national concern, which is why the
government must take a harder look at its strategies for addressing it.
Clearly, this “Dumsor” hazard has
overshadowed everything else happening to be used for the electioneering
campaigns. It has already provided enough ammunition for the opposition with
which to shoot the government from all angles. They have a strong arsenal to
rely on, which will resonate with the electorate. What will be the government’s
campaign messages? That it has constructed development projects and should be
rewarded with a renewal of its mandate? Or that it has done what particularly?
Folks, the government has set
itself an uphill task and will be at the mercy of its detractors. Even those of
us ardently supporting it will not deceive ourselves that it has a smooth path
toward victory at Election 2016. It will not easily coast to that victory,
given the reality of the Ghanaian situation as engendered by this “Dumsor”
crisis.
It will be far easier for the
opposition to attack it on that score and win the hearts of the voters than it
will be for the government to deflect those messages with promises and
assurances of solving problems—when it has taken it far too long to prove that
it is capable of solving the pertinent problems that are strong indications of
its inadequacies at several levels.
Talk about corruption and the
government’s inability to put anything concrete in place to assure the citizens
that it is solving it. Then, add to it many other problem areas (the daily news
reports of mismanagement at the institutions of state) and you should know
where the tide flows.
It must be pointed out here that
the citizens will be willing to retain in power a government that has been able
to prove that it is moving the country into a bright future, not returning it
into the dark days. If the government is able to put the economy on a strong
keel for the people to see things for themselves, they won’t hesitate renewing
its mandate. But if it fails to do so, it shouldn’t expect to be retained. It
may do anything at all that lies in power, but it won’t cut butter. It is a
hard truth to chew on!!
As of now, it seems the
government is toying with this major national crisis (“Dumsor”) and should be
prepared for the negative backlash. As for the inanities of Dr. Kwabena Donkor
that he will resign as the Minister of Power (or Electricity) if by January 1,
2016, the crisis is not solved, the least said about them the better. How does
he think he matters to Ghana, anyway? If I were the appointing authority, I
would kick him out on that basis alone.
Here is what I foresee: If the
government goes ahead to raise electricity tariffs, the citizens won’t take it.
They will react in diverse ways, taking to the streets in protest and causing
mayhem or simply hiding behind whatever smokescreens they may create to do
selective sabotage (burning of electricity transformers or just anything
regarded as “government property”) to show their frustration and anger. I am
not out to incite anything of the sort, but I can use my God-given faculty to
read a deeper meaning into the near future. It may sound sinister or snide, but
that is what I foresee.
To prevent anything untoward, the
government must not raise electricity tariffs for as long as this “Dumsor”
crisis persists. Is it conscionable to exact so much from the citizens for what
is not supplied regularly for them to consume? How much further does the
government want to test the citizens’ patience? Why test Fate this way? How
wicked can the authorities not be if they go ahead to raise the electricity (or
any other utility service) tariff, especially in difficult times like these? Folks,
there is more to talk about.
I shall return…
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E-mail:
mjbokor@yahoo.com
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the conversation.
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