Co-founder of the Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), Prof Baffour Agyeman-Duah, says the frequent power outages in 2016 helped the then-opposition party win the December 2016 elections.
His point of view comes on the heels of what he considers as the return of erratic power outages, popularly known as 'Dumsor' in another election year.
Speaking on JoyNews on March 28, the governance professor expressed grave concern about the recent effect this situation had on electricity supply to the Tema General Hospital.
“At times, I wonder whether there is any organization so to speak in what we do and whether public professionals are mindful of how citizens feel because the reaction is coming from all over. In fact, the one that you read from the hospital reminds me of what is going on in Gaza, where there is a brutal war against Palestinians and hospitals we show on the street, where babies are dying, but here we are; we are not in a war condition. We have experienced this before; why will we sit down eight years later and have a repeat?" he quizzed.
According to him, the lack of transparency surrounding the development has left citizens feeling confused and uncertain.
He opined that the government must be more transparent with citizens in order to work togethe to find a lasting solution to the recurring challenges.
Prof. Agyeman-Duah revealed that while the current situation is unacceptable, citizens would be more understanding if the government were open and honest with them.
He said, “But when there is no transparency in how our public sector provides our services, then, of course, we are going to have all this kind of speculation, but it is such a tragic situation for a government that came to power by and large with this kind of problem under the previous government."
He added, "You come in eight years, and you come back to zero. That for me is a tragedy; it means this country either does not learn, we do not go forward, or we have people who are running our affairs; we are not competent."
