Former President John Mahama has attributed the resurgence of erratic power supply, known locally as “dumsor,” to the government’s failure to procure fuel for energy generation due to debt owed to power companies.
The Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo) and the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) recently announced a three-week load management due to maintenance activities by a gas supplier in Nigeria.
Mahama pointed out that the accumulated debt of nearly $2 billion to energy suppliers has led to a reduction in fuel supply to the country, resulting in the current power outages.
The former president criticised the government, alleging that it has not been transparent with the Ghanaian people regarding the challenges in the energy sector.
“Despite our best efforts to revitalise the energy sector by ramping up our capacity and the setting up of the Energy Sector Levy Act, nearly two billion is still owed to the various energy companies and this has resulted in a return of what is popularly known as ‘dumsor’ and this is due to the government’s inability to buy the needed fuel for electricity generation,” he stated.
Mr Mahama additionally lamented that the ongoing power crisis is exacerbating unfavourable business conditions, compelling businesses to consider relocating from Ghana.
He emphasised that these challenges are compounded by what he sees as unnecessary economic policies, such as high interest rates and taxes, which have pushed Ghanaian businesses into financial losses.
“Ghanaian businesses are also collapsing as their operations are becoming unsustainable and buffeted by the rapidly depreciating currency, soaring interest rates and tariffs. The millions of educated people is a ticking time bomb,” he added.
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