WILL MINISTER RESIGN? OVER THE POWER CRISIS

Kwabena Donkor, Ghana's Minister of Power

Asks Ekow Mensah

There are very strong indications that Dr Kwabena Donkor, Minister of Power is not planning to take his personal belongings out of the Ministry and head home into unemployment.

Dr Donkor appears very determined to keep his post in spite of his pledge that if the power crisis does not end by the end of December, he will resign.

 Now the Minister claims that he promised to end “load shedding” and not “Dumsor Dumsor” by the end of December.

Somebody asked “what is the difference?

And the Minister’s response was” Dumsor” is erratic power supply and “load shedding“ is planned rationing of power.

 Whatever it may be called and whatever technical or non technical definitions there may be, the people of Ghana simply desire and want uninterrupted power supply.

Insiders say that Ghana cannot have uninterrupted power supply by the end of December this year because of the lack of funds to purchase fuels for power generation.

It is estimated that between now and December, Ghana needs at least US$ 100 million for the purchase of fuel.

If Ghana is to have uninterrupted power supply up to the end of February 2016 then the Government will have to find as much as US$ 300 million.

The problem with power supply is not about generation capacity but lack of funds to purchase fuel.

As things stand now, indications are that there are very dark days ahead for Ghana and its people.

Editorial

The Battle Is Not Over!

The progressive people of the world should not to be deceived into going to sleep because the battle for the liberation of Cuba from under the jack boots of US imperialism is not over.

The speeches of officials of the US administration with regards to Cuba have been toned down but the blockade is still on and the US occupation of the Guantanamo Bay is not ended.

Indeed solidarity with Cuba ought to continue unabated until the full sovereignty of the Island state is restored and its people are free to develop their full human potential.

The Cuban people should be free to trade with and in any country of their choice.

They should be able to buy essential medicines from any part of the world and they should not be discriminated against on account of their being Cuban.

Aluta continua!

GOING! GOING! GONE! ECG WILL NOW WORK FOR PRIVATE PROFIT

Kwabena Donkor, Minister of Power

By Ekow Mensah

It is now certain that an American Company is most likely to be given the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) to run for the next 20 to 30 years solely for private profit.

This is a condition for government of Ghana to access the US Millennium Challenge Account of Us $500 million.

Government and its spokespersons have been at pains to explain that what is happening is not pivatisation of the ECG.

They insist that the shareholding structure of ECG will not change and that the company would only be handed over as a concession to another private entity.

For the period of the concession the ECG will be managed and fully controlled by the private entity only for private profit.

The Government of Ghana signed the Ghana Power compact with the US Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) an independent US government and agency on August 5,2014 .

According to Owura Sarfo Chief Executive Officer of MIDA, the private entity would help transform ECG by providing it with updated technology to make it more efficient. 

Editorial

The world has enough problems, no need to invent more

Thousands of asylum seekers mainly from Syria are streaming everyday to Europe to escape the horrors of civil war.

The issue has become the European Union’s number one problem. Neighbouring countries such as Lebanon and Turkey also have to contend with influx of huge refugee populations on their soil.

No doubt large quantities of the world’s attention and resources will be consumed by this huge refugee problem for a long time.

What is sad about the development is that it could easily have been avoided. The strange philosophy of regime change which has seduced some in America’s administration and been adopted by some Western European powers has brought the world disastrous results.

We are now at a stage where even regret will not resolve anything immediately.

Still, positive steps can be taken towards peace.

The United Nations exist largely to prevent such situations. It is still the forum to turn to for consensual solutions to world problems.

For a start states should stop arming non state actors and point their clients towards forums for resolving problems which threaten world peace. It is not fair to the Syrian people that non- Syrians will use Syria to prove costly points in terms of life, infrastructure and heritage.