Ghana President promises bold action on electricity crisis, as protests persist

A Ghanaian protester 

Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama on Thursday promised decisive action to fix the country’s worsening electricity crisis, which has wreaked havoc in the once bourgeoning economy.

“The effects and frustrations posed by the power deficit are clearly felt in our work places, our homes, schools and hospitals,” Mahama said in a state of the nation address to lawmakers in the West African country.

Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama

“Big businesses and industries are also suffering and threatening to lay off workers…

“I do not intend to manage the situation as has been done in the past,” he said. “I intend to fix it!”

Mahama’s pledge came after the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) organised a rally in the capital Accra on February 18, calling on the president to resign if he proved unable to boost electricity supply.

The Ghanaian president offered a strong rebuttal in Thursday’s speech, calling on the nation of some 25 million people to embrace a range of solutions to permanently guarantee sufficient electricity.

He said his National Democratic Congress (NDC) was developing private sector partnerships to install solar panel hubs nationwide, noting similar efforts in biomass production and other renewables energy sources.

He also said more traditional power generators, including hydro and gas, would be enhanced while urging homes and businesses to consider options for energy conservation.

Mahama said the country’s power woes were partly the result of Ghana’s economic success over the last decade.

“Our demand for power is estimated to be growing in excess of 10 percent per annum,” he said, conceding that the country was struggling to feed this rising demand.

Ghana has been viewed as the rising star of West Africa, backed by an increasingly strong democratic record as well as solid exports in gold, cocoa and, since 2010, oil.

But even before electricity woes became acute, cracks in the so-called Ghana success story had begun to emerge.

The cedi currency has fallen 30 percent against the dollar over the last year and observers said Mahama’s government was not doing enough to curb wasteful public spending, lower deficits and pay down debts.

Mahama, noting the range of challenges facing the country, called on Ghanaians to seek inspiration from the national football team, the Black Stars.

He recalled the side’s dismal, scandal-plagued performance at the 2014 World Cup, which led to widespread pessimism ahead of this year’s Africa Cup of Nations.

But the Black Stars “showed the fabled resilience of the Ghanaian” with a strong performance at the African championship, which ended with a loss in the finals to Ivory Coast, Mahama said.

Ghanaians “have victory in our DNA,” the president claimed.

Meanwhile, a week after protest was held in the Ghanaian capital Accra to protest a failing economy, another one has hit the country's second largest city Kumasi on the same theme.

Dubbed the 'Yabre' (We are fed up) demo the protest, organized by the country's biggest opposition, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) saw hundreds of demonstrators mostly dressed in black and red and bearing message-bearing placards.

Some demonstrators said they were out to protest in the hope of mounting pressure on the National Democratic Congress (NDC) led government to resolve Ghana’s frustrating power crisis as well as the ailing economy.

NPP vice presidential candidate, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia and some top brass in the NPP were present.

Eyewitness reports say the central Kejetia district of Ghana's cultural capital was brought to a standstill as the demonstrators thronged the streets.

Kumasi is a stronghold of the New patriotic party and pundits believe the protest is both a great pre-campaign tool as well as a reminder to President John Mahama to do better in resolving the many problems the average Ghanaian is faced with on a daily basis, especially the energy crisis. Ghana goes to the polls next year.